Moving on to the Christian references I find most moving in Pynchon

Sun Jun 14 08:19:30 UTC 2026

Reduced to “ am I saying” is so reducing Pynchon too.

By violence is how Webb was killed and it seems obvious to me—by what even
you say—pynchon abhors it. Look what he writes!!!

As he shows how he hates the whole counter-violence “tradition” In the way
every Traverse dies.

You can choose whatever sides that don’t exist that you want.

On Sun, Jun 14, 2026 at 1:59 AM Joseph Tracy <coypoet at mailfence.com> wrote:

> So are you saying Webb Traverse deserved to be brutally crucified with
> railroad spikes and we are supposed to chuckle at the cleverness of Deuce,
> Sloat, Vibe, the governor of Utah and at Pynchon's"fierce" satire of Webb
> as a false messiah? I really don't get what you are saying or how this
> scene functions as satire, unless it is satirizing the the kind of
> Christianity that kills thousands to save the world from the heathen, which
> seems to be Vibe's version and many others.
>
> I am not making an argument  that  Webb Traverse is a stand-in for Jesus.
> Like most victims of human cruelty, he is a flawed human. I would argue
> that he represents a faltering if dedicated self defense against the
> exploitation and violence of industrial capitalism and nationalism. Jesus
> was seen as an existential threat by the Sanhedrin and an inconvenient
> religious nut by the Roman authorities , use to torture and murder of
> troublemakers. The fact that Pynchon makes a very strong and clear
> connection in his killing to the crucifixion of not just Jesus but the many
> victims of this common practice of the Roman empire ( and similar violence
> rampant in so much of  holier than thou capitalist history) is important to
> how the reader might think about the story, how we think about history,
> about methods of resistance to the abuse of power, about how we treat our
> loved ones while confronting the dark forces of history, about how our
> lives transcend death, and many other important topics.
>
>  Dynamite as religious force? Not all religious forces are benign as
> people like Hegseth and Netanyahu are showing. Hitler was hugely popular
> among rural protestants and Catholics.Vibe had plenty of religion.  But in
> the fight against people like Vibe I personally have more sympathy with the
> Traverses, Cyprian, and other anarchists ( quite a few of whom are shooting
> back)than the  Deuces, Vibe family etc. Very few Christians are actual
> Sermon on the mount Pacifists: Anabaptists, Quakers, early church,
> followers of Tolstoy or Ghandi or MLK.  It's a noble path, seldom fully
> taken, maybe it could save the earth. Maybe we are born for the fire
> because mostly those who claim the Christian faith fall short of nonviolent
> resistance and love of enemies.There is also a difference between active
> and defiant non-violence as a means of change and non-violence as a form of
> passive cowardice in the face of evil.
>
> Violence ruins everything... unless it saves your life. Violence starts
> with an aggressor and there is in most people's minds a difference between
> using force to protect your self or someone else being attacked lawlessly,
> and violence used for theft, hatred, political or religious beliefs etc.
>
>
>
> On 6/13/26 5:25 AM, Mark Kohut wrote:
>
> I don't. this is the religious crucifixion we know now like a 'religious
> painting of hell"....this is the crucifixion of a man who is the opposite
> of
> Sermon on the Mount Christ of our mostly mythological
> Christianity.....what was that artist excoriated for his Piss Christ
> crucifixion...I',m not looking it up..
> much art subverts the Christianity we know by attacking its myths....
>
> Dynamite is not a religious force in AtD in my opinion.....it is the
> synecdoche where violence ruins everything....Dynamite is what turned P's
> steady undertow
> of self-organizing (peaceful) anarchism into bomb-throwing 'anarchists",
> murderers....see the ends of all his children...
