ATDDTA(11) Webb Tommyknocker [316]

[Henry]

I wonder if Pynchon's devoting a few pages to tommyknockers is, in part, a
shot at, or props or just a neutral reference to the Stephen King book, The
Tommyknockers, given King's whining about King's not being taken seriously,
(as opposed to less pop(ular) writers such as TRP) by critics and awards
committees.

Henry M 
http://www.urdomain.us/scuffling.htm 


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On Behalf
Of Keith
Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2007 11:13 PM
To: Masochistic Devotees
Subject: ATDDTA(11) Webb Tommyknocker [316]

On this page, the "hammering up and down the valley"..."the bone-deep  
voice of retribution long in coming" ties Webb to the activities of  
the Tommyknockers who were known for their knocking sounds and who  
were believed to be the ghosts of dead miners. Our narrator calls  
Frank's ghostly skepticism "hardheaded" and presents the chidings of  
the ghosts from a narratorial perspective rather than Frank's. And,  
while there was some ambiguity perhaps about whether Webb was fully  
dead when Reef was toting his corpse to Telluride, this passage  
presents an even more detailed father-son conversation at graveside.  
No reason to assume the Reefian dialogue was anything more than the  
same father-son ghost talk.