"Orwellian, dude!"

[Paul Mackin]

On Fri, 2003-05-23 at 10:04, pynchonoid wrote:
> You read my posts as dishonestly as you read Pynchon, 
>  my friend. Here's the next paragraph (as quoted in my
> earlier post) that puts Pynchon's Bill-and-Ted joke in
> context: 


You call this context? This next paragraph is one of contrast with, not
one of context for the previous one.. 

The "Orwellian dude" paragraph is about the silly uses of the
predictions or prophesies, which as P says are "worth a minute and a
half of diversion." 

The "well yes and no" paragraph is about the worthwhile uses of Orwell's
book. Possibly the best paragraph is the essay. Not to say there are not
others.

P.





is contrast not context.


> 
> "Specific predictions are only details, after all.
> What is perhaps most importnat, indeed necessary, to a
> working prophet, is to be able to see deeper than most
> of us into the human soul. Orwell in 1948 understood
> that despite the Axis defeat, the will to fascism had
> not gone away, that far from having seen its day it
> had perhaps not yet even come into its own-- the
> corruption of spirit, the irrestible human addiction
> to power, were already long in place, as well-known
> aspects of the third Reich and Stalin's USSR, even the
> British Labour party-- like first drafts of a terrible
> future. What could prevent the same thing from
> happening to Britain and the United States? Moral
> superiority?  Good intentions?  Clean living?"
> - -Pynchon, 1984 Foreword
> 
> > pynchonoid at yahoo.com wrote:
> > 
> > > Im this instance I agree with Pynchon and the
> > > Valley Boys, that what happened to Germany under
> > > Hitler and the USSR under Stalin might happen in
> > the
> > > US or Britain.
> 
> 
> --- jbor <jbor at bigpond.com> wrote:
> > on 23/5/03 10:27 AM, pynchonoid at
>  
> > Of course, this isn't what is said in the parodic
> > conversation at all.
> 
> But I was discussing the longer passage in which the
> conversation takes place.  Rip that conversation out
> of context if you need to, but it's a lame way to try
> to make a  point -- isn't that what you're always
> whining about others doing?  What a hypocrite. Plus,
> you're argument assumes that Pynchon judges these
> speakers harshly the way you do, and I don't know,
> somehow I just don't get the feeling that Pynchon is
> the elitist misanthrope you are.
> 
> 
> >     "Wow, the Government has turned into Big
> > Brother, *just like
> >     Orwell predicted!* Something, huh?" "Orwellian,
> > dude!" (xvi)
> 
> Out of the mouths of babes...
> 
> 
> =====
> <http://www.pynchonoid.blogspot.com/>
> 
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