was Re: VLVL (6) Brock

[jbor]

on 29/9/03 8:43 PM, Otto at ottosell at yahoo.de wrote:

> The dictionary definition leaves out everything that would explain the
> motivation of the hippies or rebel students in the 60's. These are explained
> by the novel quite well on p. 38.18-20:
> 
> "War in Vietnam, murder as an instrument of American politics, black
> neighborhoods torched to ashes and death (...)."

    War in Vietnam, murder as an instrument of American politics, black
    neighborhoods torched to ashes and death, all must have been off on
    some other planet. (38.18-20)

The hippies and/or student radicals in Pynchon's novel aren't motivated by
these things. In fact, what this passage and quote are emphasising is their
unawareness of these things.

> I know a lot
> about the history of the Vietnam war, which has been in fact taken over by
> the USA from the French. Nobody can deny that like nobody can deny that it's
> been a genocide.

Yes, I've read your lop-sided views on this. I disagree strongly with your
contention that South Vietnamese refugees are like escaped Nazis.

> The Sloth-essay calls the
> Reagan-Bush years a semi-fascist time ("not
> far behind"), something the blue-collar workers weren't aware of.

No offence, but it doesn't describe the Reagan-Bush years as a semi-fascist
time, and it doesn't mention blue-collar workers or call them ignorant.
Actually, it's one time when Pynchon does use the word "fascist" correctly.
He describes "the Vietnam era" *and* "the Reagan-Bush years" as "not far
behind" the 20s and 30s "*worldwide* fascist ascendancy" (NB "worldwide").
According to Pynchon, all three are examples of "a failure of public will",
where "the introduction of evil policies and the rise of evil regimes" was
allowed to happen.

    In this century we have come to think of Sloth as primarily
    political, a failure of public will allowing the introduction
    of evil policies and the rise of evil regimes, the worldwide
    fascist ascendancy of the 1920's and 30's being perhaps Sloth's
    finest hour, though the Vietnam era and the Reagan-Bush years
    are not far behind.

http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_essays_sloth.html

The thing that strikes me rereading this essay, apart from the incorporation
of some satirical Ben Franklin stuff left over from _M&D_, is that second
last paragraph where he talks about "the state of our souls". It's not a
conclusive statement of his own beliefs, but it certainly seems to be a
sincere expression of tolerance and respect towards Christian faith.

best