The Fall of the House of Labor AtD.93 Republicans?

[Carvill John]

Yes yes. BUt my question, which had a fairly narrow focus, was 'what about the very obvious, specific Bush references?' We can read the Jeshimon Governor passage a number of ways, because we can always read anything a number of ways, but there is no getting away from teh fact that it is (or very much seems to be) a straight-ahead piss-take of Dubya Bush.  We know Pynchon has a history of criticising the failings of the Left as well as the evils of the Right, and ATD is a vast complex work, we know all that. But it's hard to see a viable argument that holds the Jeshimon passage to not be an attack on Bush. I'm not saying one can't be found, just that I can't see one, and I'd be interested to hear one, but I haven't heard one yet either.


Something like the section depicting the aftermath of the escape of the 'Odalisque of the snows' creature, and its relationship with the events of September 11th, calls for a much more complex discussion, although it too has obvious contemporary overtones. But it's hard to find such ambiguities in the Jeshimon Governor section. It's a while since I read it, I grant you that of course, but I really cannot see it any other way than the obvious one, even if I try.
  

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> Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2009 07:59:18 -0400
> Subject: Re: The Fall of the House of Labor AtD.93 Republicans?
> From: michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com
> To: pynchon-l at waste.org
>
> alice wellintown wrote:
>> I've dismissed Robin's reading of the passage for a very obvious
>> reason; Webb is pissed off at the Rupublicans, and specifically the
>> Republican Radicals because he believes, and he is right, he has been
>> betrayed by them.
>
> and, even more poignantly, the ex-slaves in the South were betrayed by
> them also.
> Pointers to readings on this I found in a novel called "Pushkin and
> the Ace of Spades"
> (but haven't actually read) but the author mentions the heartache reading
> of earnest black officeseekers turned back
> by various means, all foul...for instance in a nearby town here in Florida,
> officials deannexed part of a city to divest a black councilman...in
> the 20th century...
>

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