BAR Loon's weapon of opportunity

[jbor]

>> But I generally agree that he left it out of the _SL_ collection because he
> no longer endorses the "solution" which Siegel comes up with, nor with the way
> he has used the Native American's "psychosis" as a convenient plot device.

on 25/3/03 8:33 AM, David Morris at fqmorris at yahoo.com wrote:

> Yes, the use of a Native American's psychosis is supposed to be ironic
> revenge,
> but it's really an offensive stereotype in the employ of Pynchon.  I'd think
> Pynchon would want to disown this story.

Yes, even though he has "a sober voice" remind Siegel that "he was
apparently the only one who had the Windigo psychosis as his sole piece of
information about the Ojibwa" - which perhaps reflects back on Pynchon's own
ignorance and seeming opportunistic use of Native American culture and
psychosocial behaviour as deus ex machina for his plot and coda here - and
even though the narrative is scornful of the way Debby Considine is wearing
Irving around like some exotic brooch, still the Native American character
isn't given a voice or personality in the story, unlike the "white"
characters. I think Pynchon's resort to this sort of voiceless and
identity-less stereotype is in keeping with those "Archie Bunker"-type
"assumptions and distinctions, unvoiced and unquestioned", which he admits
to holding at the time. ('Intro' 11-12)

best