Hopeless Holocaust

[Mark Wright AIA]

Howdy all,
I think (FWIW) that Pynchon intended to foster complex non-standard
moral judgements in his readers. Few subjects trigger more
straightforward, and more broadly shared, moral conclusions as the
Holocaust. Auschwitz is absolute, and trumps — always. IMO it was a
sound artistic choice for P to treat the Holocaust by reference,
inflection, infusion, and indirection. The Holocaust is there in the
story and the text, but it is treated in a way that illuminates the
moral complexities of our civilization for an informed adult reader.

Fewer and fewer of us share the basic data about the military and about
WWII that was common in the 1960's and early '70s, which is one reason
why Weisenburger is so helpful. We are not "informed" in quite the same
way that P could count upon in 1973. Cervantes, muttering up there in
the chilly pantheon, also curses our ignorance.

other issue:
I can't find the reference, alas, but I believe that the V-2 engine
fired for about 30 seconds. (I used to know these things...)

Mrk


		
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