IV Chapter 17 Thoughts

[rich]

Chapter 17 is a turning point in the novel.  Many things are resolved
or revealed: the Boards are no longer zombies, we find out how and why
Coy joined the Vigilantes, namely because he felt they gave enough of
a shit while his life was at its lowest, to show him aspects of
himself, talents that he would have never discovered on his own, a
talent for acting, going undercover. Only too late does he realize his
mistake and the bad shit he's brought down on himself and those he's
compromised. He's a fake and wants out.
Doc discovers that the reason he is helping Coy is that he cannot
escape, cannot cut loose from the people whom Coy is probably working
for as well--the police, the feds and the Nixonites, the Golden Fang,
and other assorted bad guys (in cahoots, in permutations,
combinations)
Shasta explains why she (and others) are attracted to a powerful man
like Mickey--they love his brutal and aggressive ways, the way he
makes them feel invisible (not a bad thing for her one supposes
considering her fear of becoming another Sharon Tate.
But I think the most important revelation is said by Shasta (she says
she is sorry for zinging him, for being so 'actressy') about Doc, Coy,
and even Mickey to some extent. The fact is that all these men are
acting out some sort of fantasy about being badasses, free from the
straight world, doping, fucking (living off the grid in a sense like
Frenesi) but in actual fact are really just working for the forces of
repression--Doc's cash customers are folks like the developer Crocker
Fenway, Coy is a undercover snitch, and Mickey plays the role of the
reformed bad guy, being ever charitable, giving shit away, living a
hip lifestyle but in the end returning to his old ways with a little
nudge from those bad guys.
It should be noted that Shasta to me is the most interesting character
in the chapter--being an actress one wonders about her motivations and
the like but she is veritably schizo in Chapter 17--coy, honest,
obscene, profound, salacious, angry, scared, annoyed, etc. She's very
mysterious. guess you can't ask for more in a femme fatale.
The last paragraph notes Doc's mind's foolish attempt to find its way
back into some past already gone, but the ever-present surf reminds
him of truths whether he wanted to see them or not.  The truth is
unavoidable and will not be denied.