A digression...

[Tore Rye Andersen]

>...given the context, the similarity of usage (world of/another
>lifetime), the pop/counter -cultural strand in Vineland, the many 60s
>rock icons named in Vineland and notable absence of an explicit Dylan
>reference, we might take a guess that [the reference to "toil and blood"] 
>is a sly nod to Dylan on
>Pynchon's part.

On the other hand, Vineland is about so much more than the 60s. The 60s and 
the 80s are the key chronological settings of the book, but Vineland is as 
much about the persistance over time of certain lamentable phenomena (viz. 
the similarities between the suppression of the Wobblies in the 30s, the 
"communists" in Hollywood in the 50s, and the youth rebellion of the 60s). 
So there certainly is a pop-/counter-cultural strand in Vineland (and the 
"toil and blood" may well be a reference to Dylan), but there's also a 
strand of references to earlier historical figures such as Emerson, and in 
this more historical perspective the "toil and blood"- reference may just as 
easily be regarded as a reference to John Adams or the first American 
national anthem, hinting at the sorry demise of the original American 
promise. I guess I'm with Joe here: Short of concrete evidence (like a 
snapshot of Pynchon reading John Adams' letters, or a tape-recording of him 
singing "Hail, Columbia!" or "Shelter From the Storm") we'll have to 
consider all these possible references as equally likely or unlikely.

Best,

Tore

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