VLVL(7) one more thing

[Otto]

----- Original Message -----
From: "jbor" <jbor at bigpond.com>
To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2003 12:05 AM
Subject: Re: VLVL(7) one more thing

> on 22/10/03 12:16 AM, Terrance wrote:
>
> > He's a sensitive kid, like Prairie (a good match these kids make), I-24
> > is real smart.
> > Notice that on Page 75 I-24 is the linguist on the band. That's a big
> > plus in this Vineland world.
> >

Well, if your name's a quote, a religious and political reference
already. . . .

> > If there is any hope at all in this world of Vineland the Good it is to
> > be found in Prairie and I-24. But the grown-ups keep fucking things up.
>

I too agree that these kids are kind of smart, self-dependent, maybe a
little bit too grown-up for their age. An effect of their upbringing in
hippie-families I assume, forcing them to gain control about their input and
output at an early stage (Prairie p. 109).

But I disagree that the novel shows a general SNAFU at the end. The message
seems to be that you can stop those semi-fascists like Brock Vond and regain
your "privacy" (Prairie on p. 103.23) only by cutting their budget, not by
waiting until "the State withers away" (28.15).

> Yes, I agree. I think this is the book's message, or parable. The adults
> spend so much time bickering and blaming one another and trying to rewrite
> history, being dishonest or irresponsible and not giving the kids any
> credit,

The grown-ups in the novel were the flower-children of 1968.

I cannot see DL rewriting history, she's more eager that Prairie finds out
herself her own truth without relying on stories of others which are
necessarily "coloured" by their perception of things, which fits well to her
ninja-zen-warrior attitude. Prairie sees some things very clearly already:

"You saying he's still chasing her, 15 years down the line, taxpayers'
money, not enough real criminals around?" (101.34-36)

And DL seems to trust her:

"But DL only gazed back, as if Prairie was supposed to be figuring things
out too." (102.7-9)

and:

"You'll have to trust yourself. If it feels too weird, don't, 's all."
(103.36)

> that the great danger is that the next generation will be lost too.
>

This implies that there's a lost generation -- the 60's generation is meant
by this I assume. Are Zoyd, Frenesi and DL lost?

What does "lost" mean in this context?

In the cases of the kids being on cocaine like I-24 or
on TV & uniforms like Prairie?

Otto