VLVL: What troubles Zoyd's sleep?

dedalus204 at comcast.net dedalus204 at comcast.net
Mon Sep 22 08:53:44 CDT 2003


No, Terrance.  Your original assertion was this:

> > If the vast majority of readers agree that Brock is a very bad guy,
> > isn't it likely that Pynchon created a bad guy in Brock Vond?

http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0309&msg=85796&sort=date

I am saying that there is an inherent lack of logic in that statement, since 
you are essentially saying: If the vast majority of readers agree that a 
character is a very bad guy, isn't it likely that the author created a bad guy 
in that character?

The use of Macbeth is only an example of using another literary character to 
plug into your statement to see if it indeed is valid.  I am trying to 
determine if your statement is correct.  I am not suggesting a comparison b/t 
BV and Macbeth; I am merely trying to test the logic of your statement.

> > 
> > I will.  If at some point in the reading you discover inherent logic in your
> > original assertion, please let us know.
> 
> What assertion? 
> 
> BV is not a tragic figure. He's not a protagonist in one of
> Shakespeare's plays or in any tragedy. I've no idea why one would
> compare BV and Macbeth in terms of tragedy. 
> Are you saying that VL is a tragedy and BV is its tragic figure? 
> You said that a tragic figure is not all bad and must have some good in
> him. That may be true depending on your definition of tragic figure. But
> maybe what you have in mind is allegory. Is BV an allegorical figure? Is
> he, as DL says, bad & shit?



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