Against the Day/Songs

[Chris Broderick]

Paul sez:

Important so we won't start worrying that Pynchon has
necessarily  
gone religious on us just because he continues (from
GR) to use  
Christian imagery.

So I sez:

I don't think you have anything to worry about.  The
title isn't "The Day Is Nigh", after all.

Then Paul sez:

It is just a missile.  Symbolic not of a vengeful God
but of  
Technology, Death, and  Destruction.

So I say:

I think it's both.  After all, the opening sentence is
"A screaming comes across the sky."  Screaming is a
pretty anthropomorphic verb.  I think that this
tension between some supernatural force that shapes
our ends and an indifferent, spiritless universe is a
major element of all of Pynchon's work, and
particularly GR.  But it's not merely Christian, or
for that matter, monotheist, or even specifically
religious.  But I'd argue that missiles in GR are not
just symbols of technology, death & destruction. 
After all, they give Slothrop hard-ons.

-Chris

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