TSI, Notes 2--Lothrop Stoddard

[lorentzen-nicklaus]

Michael Perez schrieb:

> Rich wrote:
> "I wonder if Pynchon is referencing Lothrop Stoddard
> who wrote about race and white supremacy in the 20s
> and whose writings are apprently influential in white
> supremicist circles today."

> Doug then wrote:
> "Stoddard seems to be a darling of white supremacist
> and racist circles.

> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22Lothrop+Stoddard%22&btnmeta%3Dsearch%3
> Dsearch=Search+the+Web



> I had never heard of this guy, but it seems very likely that we have a
> new candidate, or, at least, an additional one, for the origin of the
> name Slothrop.  It certainly wouldn't be beyond Pynchon to have used
> either or both sources for inspiration.  I'm sure we'll all be looking
> into the possibilities.
>

         this also throws a new light on GR's roseland ballroom scene:

  "slothrop can't even see his own white face. (...) upstairs in the men's room 
 at the roseland ballroom he swoons kneeling over a toilet bowl, vomiting beer, 
hamburgers, homefries, chef's salad with french dressing, half a bottle of 
 moxie, after-dinner mints, a clark bar, a pound of salted peanuts, and the 
 cherry from some radcliffe girl's old fashioned. (...) red, the negro   
  shoeshine boy, waits by his dusty leather seat. the negroes all over wasted 
   roxbury wait. (...) if slothrop follows that harp down the toilet it'll have 
    to be headfirst, which is not so good, cause it leaves his ass up in the air 
     helpless, and with negroes around that's just what a fella doesn't want, 
      his face down in some fetid unknown darkness and brown fingers, strong and 
       sure, all at once (...) comes the sound of a whole dark gang of awful 
        negroes come yelling happily into the white men's room (...) jeepers 
         slothrop, what a position for you to be in!" (pp. 62ff)

kfl