BtZ42 pages 116-121

[Mark Kohut]

One of my early too-literal, I'm sure, subtext notions was that it was about The English and their stereotypical stiff-upper lip, that is, able to swallow this dreck without admitting its reality. Takes an honest American to speak out. the word bitter appears so often. so, hypocrisy in great comic form. ...among other meanings. 

Sent from my iPad

> On Jun 29, 2016, at 1:23 PM, <kelber at mindspring.com> <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
> 
> Coming right after the Hansel-and-Gretel/Oven/Holocaust connections of the previous section, this section seems to continue the connections, in terms of poisonous candy. Whether the nasty chemicals in the candy are a Holocaust reference (see: Charles Hollander: http://www.ottosell.de/pynchon/jokespuns.htm) or not, there's no escaping the fact that this is one of the funniest sections in the book. 
> 
> More witchery and fairy tale stuff:
> 
> "The old woman's arrangement for getting the pig home over the stile." Weisenberger refers us to The Old Woman and the Crooked Sixpence, via Clouston, and onward, back to the Kabala and the number ten. The fable, recounted, seems to be out wartime bureaucracy, on a superficial level (Slothrop dealing with the bureaucracy of the White Visitation), but it's a gruesome tale of murder and coercion driven by an old woman/witch who's driving a pig along, much as Tyrone's ancestor did.
> 
> "'You came back! Ah, Tyrone, you're back', a tear or two …" Does anyone else read this as a little Wizard-of-Oz-like? Darlene/Dorothy, with her basket, soon to return to the upstairs room of  Mrs. Quoad, the self-described witch.
> 
> This section details the start of Tyrone's paranoia. He senses he's being followed (you kind of wonder why Pointsman and Co. didn't do that immediately, instead of altering the field experiment by putting him in a lab). Whoever's watching gets an instant payoff - erection coincides with V-2. Bingo!
> 
> Laura
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Eileen Pierce 
> >Sent: Jun 28, 2016 6:29 AM
> >To: pynchon -l 
> >Cc: Eileen Pierce 
> >Subject: BtZ42 pages 116-121
> >
> >They’ve cut Slothrop loose again, he wanders, seeking places the followers might not follow. Released from St. Veronica’s, he is reunited with Darlene from St. Veronica's. Then tea and candies with Mrs. Quoad. (Ha!)
> >
> >"The Meggezone is like being belted in the head with a Swiss Alp. Menthol icicles immediately begin to grow from the roof of Slothrop’s mouth. Polar bears seek toenail-holds up the freezing frosty-grape alveolar clusters in his lungs. It hurts his teeth too much to breathe, even through his nose, even necktie loosened, with his nose down inside the neck of his olive-drab T-shirt. Benzoin vapors seep into his brain. His head floats in a halo of ice.” (Wow.)
> >
> >Slothrop in bed with Darlene, “hunting across the zero between waking and sleep”. Mrs. Quoad is in the parlor dreaming of the King’s hand on her neck. (Huh?) Rocket and erection. All the while, watched from behind the orange shade.
> >
> >Thank you p-listers for this fascinating group read. I look forward to reading your thoughts on this section. Enjoy the day! e
> >
> >
> >Eileen Pierce
> >608-512-6451
> >
> >
> >
> >-
> >Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
> - Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l
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