Jeshimon, Dualism, Zen Anarchy

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

            Joseph T :
            First wanted to respond to robin's contention that 
            the killing of  Webb and the Jeshimon scene are 
            not purely a Christian archetype. . . .

At some level, Pynchon is not at all a Christian, at another he is the purest of 
Christians. I would have to gather that Pynchon has more than merely "dabbled" 
in the Occult, that he's an absolute Maven, surrounded by his own extensively 
annotated Grimoires, fully prepared to spew forth the most Lovecraftian of 
tales. And you don't get there without getting your hands dirty (metaphorically 
speaking, of course---generally the hardest cleaning chore is dealing with all 
the ash your "sacred" incense left behind). On the other hand, it is absolutely 
crucial to remember that Pynchon is first and foremost a Satirist. Therefore we 
are obliged to seek out the sounds of mimicry of well-known figures, the 
repeated portrayals of injustice---followed by brief bursts of comic 
(Saturnalian)moments of justice and freedom, a mode of discourse that sprang 
forth from the doggedness, the sheer cussedness of those from whom 
"Christianity" was spawned. The Jeshimon scene goes well out of its way to 
portray modern Christian Fundamentalism as as Hell on Earth---The Waste 
Lands. And then the author swiftly scoots us across the ocean to the decadent 
dwelling place of the Great Beast. 

While it is most probable that I am reading the same book as the rest of you, it 
is also likely that I live in another---adjacent---Universe.