TPPM (9): Pynchon's Klassic Komedy

[Tim Strzechowski]

[...]  But come on, isn't that kind of extreme, death for something as lightweight as Sloth? Sitting there on some medieval death row, going, "So, look, no offense, but what'd they pop you for anyway?"
"Ah, usual story, they came around at the wrong time of day, I end up taking out half of some sheriff's unit with my two-cubit crossbow, firing three-quarter-inch bolts on auto feed. Anger, I guess.... How about you?"
"Um, well ... it wasn't anger...."
"Ha! Another one of these Sloth cases, right?"
". . fact, it wasn't even me."
"Never is, slugger -- say, look, it's almost time for lunch. You wouldn't happen to be a writer, by any chance?"


The set-up for the dialogue itself is classic:

http://www.ojar.com/view_3532.htm

http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/campfire/stunts/sing_sing.htm


This section is another of those Pynchon moments when he draws upon "classic" comedy routines to get his point across (whether those comedy routines are visual or vocal).  In what other ways does Pynchon employ classic comedy set-ups within his writings?
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