Thomas Pynchon's schlmiels

[kelber at mindspring.com]

Doc's a hero in the sense of "the hero of our tale" and in the sense of his being on a quest (first for Shasta, then for the Golden Fang).  I agree, though, he's no schlemiel (the classic definition being:  a schlemiel is a person who spills his soup, and the schlimazl is the person he spills it on).  He's way too competent at everything he does.  Profane has more of the loser about him, making him more the schlemiel.  Slothrop's  competent, but he does a good job of hiding it (his costume choices are way more out there than Doc's).

Laura

-----Original Message-----
>From: Don Antenen <dantenen at yahoo.com>
>
>>"Profane was just the first in a line of schlmiel heroes of Pynchons,
>>heroes who, I think, are self-portraits. Not every book has one, but
>>most do. Tyrone Slothrop of Gravity’s Rainbow; Zoyd Wheeler of
>>Vineland; and now Doc Sportello of Inherent Vice."
>
>
>Sportello is neither a hero (hero to whom?) nor a schlemiel.  Sportello is a stoner, but he is no schlemiel.
>
>all the best,
>Don