VLVL2 (14): Brock and Zoyd (pp. 298 - 302) -- Part 1

[Tim Strzechowski]

Rich in ironic subtleties and Pynchonesque wordplay, the conversation between Brock Vond and Zoyd Wheeler provides powerful characterization in numerous ways.  Beginning with the gnathic index passage, Zoyd is animalized while Brock's portrayal is paralleled to a scientist or slave trader, all of which is heightened by Zoyd's reaction ("Oh, w'll hell, why'n't you say so," followed by full compliance with a smart-ass remark).  This passage not only establishes the powerful vs. powerless dichotomy that is a trademark of Pynchon's fiction, but will develop further in the conversation these two characterizations.

Sprinkled throughout the conversation is Brock's use of "hm?" (a verbal tick that, in essence, is a question equivalent to asking for agreement or compliance), and it's first use in the conversation is when Brock says, "[M]aybe you've spent too much time in the infant world, hm? gotten more comfortable there, maybe this will have to be simplified for you" (298).  Ironic not only for the fact that simplification must come as a result of having been in the "infant world," it also juxtaposes Zoyd's having actually been in the world of an infant (i.e., fathering Prairie) with Brock's notion of the "infant world" (i.e., the world of irresponsibility, characterized by "squalid surroundings, drug abuse, irregular work hours, and undesirable companions" [301]).

For those perhaps following Terrance's "VL is about WORK" reading, it is interesting to note as well Brock's us of terminology when he tells Zoyd that "[Frenesi's] not your business anymore" (298).  Make of it what you will.

The long paragraph that begins at the bottom of p. 298 provides as much insight into Brock as it does Zoyd, from whose point-of-view it is given.  We learn that this is the first time Zoyd has actually seen Brock (299.3) and that he is a Scorpio, setting up a free-associative comparison between Brock and the various "self-destructive maniacs" Zoyd has known over the years, people who have a superficial "good grip on the world" but have a "terrible about-to-burst latency" beneath. During it all, however, we witness Zoyd's ability at remaining cagey in the presence of who he refers to at turns as "the narc," "Loverboy," "the Prosecutor," and even "Mister Professional."

When Brock offers Zoyd the "whiteguy smokes" (and I'm not exactly certain what that means; as opposed to reefer?  what?  And why "whiteguy"?) we are again witness to Brock's "righteousness" as he seemingly forgets the "subclause of the Gentleman's Code" and offers them a bit too noticeably late, adding to the subtlety of the powerful vs. powerless situation.


to be continued . . .
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