Fw: RE: ATDTDA (33) - p. 921-2 - anarchism

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Jill, I don't think we should worry about spoilers either, at this point.  Spoil away!  Which pages are you referring to?

Ewball/Pynchon make the point that while anarchists may be opposed to all forms of government, that doesn't mean that they're opposed to rules.  Ewball's laying out an anarchist's moral code.  Other's have disagreed with this, but I think Pynchon regards Webb Traverse as a solid (if flawed) good-guy -- the fact that he's blowing up train tracks instead of trains is evidence of that.  Good anarchists abide by Ewball's code: slaughter the guilty, not the innocent.  By not slaughtering Scarsdale Vibe, the Traverse sons may or may not be good, but they're not anarchists.

Laura

-----Original Message-----
>From: "grladams at teleport.com" <grladams at teleport.com>

>
>Is this Pynchon'€™s opinion? 
>I think this is the question in every book. Is Pynchon siding with the
>subversive rebel elements or does he just describe them really well? Would
>Pynchon's acquaintance with heresy have anything to do with an answer? As a
>side note, Lovecraft scholars gathered a lot of biographical details on
>him. In the intro to Mountains of Madness facts I read pointed to his real
>fear of a mass revolution, a fondness for a prim order. I think that
>Pynchon has a bit of this in him too! I am basing this idea on pages in the
>future. If spoilers were allowed, (and they should be at this point) I'd
>type it out.
>Reading her post again, I may need to fine tune. Does Pynchon think that
>revolutionaries should be professional about subverting? Then YES I do
>think this is one of his opinions.
>Jill
>
>Laura writes:
>
>Ewball gives his take on anarchists and their reputation as bomb-chuckers:
>
>"'There's plenty of folks who deserve to be blown up, to be sure,' opined
>>Ewball, 'but they've got to be gone after in a professional way, anything
>>else is being just like them, slaughterin the innocent, when what we need
>>is more slaughterin of the guilty.  Who gave the orders, who carried 'em
>>out, exact names and whereabouts – and then go get 'em.  That'd be just
>>honest soldiering.'"
>>
>>Is this Pynchon’s opinion?  I think it is, personally.  At least it's an
>>attitude that he has some sympathy for.  
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Ewball continues:
>>
>>"' … the real nihilists are working for the owners, 'cause it's them that
>>don't believe in shit, our dead to them are nothing but dead, just one more
>>Bloody Shirt to wave at us, keep us doin what they want, but our dead never
>>stopped belonging to us, they haunt us every day, don't you see, and we got
>>to stay true, they wouldn't forgive us if we wandered off the trail.'"
>>
>>This really gets to Frank.  It's been six years since he shot Sloat, and
>>Deuce, Vibe and Lake (whom Frank considers a collaborator) are still out
>>there.  He *has* wandered off the trail.
>>
>>
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