SLPAD - 15 wordless interpellation of Pig

[Michael Bailey]

It’s a Joycean epiphany, in a way. Midshipman (? Can’t find his rank -
anybody know?) Pynchon, one day before mustering out, knows Pig Bodine on
sight, & it’s confirmed by roll call.

The mature author expresses a lasting fondness for this person, seemingly
without the reservations & caveats* he reserved on the first page for his
own former self.

And who can blame him?

Reader’s Digest has that “most unforgettable person” nomenclature, to
describe those who earn a place in one’s memory.

The sort of primal humanity that Pig embodies transcends the “known only by
function & rank” tendency towards anonymity among a group & subverts the
grey purposefulness that institutional activity can devolve into, lends
itself to stories about the person, per se, enlivens the listeners, and
inspires the storytellers
 - we all have a little Pig in us, eh?


*(Although we get some important Pig caveats etc lower down the page)

Does Pig emanate a lot of “racist, sexist, and Proto-Fascist talk” in
“Lowlands?”