>
> On Sat, Jun 13, 2026 at 1:21 AM Joseph Tracy <coypoet at mailfence.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Below is a more thorough  look at a comparison of the killing of Webb
>> Traverse to the crucifixion, though  I may have developed this line of
>> thought further during another reading of ATD
>>
>> "Just a thought on Jeshimon for now which is a Biblical name meaning
>> 'wastelands, or wilderness. The whole scene is like a condensation of the
>> historic crucifixion of Jesus(of N.T.) under roman law as exercised in the
>> hinterlands of empire. The roads lined with telegraph poles and dangling
>> corpses correspond to roads of the occupied country lined with crucified
>> rebels, the clergy for hire to collaborationist Pharisee priests, Judas's
>> betrayal corresponds to Deuce's betrayal via Webb's trust. The local god
>> with wings reminds of the Roman eagle. the "trail of pain" sounds like the
>> stations of the cross on the road to Calvary. "We done both your feet( with
>> a railroad pin), how bout lets see your hands there old timer." There is
>> even a mocking reference by Deuce to "that good bodily resurrection stuff".
>>
>> And on the third day he ascended from hell( Nicene Creed). When Reef
>> arrives in Jeshimon it "looks like a religious painting of hell". Webb is
>> dangling from a tower having arrived in Jeshimmon where final death
>> sentence was passed and carried out the same day  by the Governor. To
>> prevent the Buzzards Reef rents  hooks to enable him to climb the tower and
>> retrieve Webb's body while Deuce and Sloat  disappear over a hill.
>>
>> The comparisons continue and pick up with Reef reading to Webb's dead
>> body and confused ghost from "The Chums of Chance at the Ends of the
>> Earth".The chums seeming to be "agents of an extra human justice",reminding
>> one of the book of The Revelation.
>>
>> There is also a kind of Pentecost with Reef enjoying talking with his
>> Father, adopting his Father's mission and exploding dynamite, "each
>> explosion like the text of another sermon, preached in the voice of
>> thunder".  Well that's my take fellow chumps.I spent a lot of time with the
>> Bible in earlier years and know the territory. I'm not about to start
>> proselytizing, but this revised Pynchonian take on religion , including
>> Christianity and Buddhism, is definitely a recurrent theme of ATD. "  JT
>> Feb 4 2007 Chumps of Choice blogspot
>>
>> *JT june 12 2026:*  I have a very hard time seeing this as satire. Who
>> is being mocked? What is an historically realistic disturbing depiction of
>> brutal murder for hire satirizing? More like basic Christian orthodoxy
>> wherein human sin regularly re-enact the killing of any incarnation of
>> love, truth or justice, certainly anything threatening the power of the
>> ruthless Caesar of the day.
>>
>>   DYNAMITE.    Since dynamite is a kind of religious force in ATD I
>> thought these wikipedia refernces apt.
>>
>> The word dynamite comes from the Greek word δυναμις (dunamis), meaning
>> power, and the Greek suffix -ιτης (-itēs), meaning small.
>>
>> [edit] Oracle of Dunamis
>>
>> In Greek mythology, the Oracle of Dunamis (ca. 1400 BCE), believed to
>> have been situated south of the island of Rhodes, contained a statue of a
>> man who was to lead humanity into a time of spiritual prosperity. Early
>> Christians assigned this to Jesus in support of Biblical prophecies.
>>
>> [edit] Aristotle
>>
>> The word dunamis appears in Aristotle's works as a term for what is only
>> potentially real. The word can be translated by such terms as power,
>> capacity, potential, potency, capability and faculty (ability, skill, or
>> power). Aristotle contrasted dunamis with energeia.
>>
>> [edit] Christianity
>>
>> In Christian theology "Dunamis" is sometimes used in conjunction with the
>> Holy Spirit.[1] It describes the activities of the Holy Spirit as believers
>> receive Him (Acts 1:8, 10:38). From the same root derives the English words
>> dynamic or dynamite.
>> JT Feb 7 2007 Chumps of Choice blogspot
>>
>>
>>
>> On 6/12/26 6:04 AM, Mark Kohut wrote:
>>
>> too much to handle for me...a compliment,    but
>>
>> I will say, I do not think the killing of Webb Traverse has any of the
>> meanings of the crucifixion in Pynchon's vision....if outlined by Tracy in
>> that ATD read, then I say
>> they are a 'vicious satire' of----aren't all the best satires "vicious" ?
