AtD, naming

[David Payne]

So it seems to me (a *little* knowledge being dangerous and all) that Turner's Thesis is essentially the Christian Creation myth retold: the white men (god) creating civilization from the void, with mapping as a metaphor for letting there be light.

But when Pynchon tackles these same concerns about the creation of America, he sees something a more sinister, a darker creation wrenched forth by "the meeting point between savagery and civilization" (Turner's words)--a more nuanced vision, a Gnostic geography.

So when Pynchon describes areas as "mapless" or speaks of "secular geography" and "clock time", there's this tension between the named and the void, and, a-and ... well, what exactly is salvation for a Gnostic? 

* Bryan mentioned death and space travel which seems rather bleak and, in turn, optimistic.

* Philip K. Dick had some odd notions that I couldn't quite grasp (ought one really wait for a pizza delivery by a woman wearing a fish necklace to somehow cause a satellite to spray down a pink light thereby revealing, without actually releasing, the True struggle, or did I take that a bit too literally?).

* Certain Gnostics, I understand, had the somewhat wonderful sounding salvation-through-sin methodology (since the world is evil, your body is evil, therefore, you should treat it in the most nasty manner possible, heh heh).

* Could one simply sail above it all, Chums of Chance?

Were the Gnostics simply too nuanced for a "Hey Guys! [ear-stabbing cab-calling whistle] Over here! Here's the path to salvation!" mentality? Or have I simply missed their route outta this here evil creation that imprisons us all (ie, the Gnostic-earth, not the pynchon-l) (last week's movie-ticket-sales numbers aside)?

Thank you, BTW, Bryan for the Gnostic Pynchon recommendation--I will definitely check that out, and thank you David for the http://www.abebooks.com/ tip. Mayhaps all will be revealed there, in time.

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"And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy *name*, am the God of Israel." -- Isaiah 45:3 (KJV)
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