Recurring characters

[jbor at bigpond.com]

On 20/09/2006:

> I agree that there are not many similarities between GR's wacky 
> Komical Kamikaze and VL's lean karmic adjustor - heck, they may not 
> even exist on the same ontological level

GR's Takeshi doesn't exist on a stable onlogical level within GR, all 
the more reason to suspect that Pynchon has knowingly had him 
transgress the boundaries of probability in his reccurence in VL.

> (GR's Takeshi may only be a character in a TV show, remember?). 
> However, through that same logic it could be argued that the Pig 
> Bodine of V. and the Pig Bodine of GR are not the same person. The GR 
> Bodine is basically a decent, kind guy - one of the few heroes in GR, 
> in fact - whereas the Bodine of V. is an unsympathetic slob.

Not sure that the Bodines ever mature much, whatever era they appear 
in. Fender-Belly in M&D doesn't seem any more or less considerate than 
either of the other two (which is not to say that any of the 
manifestations of the character are absolutely heartless or villains.)

best

> Whatever happened to Bodine between WWII and 1956? Why has he grown 
> MORE immature? Where is his kindness? Still, noone would argue that 
> they're not in fact the same character.