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 12, 2026 at 3:50 AM Joseph Tracy via Pynchon-l <
>> pynchon-l at waste.org> wrote:
>>
>>> I can't spend much time now as I am painting a house and it's time
>>> consuming and tiring, but thanks and I think I think I will list more as
>>> they come to mind.
>>>
>>>   GR:Of course there is the sermon in GR,    the transformation of the
>>> preterite main character into the rainbow after escaping the role of
>>> experimental object, his recovery of lost creative innocence in the
>>> harmonica,
>>>
>>> Also there is the overall arc of movement toward apocalyptic self
>>> destruction driven by the temptations of slave labor and total
>>> systematized control.
>>>
>>> ATD:
>>> The title is a phrase that appears more than once in scripture , 3
>>> layered title ( trinitarian structure)
>>>
>>>
>>>   One of the most powerful and central images in ATD is the killing  of
>>> Webb Traverse which bears a large and clearly deliberate resemblance to
>>> the crucifixion( I outlined this in comments during a reading of ATD).
>>> His anarchist faith and opposition to predatory violence is resurrected
>>> to various degrees in his children. The Killing happens near 4 corners
>>> and then novel moves in the 4 directions
>>>
>>> Another theme is the transformation of Cyprian from self indulgent  twit
>>> to  self sacrificing hero to spiritual renunciant .
>>>
>>> The loosing of a serpentine ice bound monster that appears in a more
>>> mundane form in another novel as  Gabriel ( end of world) Ice.
>>>
>>> The chums of chance have several Christian names and roles- Miles B as
>>> prophetic visionary and heart of compassion, Randolph St. Cosmo a
>>> non-authoritarian leader/shepherd. First they do not know who they are
>>> working for, break free, along with Russian counterparts, from blind
>>> obedience, sailing toward grace. Their break with monastic ways and
>>> union with female counterparts is not exactly Catholic theology...yet.
>>>
>>> Lew Basnight changed by grace
>>>
>>> V: I would argue that the V woman, half human seductress,  half
>>> un-killable machine like force of human triumphalism  bears much
>>> resemblance to the whore of Babylon in the book of the revelations.
>>> V also has a serious satire pointed at obsessive proselytism and
>>> priestly abuse of power with the apostle to the rats.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 6/9/26 10:42 PM, Michael Bailey via Pynchon-l wrote:
>>> > That's a lot of good references there, Joseph. Thanks for those!
>>> >
>>> > I think Christianity is like the Tardis: You think you can summarize
>>> it briefly, and maybe you can with some of the important parts like
>>> forgiveness & the Golden Rule, but it's bigger inside.
>>> > ________________________________
>>> > From: Joseph Tracy <coypoet at mailfence.com>
>>> > Sent: Monday, June 8, 2026 3:39 PM
>>> > To: Michael Bailey <mi256118 at ucf.edu>; Pynchon List <
>>> pynchon-l at waste.org>
>>> > Subject: Re: Moving on to the Christian references I find most moving
>>> in Pynchon
>>> >
>>> > RL "So, Friend Tom isn't OBA."
>>> >
>>> > JT I initiated the question, but in the 'maybe, but who knows' mode.
>>> Did someone come up with actual evidence against it?
>>> >
>>> > As to Christian references I think I could go on a pretty long journey
>>> in that direction. From the beginning, with his reference in V to the 3
>>> layered world of Dante which begat or at least modeled his own 3 layered
>>> world, on to books where  yea shall yet more worlds be projected; I would
>>> suggest he knows the mythic territories of the Old and New Testament as
>>> well as that of the Tarot deck, Kabballah, Rocketry, CIA, labor history
>>> etc. Perhaps every writer worth his or her salt wants to make a world as
>>> big as the Bible and perhaps as influential. It's a universal reference
>>> point in the ongoing Abrahamic wars. The imagery enters the subconscious,
>>> the conscience, history itself.
