Orwell & Nineteen Eighty-Four

[David Morris]

--- Terrance <lycidas2 at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Malignd wrote:
> > Orwell's a very particular figure--in his writing, in
> > his person, in his lingering effect and influence, a
> > complex and fascinating subject at many levels, to
> > whom Pynchon brings little insight and scant rigor.
> 
> Why are you looking for either from Tom Pynchon? He ain't gonna win no nobel
for his essays. If he does win a Nobel it will be for his novels. He is surely
one of the world's greatest novelists. I think I'm beginning to see why Dave
Monroe and Paul N. focused on the "Narrative"  and on what Pynchon tells us
about Pynchon and not Orwell or _1984_.

I agree with this approach too.  This essay tells us most about what Pynchon is
concerned about and where his fictioon springs from.  But ina and of itself it
is wholly unremarkable.

>The Foreword is a typical Pynchon essay. The trouble you seem to be having
with his Foreword is that it doesn't say much that is original, insightful, or
interesting about either Orwell or _1984_.

Or about any real present concerns, which is the biggest shame of it all.

>I agree. With this in mind, I can't understand why the guy would do it.
Another problem with the Foreword is that it is poorly written. I could rip it
apart but I don't want to give Doug a heart attack. Paul M. is being quite kind
when he says that the Foreword reads like a patched together or cut up longer
essay. This is how Pynchon writes--loopy, fragmented. Moreover, his prose are
confusing. Most of all, I think it lacks a set of balls. If the guy wants to
call the Bush people fascists, why doesn't he just come out and say it?

Yep.  It's a shame to waste a good reputation on a shitty essay.  Better off
staying enigmatic.

David Morris


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