Zoyd

[John Carvill]

> Again, we want to love Zoyd for a number of reasons including, he

One of the main reasons is that he is portrayed sympathetically, and
likeably. A simple statement, I know, but sometimes you don't need a
theory to explain something.

> appears to be the protagonist and the novel is structured to suck us
> into reading him as the protagonist. But he's not. It's not Zoyd's
> story. We want to like him because he makes us feel good, we laugh at
> and with him. But he's not an American  wandering Jew Schlemiel, but a
> TV version of the tradition. He is constructed as the wanderlust
> figure; he doesn't have a union card;---remember the Traverse Family
> only tolerates him because of Praire he's a gypsy-roofer

Yes, as Tore already said, he's a bit of a spare Wheeler at the
Traverse family gatherings. He's not exactly excluded, but he's not
quite included either. God knows how many ways you could read that.
Could be just a comment on family dynamics, could be much more.

Once, on p-lists past, I called Pynchon "a Sixties countercultural
figure himself" and someone (can't recall who, not you T because you'd
never have done it so gently) said, ah well now, maybe a better term
would be "an interested observer", which would work for me, and would
also suggest a similarity between Zoyd's relationship with the
Traverse clan (and their politics), and Pynchon's relationship with
The Sixties (and all the socio-political and cultural tumults).

By the way, see how we're still digging into and discussing Vineland?
Lite schmite!