>>> >     If a few Pynchons have been heretics, one has to ask whether Jesus
>>> himself was the original heretic... You have heard it said by them of old,
>>> an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you love you
>>> enemies,...
>>> >     COL49- Kinnaret, one of many bodies of water involving death,
>>> baptism= death to old life,  Lago de Pieta(Pieta- image of Mary with
>>> crucified body of Jesus), bones of vets bought by Pierce Inverarity lead
>>> Oedipa via Paranoids to Couriers Tragedy- Perhaps fallen angel(incest,
>>> torture, regicide, consecration of Cardinal's blood to Satanic
>>> chalice,...)  Duke Angelo enlists tristero in murder of rightful heir
>>> Niccolo. Plays about killing the rightful king have Christian overtones in
>>> the post classical world.
>>> >
>>> > The mystery of tristero leads her to an alternative postal system, to
>>> reformation era religious wars, to strange postal stamps, to mexican
>>> revolutionaries, mobsters,  Maxwell's Demon, the mysterious drowning of the
>>> director of the Courier's tragedy,an ex Nazi psychiatrist gone mad, the
>>> rise of anti-left fascism, the end of her marriage. There is  Dylan line:
>>> "I been to the bottom of a world full of lies, I ain't lookin for nothin in
>>> anyone's eyes "  Whether her rejection of the propaganda of her culture
>>> opens the door to rebirth is hard to say but while she seems to have given
>>> up on having a meaningful role in the disposition of Pierce Inverarity's
>>> estate she is still watching who will bid on certain stamps there in an
>>> auction in the 49th state. Still holding on to some hunger for truth.
>>> >
>>> > Back with more christian references if anyone else continues this
>>> thread.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On 6/8/26 6:49 AM, Michael Bailey via Pynchon-l wrote:
>>> >> Robin Landseadel wrote:
>>> >> So, Friend Tom isn't OBA. My dreams are shattered. Guess I'll hang my
>>> tears out to dry:
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>     *
>>> >> That hasn't been conclusively proven...dream on if you want...
>>> >>     *
>>> >> Thanks for the CoL49 data, and in general the illuminating info on
>>> Pynchon's family background & the movies. There really are a tremendous
>>> many movie references in ST!
>>> >>
>>> >> ________________________________
>>> >> From: Pynchon-l <pynchon-l-bounces at waste.org> on behalf of Robin
>>> Landseadel via Pynchon-l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>>> >> Sent: Sunday, June 7, 2026 10:07 AM
>>> >> To: Robin Landseadel <robinlandseadel at comcast.net>;
>>> pynchon-l at waste.org <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>>> >> Subject: RE: Moving on to the Christian references I find most moving
>>> in Pynchon
>>> >>
>>> >> So, Friend Tom isn't OBA. My dreams are shattered. Guess I'll hang my
>>> tears out to dry:
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2F22xGxIiFsz8%3Fsi%3Drae0pXFSXW4FgY7v&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172381873%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=smKc22KIqjTkhAG%2Fe%2BftDCDYzZkRgFC5goWYLhAShyc%3D&reserved=0
>>> <
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2F22xGxIiFsz8%3Fsi%3Drae0pXFSXW4FgY7v&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172415191%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kKrlhj5If4iPf8qfuos7sMRan%2FtmqlF%2FYNufZaiMASM%3D&reserved=0
>>> ><https://youtu.be/22xGxIiFsz8?si=rae0pXFSXW4FgY7v>
>>> >>
>>> >> MB: "Maybe Christianity is the secret sauce in the Pynchon oeuvre -
>>> >> one of those very intellectual developments around an enlivening
>>> >> faith which reach out to the world instead of curling up around a
>>> >> finite, limiting credo."
