ATDDTA(10) A Screaming Comes Across The Creek [294-295]

[Paul Mackin]

On Jun 8, 2007, at 2:51 PM, Ya Sam wrote:

>>
>> Just imho,  Pynchon jokes *just a bit* too much about Finns.
>
> Bekah, to tell the truth, his jokes are too much about every  
> nationality (especially Americans!). Finns dance in skis, Japanese  
> take photographs, Russians out of the blue start dancing kazachok,  
> Brits keep saying 'oh dear' (not to mention the description of the  
> full English breakfast), Belgians extoll the virtues of mayonnaise  
> etc. Pynchon consciously uses these stereotypes and piles them one  
> after another to make the reader aware of the narrow-mindedness of  
> those taking these received ideas for granted.


Forgive me but doesn't this makes it sound like the author is writing  
instructive stories to aid in the socialization of school children?

I don't say that the motivation you assign to the author never applies.

However a bigger factor I feel is that literary authors don't and  
shouldn't get judged based on their display of good taste

Pynchon no doubt thinks that Finns who leave their skiis on at the  
dance are very funny.

Also upper class English homosexuals camp-following Oscar Wilde to  
America.

Comedy can be cruel and life unfair.

Pynchon is not for the squeamish.

Also, Pynchon (or his character creations) can be a bit snobbish.

Tourists with Brownies ruining Kit's exotic travel experience or  
Dally's discovery of the Left Bank.

But, yes, the Finn thing is overdone.









> Your response is exactly he aims at eliciting: 'What, drunk Finns  
> and in skis to boot, that's absolutely bad taste!' Yes, it is. And  
> on purpose. I know that not all Finns are like this, so maybe not  
> all Japanese make a point of photographing any incident that  
> catches their attention while abroad and not all Brits guzzle down  
> full breakfast with ecstatic gusto, and not all Tuva people  
> practice throat singing. This strategy harks back to the  
> stereotyping of the Columbian Exposition and it works just fine.
>
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