VLVL 4: War, politics and love

[Otto]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Monroe" <monrovius at yahoo.com>
To: "Don Corathers" <gumbo at fuse.net>; <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2003 7:47 PM
Subject: Re: VLVL 4: War, politics and love
>
> [...]
>
> > Dispatches, Michael Herr
>
> I've suggested before considering Gravity'sn Rainbow
> in light of the trajectory (er, no puns where none
> intended ...) of the WWII film in the Vietnam Era,
> I'll tentatively suggest here (and maybe attempt to
> hint at/demonstrate later) that it might prove
> productive to read Vineland's Vietnam War references
> in light of the Vietnam War film since (I'm thinking
> quite a bit of Vineland plays on the cinematic vs. the
> historical--the reel vs. the real?--but, again, merely
> an intution at this point), but I'm also guessing that
> M. Herr's Despatches is no small drop in the pond of
> combat prose, and I recall it being mentioned (Otto?)
> along the way whilst discussing that "quote" from The
> Gospel of Thomas in GR.  Maybe see as well ...
>

This is correct. I've said that the way Pynchon describes WW-2 soldiers
reminds me more of descriptions of the Vietnam War (sex and drugs):

"Dear Mom. I put a couple of people in Hell today. ." (537)

Weisenburger, p. 233
Fowler, p. 211

http://www.ottosell.de/pynchon/gr53.htm

Otto