>>> >>
>>> >> I was looking at the initial P-List group reading of Against the Day
>>> and find your post
>>> >> from late 2006 relevant to recent discussions here:
>>> >>
>>> >> Michael Bailey: Moving on to the Christian references I
>>> >> find most moving in Pynchon's work: . . .
>>> >>
>>> >> . . . e) I haven't read The Crying of Lot 49 in so long that I can't
>>> >> recall Christian references in it. But Pynchon seems to
>>> >> spend a lot of thought on the "preterite-elect" theme here
>>> >> and in Gravity's Rainbow. . .
>>> >>
>>> >> Tactful thoughts about Christian ideas in Pynchon
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwaste.org%2Fpipermail%2Fpynchon-l%2F2006-December%2F093189.html&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172441100%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=k1cDIdNWkK7Abw1uizjrQD7Jck7BUCOmITxiXdnSlG4%3D&reserved=0
>>> <
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwaste.org%2Fpipermail%2Fpynchon-l%2F2006-December%2F093189.html&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172461085%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xnlUA8YTftGzIETbX0RnnyuBOcTGqQeUHSffFxNbzUg%3D&reserved=0
>>> ><https://waste.org/pipermail/pynchon-l/2006-December/093189.html>
>>> >>
>>> >> (raises hand at the back of the class, waving wildly)
>>> >>
>>> >> (Ahem) The Calvinist doctrine of the preterite and the elect points
>>> back to William
>>> >> Pynchon, founder of Springfield, Massachusetts, a fur-trader and
>>> later a Judge:
>>> >>
>>> >> . . . He disagreed with the church leaders of the day on a
>>> >> crucial pillar of Puritan belief. Pynchon argued Jesus did
>>> >> not suffer the torments of Hell to absolve mankind of its
>>> >> past sins. Rather, he won a state of grace through his
>>> >> obedience to God.
>>> >>
>>> >> This interpretation left open the idea that the way one
>>> >> behaved on earth could dictate whether one would go to
>>> >> heaven rather than a selected few reaching heaven by
>>> >> virtue of predestination.
>>> >> In 1650, William Pynchon Tweaks the Puritans - New England Historical
>>> Society
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewenglandhistoricalsociety.com%2Fin-1650-william-pynchon-tweaks-the-puritans%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172479244%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=JlDnBEERajp%2F%2F3ifwRQruUunOTq3%2BEWU%2Fh7XsiVug24%3D&reserved=0
>>> <
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnewenglandhistoricalsociety.com%2Fin-1650-william-pynchon-tweaks-the-puritans%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172497199%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=X3am8OxuwqxDOxgalBkQC0jJRFKG%2BHFiG3BtzIJImug%3D&reserved=0
>>> ><
>>> https://newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/in-1650-william-pynchon-tweaks-the-puritans/
>>> >
>>> >>
>>> >> I’m going to offer up the suggestion that Thomas Pynchon, fully
>>> conscious of his ancestor’s
>>> >> profound act of civil disobedience, is following in his footsteps,
>>> claiming that God is not
>>> >> wrathful but loving—Christ didn’t die for our sins but died in
>>> perfect obedience to his
>>> >> Father. This concept undermines the social hierarchy of the
>>> Calvinists, making William
>>> >> Pynchon a heretic in their eyes. But William Pynchon saw the Life of
>>> Jesus as a moral
>>> >> roadmap, where the lowly are judged by God on the basis of their good
>>> work in this
>>> >> world instead of damned and not worth saving thanks to
>>> predestination. And Pynchon
>>> >> sees a lot of what is unjust in the world depends on maintaining the
>>> Elect/Preterite
>>> >> social order, in rendering the lives of brown-skinned people, by way
>>> of example, spiritually
>>> >> beside the point, helping Calvinists to justify slavery and
>>> exploitation of “the other”.
>>> >>
>>> >> There's a funny allusion to William Pynchon in Shadow Ticket:
>>> >>
>>> >> . . . Vito does a lot of his own felting, dealing direct with Indians
>>> who
>>> >> are apt to show up here at all hours with a rumble seat full of beaver
>>> >> hides, come in, drink some home brew, clown around, Vito buys in
>>> >> volume, gets a discount, all is copasetic. . .
