Bleeding Edge, pp. 312-313

[David Morris]

Maxine's dread is from "what she sees there" in the cabbie's face.  It is
her very subjective perception.  "Whatever " versus "God's will" is an
opposition where both sides fear the possibilities of the other's side's
reality, both existentially and pragmatically.

David Morris

On Sat, Apr 8, 2017 at 8:55 AM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:

> This bit is maybe too obvious to be commented on in the way I have,
>  but...I can't quite follow the thread below. So, went back to basics as I
> see it.
>
> My major overt 'reading' of these lines goes like this: Pynchon has the
> largely sympathetic perceiver (and character) Maxine notice that religious
> Fundamentalism--God's known words---, that self-justifying,
> self-righteousness that pervades so many religions of which so many
> believers of,  will want to kill heretics and unbelievers. History is
> filled with.
> In a 9/11 novel, Pynchon superbly places it subtly in an unexpected place
> but relevant way. Another example of why he is so good.
>
>
>
>
> The only word Maxine recognizes, and she hears it more than once, is
> *Inshallah*. "Arabic for 'whatever,'" Horst nods.
>    They're waiting at a light. "If it is God's will," the driver corrects
> him, half turning in his seat so that Maxine happens to be looking him in
> the face. What she sees there will keep her from getting to sleep right
> away. Or that's how she'll remember it.
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 5, 2017 at 10:54 PM, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Why call this disconnect a clash of weak versus strong?  What makes that
> charaterization valid?  Flesh this out instead of assuming agreement.
>
> It seems you think rigid thinking is "strong" and fluid thinking is
> "weak."  I think that equation is the opposite of anything Pyncon would
> posit.
>
> David Morris
>
> On Wed, Apr 5, 2017 at 9:32 PM Kai Frederik Lorentzen <
> lorentzen at hotmail.de> wrote:
>
>
> By contrasting Horst's 'whatever' with the Islamic cab driver's
> *Inshallah*,
> Pynchon points out the Western weakness in the "clash of civilizations".
>
>
> Am 16.11.2015 um 11:12 schrieb Mark Thibodeau:
>
> Hm.
>
> On Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 5:02 AM, Kai Frederik Lorentzen <
> lorentzen at hotmail.de> wrote:
>
>
>    In the taxi on the way home, there's loud traffic in Arabic on the
> radio, which Maxine figures at first for a call-in show till the cabbie
> picks up a handset and joins in. She glances at the ID up on the Plexiglas.
> The face in the photo is too indistinct to make out, but the name is
> Islamic, Mohammed somebody.
>    It's like hearing a party from another room, though Maxine notices
> there's no music, no laughing. High emotion all right, but closer to tears
> or anger. Men talking over each other, shouting, interrupting. A couple of
> the voices might be women's, though later it will seem they could have
> belonged to high-pitched men. The only word Maxine recognizes, and she
> hears it more than once, is *Inshallah*. "Arabic for 'whatever,'" Horst
> nods.
>    They're waiting at a light. "If it is God's will," the driver corrects
> him, half turning in his seat so that Maxine happens to be looking him in
> the face. What she sees there will keep her from getting to sleep right
> away. Or that's how she'll remember it.
>
>
>
>
>
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