COL49 - Chap 1: Oedipa says no to drugs

[Heikki Raudaskoski]

A Goldwater sweatshirt will surface later in the text... Nevertheless,
"Sick Dick" refers very possibly to Nixon too. Also to a certain Mr
Wharfinger - and the title of their song, besides the Beatles, to a
play within TCoL49. (Don't want to spoil more than is necessary...)
Now that I think of it, the "Volkswagens" bit could make it refer to
Wagner too, what with the Wagnerian reference in the very name "Oed".

[But the Wake isn't over yet. Did eight three-page stints yesterday,
and more are to come tonight.]


Heikki

On Mon, 4 May 2009 kelber at mindspring.com wrote:

> Of course Goldwater was the big bogeyman (in my house, anyway), but was Nixon completely off the public radar?  Chapter 2 starts out with a jokey reference to a Beatles analog:  Sick Dick and the Volkswagens.  I've tried to find the source of Nixon's "Tricky Dick" nickname.  At least one source dated it back to the McCarthy hearings.
> There's no way Pynchon could have known, at the time he was writing this book, of the path Nixon's career would take, but is this possibly a reference to the old Trickster?
>
> Laura
>
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Bekah <Bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net>
> >Sent: May 4, 2009 10:23 AM
> >To: Bekah <Bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net>
> >Cc: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>, rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>
> >Subject: Re: COL49 - Chap 1: Oedipa says no to drugs
> >
> >What this means is that in the 60s of COL49,  the Republicans were
> >basically the "outs" and the Democrats the "ins."   I remember those
> >good days - except for the Vietnam war - which Pynchon doesn't seem
> >to get into much.   1964 or so it wasn't such a big deal as it became
> >after 1965 - when the baby boomers started getting drafted.
> >
> >Bekah
> >
> >
> >On May 4, 2009, at 6:21 AM, Bekah wrote:
> >
> >> Nixon ran for President in 1960 and lost to Kennedy then he ran for
> >> Governor of California in 1962 and lost to Pat Brown (Jerry's
> >> father).  So he angrily dropped from sight for several years.
> >> Meanwhile,  Goldwater ran for President in 1964, lost but stuck
> >> around in the public eye for a few years.   And  Reagan ran and won
> >> the race for Governor of California in 1966 to start out his
> >> official political career.
> >>
> >> Bekah
> >>
> >>
> >> On May 3, 2009, at 6:45 PM, rich wrote:
> >>
> >>> On Sun, May 3, 2009 at 7:11 PM,  <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Robin's described Oedipa and Mucho as affluent Young
> >>>> Republicans.  Are we absolutely certain she would have been a
> >>>> Nixon supporter?
> >>> _______
> >>> being the mid-60s wouldn't Barry Goldwater been more of a presence
> >>> than Nixon w/i Republican circles?
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>> Oedipa wants OUT.  Hilarius wants IN.  No wonder she says no.
> >>>> Had it been some hedonistic offering at a party, or by Metzger in
> >>>> the motel room, she might well have said yes.  It's the invasion
> >>>> she doesn't like.  Hilarius is part of THEM.
> >>>>
> >>>> Laura
> >>> _____
> >>> every time I hear the name Metzger I think of the white supremicist
> >>> Tom Metzger who strangely enough was living in Southern Cal in the
> >>> mid
> >>> 60s and working in electronics in the defense industry--though he
> >>> wouldn't make his name until later decades w/ the KKK and the white
> >>> aryan resistance and thus just one of those kute correspondences I
> >>> suppose--he'd fit right in Lot 49
> >>>
> >>> rich
> >>>
> >>> rich
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >
>