>>> >> ST pg. 99
>>> >>
>>> >> CoL49 has Christian, and especially Catholic, references peppered
>>> throughout.
>>> >> A reference one is likely to pass over on account of it initially
>>> seeming to be a
>>> >> non-sequitur: Jesus Arrabal points to the Mexican playwright Fernando
>>> Arrabal Terán,
>>> >> who published some of his works simply as Arrabal. It also points to
>>> the CIA at the
>>> >> same time in a way that seems like some kind of a joke, but we can
>>> save that detail
>>> >> for later.
>>> >>
>>> >> One of Arrabal’s best known works is “The Automobile Graveyard” which
>>> presents the
>>> >> Passion of Jesus Christ as performed in an automobile wrecking yard
>>> by those who now
>>> >> live in the otherwise abandoned cars. There is a later reference to
>>> this Mise-en scène
>>> >> towards the very end of the book, where the author speaks of those
>>> living on societies’
>>> >> fringes:
>>> >>
>>> >> If only she'd looked. She remembered now old Pullman cars,
>>> >> left where the moneyed run out or the customers vanished,
>>> >> amid green farm flatnesses where clothes hung, smoke
>>> >> lazed out of jointed pipes. Were the squatters there in touch
>>> >> with others, through Tristero; were they helping carry forward
>>> >> that 300 years of the house's disinheritance? Surely they'd
>>> >> forgotten by now what it was the Tristero were to have
>>> >> inherited; as perhaps Oedipa one day might have. What was
>>> >> left to inherit? That America coded in Inverarity’s testament,
>>> >> whose was that? She thought of other, immobilized freight
>>> >> cars, where the kids sat on the floor planking and sang back,
>>> >> happy as fat, whatever came over the mother's pocket radio;
>>> >> of other squatters who stretched canvas for lean-tos behind
>>> >> smiling billboards along all the highways, or slept in junkyards
>>> >> in the stripped shells of wrecked Plymouths, or even, daring,
>>> >> spent the night up some pole in a lineman's tent like caterpillars,
>>> >> swung among a web of telephone wires, living in the very copper
>>> >> rigging and secular miracle of communication, untroubled by the
>>> >> dumb voltages flickering their miles, the night long, in the
>>> >> thousands of unheard messages. . .
>>> >> CoL49 pgs. 159/160
>>> >>
>>> >> It also points back to Mucho Maas’ nightmare at the used car lot.
>>> >>
>>> >> Arrabal means the suburbs in Spanish, with a further definition
>>> noting that Arrabal
>>> >> can also mean zones beyond the fringes, towards wilder country.
>>> >>
>>> >> Jesus Arrabal, ardent leftist, has some interesting things to say
>>> about miracles:
>>> >>
>>> >> “You know what a miracle is. Not what Bakunin said.
>>> >> But another world’s intrusion into this one. Most of
>>> >> the time we coexist peacefully, but when we do touch
>>> >> there’s cataclysm. Like the church we hate, anarchists
>>> >> also believe in another world. Where revolutions break
>>> >> out spontaneous and leaderless, and the soul's talent
>>> >> for consensus allows the masses to work together
>>> >> without effort, automatic as the body itself. And yet,
>>> >> sena, if any of it should ever really happen that perfectly,
>>> >> I would also have to cry miracle. An anarchist miracle.
>>> >> Like your friend. He is too exactly and without flaw the
>>> >> thing we fight. In Mexico the privilegiado is always, to
>>> >> a finite percentage, redeemed one of the people.
>>> >> Unmiraculous. But your friend, unless he's joking,
>>> >> is as terrifying to me as a Virgin appearing to an Indian."”
