MMV

[Otto]

Has anybody access to
www.highbeam.com  ?

"Thomas Pynchon's "Mortality and Mercy in Vienna" ends with the aptly named
Irving Loon gunning down unsuspecting victims at a Washington party. Cleanth
Siegel, the protagonist, anticipates this brutal attack but fails to warn
the other guests. Instead, he walks blithely out of the apartment
"whistling," good-naturedly sealing the fate of those who remain behind
(201). Siegel's reaction to the massacre is as disturbing as his refusal to
stop it: "At the first floor landing," Siegel "heard the first screams, the
pounding of footsteps, the smashing of glass. He shrugged" (201). ..."

Giving Destruction a Name and a Face: Thomas Pynchon's "Mortality and Mercy
in Vienna".(Critical Essay)
Studies in Short Fiction; January 1, 1998; King, Vincent
http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc1.asp?DOCID=1G1:74440216&num=2

Lot of Critique-articles on that website.