CH. 4 summary and notes

[Joseph Tracy]

Tracy summary CH 4

 We follow S to current rocket site in Greenwich then into his and Tantivy's memories  with Tantivy interested in S's sex life,  we visit bits of S memories of English women and find he tells them about fireflies, which they have never seen. S is largely focused on and literally chilled by the idea of a silent V2 with his name on it.  He recalls his recovery of young girl from rubble who asked for gum and smiled. He thinks of his death by rocket as 4 years overdue, as the apocalyptic judgement of the WORD, each strike a sermon on vanity, the final word on every collection of human architecture, flesh and possessions.. He recalls how first strike  which he was close to  caused an erection.
	( historical wiki:It took a long time for the British intelligence services to understand the nature of the threat from the new weapons developed in Peenemünde. The most clearsighted was Doctor R. V. Jones, who, on 16th June 1943, identified a rocket on an aerial photo of Peenemünde.)(One Gehlert launching pad was completely destroyed on December 18 when a rocket fell back onto the pad and the warhead exploded. There were at least 5-6 launching points at Gehlert, only one point can be plainly seen today. )(September 8, 1944  V-2 rockets were first launched against London by Germany.)  

 This memory of erection also triggers a meditation on family history as recorded  on gravestones. We find  that  Slothrop's Puritan ancestors did not move west  with capitalist opportunities but stayed in the Berkshires(MA) and despite early promise watched their fortunes and investments dwindle though never to zero.  He remembers a night in Lenox when local Hotel burned and filled spring sky with embers( reminiscent of fireflies?northern lights  but also God's judgement) He is about to be sent from Achtung to P.W.E. ( Political Warfare  Executive) Leave chapter with connection between church spires and rockets ready for launching.

Notes:    The chapter makes a powerful connection between sex,( the hunger for life and continuity and physical comfort/ pleasure/ecstasy) and death.( If evolution has a progressive quality towards self awarness and memory, death is essential to that process, the individual life is lost for the strength and survivability of the species)  We see that  Slothrop's sexual appetite is countered by and aggravated by death’s inevitability. His ancestors' gravestones' take on a weirdly comic tone even as his sense of dread and inevitable judgement grows .  The use of Emiy Dickinsons strange death comedies reinforce this paradox.I live in Vermont but was born and lived many years on the west coast. The tone of the gravestones is very accurate for New England. 

His memories also make a family connection between shit, money, and The Word. 

The image of chuch spires as rockets is potent. It seems to contain the idea of launching the individual toward immortality through a phalllic form of worship. The notion is deeply patriarchal and  in the chapter sits at odds with Slothrop’s uncontrolled imagination of English women. The guidance system, the control mechanism becomes critical to this mindset. The ultimate objective is to defy gravity completely, the idea being to escape this world, to evade slippage, collapse, falling, death, returning to zero. There is the sense here that Slothrop isn’t sure he is buying any version of this dream; all around him  what went up is coming down with a vengeance.


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