CoL49 Chapter 4

[Mark Kohut]

I think The Crying is about America, with its recent (mostly) historical
baggage, at the time it is set.

The Trystero goes back in history long before Kennedy's assassination and I
see no connection myself.

On Sat, Jun 15, 2024 at 8:53 AM J K Van Nort <jkvannort at yahoo.com> wrote:

> "Pierce does not represent JFK. Period."
>
> While I don't think Pierce represents JFK, I do think the book is a
> response to the Kennedy assassination. I don't have the New Frontier view
> of JFK as much as the Seymour Hersh, Dark Side of Camelot impression. Joe
> Kennedy manipulated the mafia, a closer stand-in for the Tristero than the
> CIA, and they had many reasons to hate JFK, especially after helping to fix
> Illinois and then having RFK as AG going after them full force.
>
> The speculation of the mob's hand in his assassination has significant
> support, and I can see them being lured into the job by a CIA who also
> hated Kennedy. Dulles then chaperoning the Warren Commission further
> supports that speculation.
>
> I also think that the Military Industrial Complex's continued rise deeply
> impacted Pynchon's writing CoL49, and if the speculation is true that
> Kennedy wanted out of Vietnam after his re-election (which I don't
> believe), then the MIC would also have it out for him, making their, not
> Pierce's connection to Tristero more likely.
>
> In solidarity,
>
> James
>
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
> <https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&af_sub1=Acquisition&af_sub2=Global_YMktg&af_sub3=&af_sub4=100000604&af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_>
>
> On Saturday, June 15, 2024, 05:38, Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> Peirce does not represent JFK. Period.
>
> 2) Because Oedipa cannot understand Pierce's "testament", his meanings and
> The Trystero needs understaning. As we read, she suspects some kind of
> elaborate hidden
> plot and The Trystero seems elaborate and mysterious---like good plots do.
>
> On Sat, Jun 15, 2024 at 4:36 AM David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Sat, Jun 15, 2024 at 4:17 AM Michael Bailey <
> > michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > 1) Why does Oedipa connect understanding Tristero to finding Meaning in
> > > Pierce's testament?
> >
> >
> > It’s a very good question. In fact, why does she fuck Metz?  He’s a
> little
> > bit of a turn-on, but sex (per se) is not her motivation. From the start,
> > it is a battle of wits.  But WHY?  It’s almost as if she’s using her new
> > “power” as a tool to dig into the “corrupt” world of REAL Estate!  (The
> > ONLY “real” wealth).
> >
> > Good question!
> >
> >
> > Yes!  BUT!  Are any of these “speculations” suggested anywhere in the
> text?
> >
> > - what if Pierce didn’t leave enough to cover his debts - like that guy
> in
> > > _A Man in Full_ maybe the whole empire was a house of cards
> > > - maybe they are liquidating (selling the stamp collection, eg)
> > > - anyway, if that’s the case, maybe she seeks meaning in non-financial
> > > terms and follows her liberal arts training to pursue the alternative
> > post
> > > phenomenon
> > > - or, maybe she sees Tristero as a/the wreaker of Pierce’s downfall,
> and
> > is
> > > trying to figure out which of his activities brought on their wrath
> > >
> > >  - if Pierce represents JFK - but his shtick is totally different - but
> > if
> > > he somehow does anyway, maybe her efforts are linked to the idea of
> > trying
> > > to keep the New Frontier vision alive?
> >
> >
> >
> > >
> > --
> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>
> >
> --
> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>
>