CH 15 the hard on

[Joseph Tracy]

Nice to have a couple extra days, since I have been busy turning my  
large crop of Cabbage into enough sauerkraut supply Fenway Park for a  
day, and  also finishing up a private commission. Last night I reread  
up to halfway through 18 as all that was getting dim in my   
shortening  midterm memory, or my middling short term memory. But  
hey, we pile up the memories and then what ?  When do we start using  
them to make a few changes around here? Here meaning this beautiful  
planet which once teamed with life and now teams with collected and  
discarded piles  of human "wealth" and memorabilia?.

Coming back to Doc and Shasta, and in some sense, all  love/sex/ 
marriage relationships of IV which taken in total offer a pretty  
broad look at the whole relationship spectrum  for such a short book,  
I feel that Pynchon is particularly exploring the role of fiction/ 
fantasy in these relationships and working hard to squeeze insight  
out of that exploration. The particular fictions touched on have  to  
do with 1)pornography and prostitution  2) old lady, old man semi  
committed  arrangements 3) fantasy of various kinds 4) marriage from  
ownership to economic arrangement to soul mates.     Course it all  
mixes and overlaps, and while relationships are all to some degree  
fictions we tell ourselves, they also become the daily stuff of life.
I see Pynchon making a strong connection between pornography,  and  
violence/exploitation.  He is using this in a way that borders on or  
engages in  exploitation and pornography on his part, but also has  
powerful elements of descriptive honesty. (And how accurate can you  
be about sex without being prurient and exploitiive.?). Examples of  
porn to violence: Mickey and his ties/ women, The pornographer who is  
AP's first job as a hit man, Doc's sexual fantasies about Manson and  
his acolytes, the broader cultural fantasies about Manson, Trillium's  
hardcore relationship with Puck leading to violence, Shasta's  
willingness to cater to fantasies leading to abduction,  Doc Mickey  
and Sloane's use of Luz and her fantasy of ascent through catering to  
hardcore sex, Blatnoyd and Japonica Fenway . So while it seems at  
first glance the topic is being treated lightly and with humor and  
catering to male fantasy , it is hard not to see a a very dark  
undertone to the shenanigans.

There is also a pornographic element to the recruitment of agents,  
criminals, hired killers  and cops. The promise of indulging in a  
secret life outside the boundaries of moral limits.







On Nov 21, 2009, at 9:54 AM, Dave Monroe wrote:

> Do keep in mind, everybody, that, figuring we'd lose a day or two to
> the holiday (and of course the Internet IS American territory,
> right?), I didn't schedule a new chapter 'til the week AFTER, so,
> Joseph, sorry, negelected to note, take yr time, and everybody else,
> take the opportunity to catch up--which is what I'm gonna hafta
> do--reflect, whatever.  Thanks!
>
> Of course, I don't think anybody'd mind if we hit the ground running
> on the next chapter after the holiday, either.  Or waited 'til after
> the weekend.  Either/or.  Both/and.  Thanks again!
>
> On Sun, Nov 8, 2009 at 3:15 PM, Dave Monroe  
> <against.the.dave at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>> Ch. 15, pp. 256-274 -- 11/16 - 11/25/09 -- Joseph T.
>>> Thanksgiving break -- 11/26 - 11/29
>>> Ch. 16, pp. 275-295 -- 11/30 - 12/06/09 -- Mark K.
>>> Ch. 17, pp. 296-314 -- 12/07 - 12/13/09 -- Rich R.
>>> Ch. 18, pp. 315-342 -- 12/14 - 12/23/09 -- Rich R.
>>> Christmas + New Year's Break -- 12/24/09 - 1/03/10
>>> Ch. 19, pp. 343-350 -- 1/04/10 - 1/10/10 -- Bekah
>>> Ch. 20, pp. 351-363 -- 1/11/10 - 1/17/10 -- Paul N.
>>> Ch. 21, pp. 364-369 -- 1/19/10 - ... --Paul N.
>>> Outro ...