IVIV Doc/Zoyd, VL

[Robin Landseadel]

On Aug 22, 2009, at 9:10 AM, Doug Millison wrote:

> is there a middle position worth holding vis-a-vis Pynchon?

Well of course there is . I see Zoyd, Slothrop, Doc & Kit as self- 
parodies on a certain level, all reminiscent of Nick Drake's "Poor Boy":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEC_bzJv54U

. . . I see Hector's & Zoyd's tubalholism as a parody worth rendering  
and obviously meaningful to the text as a whole. I can see Pynchon  
demonstrating the failure of 60's movements in part through the  
passive posture of Zoyd and his ilk, but much more so in Frenesi.

What I don't see is Zoyd's job is as a snitch, because he isn't a  
snitch. The author makes a particular point about Zoyd holding to that  
preterite code, extending that concept into Frenesi's family history,  
and much further on in Webb Traverse's tale. .Whatever else may or may  
not be wrong with Zoyd, being a snitch is not one of them.  Alice  
makes an absolute mis-reading here. He's getting us to ask the wrong  
questions, leading to predictable results.