IVIV amethyst is resilient. There is too much kindness in the room all of a sudden.

[Joseph Tracy]

I guess I don't see every instance of positive transformation or even  
love-begotten redemption as sentimental b.s. Far from it;  I have  
witnessed first-hand some amazing  transformations, including drug  
addicts and their families. I think Pynchon's writings have too  
scrupulously avoided this kind of thing, which is neither common nor  
uncommon and should not be too easily dismissed as sentimental  
nonsense. I see a nod here to the work of what  the self-titled  
Apostle Paul( one of my least favorite spiritual writers) calls the  
law, which he describes as a schoolmaster to bring one to faith. The  
idea, which goes beyond the Christian fundamentalist dogma, is fairly  
universal and can be found from Confucius to Buddha to Islam, from  
left to right, from secular to sacred traditions. The idea is that  
one learns meaningful and universal values (essentially do unto  
others, mercy, patience, cooperation,...) as the social norms of  
family, community, faith group) and when one transgresses or gets  
caught  in an addiction or other habit that is destructive there is  
some kind of ritual process( usually a symbolic death and rebirth)   
by which the individual breaks free and resumes a healthier life.  
Sometimes in the life of an individual that can take the form of a  
religious experience, a healing relationship,  an intellectual  
epiphany, etc.  In this case a relationship tied to addiction is  
transformed by death.   Coy, The lawbreaker becomes the law enforcer.  
sometimes the path to sanity lies through a kind of fundamentalism  
that establishes a moral strength and foundation that is desperately  
needed. As most will agree this kind of thing can be a trap where the  
new moral code and associated beliefs simply lead to new forms of  
destructiveness, but sometimes it is a springboard to a  healthy life  
where love is more than sentiment.  Coy uses the law enforcement gig  
to beak his heroin addiction but quickly sees  that the legalists are  
not to be trusted.


On Sep 6, 2009, at 1:37 AM, Otto wrote:

> You mean this? That's glossy?
>
> "Bright-eyed and ready to rock 'n' roll, she bore little resemblance
> to the junkie baby in the Polaroids. Whatever dismal fate had been
> waiting to jump her must've had a short attention span and turned
> aside and gone after someone else." (39)
>
>
> 2009/9/6 rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>:
>> ditto. that whole scenario is so schmaltzy as is Doc's parents
>> mindbarf
>> makes one pine for the anubis and pointsman's spermy bed
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Sep 5, 2009 at 5:00 PM, <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
>>> Pynchon kind of glosses over the damaging effects of the heroin  
>>> Amethyst has been exposed to in utero and as a young, addicted  
>>> infant.  I found the description of her baby pictures pretty  
>>> disturbing.  This isn't a moral issue, it's a physical and mental  
>>> health issue.  Hope, Coy and Amethyst as a family unit isn't a  
>>> very appetizing picture.  TRP clearly knows how fucked up  
>>> families can be, and that fucked up families have to be accepted  
>>> and forgiven, but he still goes overboard in sentimentalizing  
>>> this particular little family, IMO.
>>>
>>> Laura
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com>
>>>> Sent: Sep 5, 2009 12:49 PM
>>>> To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>>>> Subject: IVIV amethyst is resilient. There is too much kindness  
>>>> in the room all of a sudden.
>>>>
>>>> Hope, symbolic name for the mother of the child in the book,  
>>>> yes, asks about Shasta's relationship to Doc. He's touchy;  
>>>> projects jealousy?
>>>>
>>>> Amethyst looks great, not like her baby picture. Sits up as if a  
>>>> grown-up would tell her a story (another internal metaphor for  
>>>> what the narrator does, ala Tore's argument for rooms bigger  
>>>> inside [like the many-mansioned house of fiction]?
>>>>
>>>> But, she doesn't get her story. This is when the room was filled  
>>>> with too much kindness and Doc had learned that "kindness  
>>>> without a price tag came along only rarely, and when it did was  
>>>> usually too precious to accept".
>>>>
>>>> Without abusing it, which Doc 'was bound to"....Why?
>>>>
>>>> If Doc is the hippie of good will Everyman, why does TRP give  
>>>> him this aspect, this lack of character? Part, along with the  
>>>> entry of heroin, of the inherent vice of hippies (in  
>>>> gneral)....Bound to abuse the kindness shown them?
>>>>
>>>> Or is Doc "unreliable" here?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>