You never did the Kenosha Kid?

[jbor at bigpond.com]

And it just occurred to me that Pynchon might have been familiar with 
the exact same experience you report -- one of the few biographical 
tidbits that has emerged over the years (I think it was in the Jules 
Siegel Playboy article) is that Pynchon had extensive dental work done 
back in the '60s to "fix" or straighten those buck teeth. So, a 
first-hand experience transformed? Life meets art? I wonder ...

best

On 03/09/2005, at 9:16 AM, jbor at bigpond.com wrote:

> Thanks for the clarification. In the case you mention the drug was 
> being used as a local anaesthetic but it had the side effect of making 
> you spill your guts (and don't you just hate it when dentists ask you 
> a question when they've got your mouth crammed full of cotton wool and 
> cold shiny pointy things.) But in the episode in GR I think the 
> doctors are actually using it solely for the latter purpose.
>
> It seems that it has something to do with the dosage as well, as a 
> couple of other people have mentioned. Pynchon is very precise about 
> that aspect also: "20% Sodium Amytal, one cc at a time, as needed." 
> (p. 61) I read this to say that the doctors will keep on pumping in 
> the serum in very small, measured amounts until it has gotten him to 
> the point where he is at his most ... accommodating? ... suggestible? 
> Note also that there is a time delay between when he is injected 
> (Variation 4 on p. 61) and when they start asking him questions (p. 
> 62).
>
> I think that now we've worked out what is going at the start of the 
> scene (and I'm going to stick to my guns on the point about Slothrop 
> deliberately resisting the experiment by fixating on, or immersing his 
> mind in, a fictional scenario and related linguistic complications), 
> it might be worthwhile having another look at the actual 
> hallucination/confession which emerges (pp. 62-71). If the beginning 
> of the scene is a representation of what is going on in Slothrop's 
> mind, at the top of p. 62 Pynchon uses script format to indicate the 
> start of a dialogue between the PISCES interrogator and Slothrop. I 
> think from that point on Slothrop is talking, but I think your 
> experience at the dentist, when you were speaking but had little if 
> any control over what you were saying, and no memory of having said 
> anything, is precisely what Pynchon is representing in the remainder 
> of the episode.
>
> best
>
> On 03/09/2005, at 2:36 AM, kelber at mindspring.com wrote:
>
>> Years ago, after graduating from college, I had my wisdom teeth 
>> pulled. The dentist gave me an injection of what he called "truth 
>> serum," which I assumed  to be sodium pentathol.  He gave me the 
>> injection and I asked him how long it would take and he told me it 
>> had already happened.  I thought he was kidding, until I noticed my 
>> mouth was stuffed full of bloody cotton.  There was absolutely no 
>> sensation of grogginess or falling asleep.  From my point of view it 
>> had been instantaneous.  But the dentist knew all about my career 
>> goals, concerns, etc.  Apparently I had discussed the whole thing 
>> very coherently while I was under.  I don't know whether it was 
>> prompted by questions from the dentist, or if I was just spilling my 
>> guts.  My guess is that the drug I got was similar, if not identical 
>> to what Slothrop got.  It doesn't necessarily mean that my experience 
>> of instantaneousness is typical or that Pynchon was familiar with 
>> this type of experience.
>>