>>> >> CoL49 pg. 105
>>> >>
>>> >> Later, Oedipa encounters a wrecked sailor, living on the fringes and
>>> near death,
>>> >> with a muted posthorn tattooed the back of his left hand:
>>> >>
>>> >>    . . . Exhausted, hardly knowing what she was doing, she
>>> >> came the last three steps and sat, took the man in her
>>> >> arms, actually held him, gazing out of her smudged eyes
>>> >> down the stairs, back into the morning. She felt wetness
>>> >> against her breast and saw that he was crying again. He
>>> >> hardly breathed but tears came as if being pumped. "I
>>> >> can't help," she whispered, rocking him, "I can't help." It
>>> >> was already too many miles to Fresno. . .
>>> >> CoL49 pg. 110
>>> >>
>>> >> I’ve always visualized this scene as Oedipa becoming Mary to the old
>>> man’s crucified
>>> >> Jesus in the manner of Michelangelo’s Pietà, just before passing his
>>> letter on to Fresno
>>> >> via the trashcan under the freeway near the Transbay Terminal.
>>> >>
>>> >> Very soon after first reading (and re-reading) CoL49 I got a temp
>>> position at the Union 76
>>> >> building, short walking distance from the Transbay Terminal, where
>>> the bus I took from
>>> >> Berkeley arrived. I know that stretch of San Francisco well.
>>> >>
>>> >> The Crying of Lot 49 has many pointers to Christian/Catholic
>>> doctrines, saints, place names,
>>> >> heretically inverted Christian/Catholic references in “The Courier’s
>>> Tragedy” and so on.
>>> >> There are lots of these sorts of references slipped in throughout the
>>> book, like references
>>> >> to Saint Narcissus and the myth of Narcissus. San Narcisco = St.
>>> Narcissus. Also, multiple
>>> >> references to Pentecost, particularly the very last words in the book:
>>> >>
>>> >> . . . Passerine spread his arms in a gesture that seemed
>>> >> to belong to the priesthood of some remote culture;
>>> >> perhaps to a descending angel. The auctioneer cleared
>>> >> his throat. Oedipa settled back, to await the crying of lot 49.
>>> >> CoL49 pg. 163
>>> >>
>>> >> And there are all those times Oedipa attempts to find out about the
>>> Tristero, but she
>>> >> encounters “ritual reluctance”, with everybody dummy-ing up, or the
>>> fates themselves
>>> >> intervening to prevent her from getting to “the truth”, for us be
>>> presented some noir-mystery
>>> >> styled denouement that we’re anticipating but never arrives.
>>> >>
>>> >> When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in
>>> >> one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound
>>> >> like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where
>>> >> they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to
>>> >> them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled
>>> >> with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as
>>> >> the Spirit gave them utterance.
>>> >>
>>> >> Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from
>>> >> every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude
>>> >> came together, and they were bewildered, because each one
>>> >> was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were
>>> >> amazed and astonished, saying, "Are not all these who are
>>> >> speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in
>>> >> his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites
>>> >> and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
>>> >> Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts
>>> >> of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both
>>> >> Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians--we hear them
>>> >> telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." And all
>>> >>    were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What
>>> >> does this mean?" But others mocking said, "They are filled
>>> >> with new wine." (Acts 2:1-13)
>>> >>
>>> >> Pentecost
>>> >>
>>> >> . . . Old English Pentecosten "Christian festival on seventh Sunday
>>> >> after Easter," from Late Latin pentecoste, from Greek pentekostē
>>> >> (hēmera) "fiftieth (day)," fem. of pentekostos, from pentekonta
>>> >> "fifty," from pente "five" (from PIE root penkwe-"five"). The Hellenic
>>> >> name for the Old Testament Feast of Weeks, a Jewish harvest
>>> >> festival observed on 50th day of the Omer (see Leviticus xxiii.16).
>>> >>
>>> >> Pentecost - Etymology, Origin & Meaning of the Name
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.etymonline.com%2Fword%2FPentecost&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172514972%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=RrkXk2JhHx5N6%2FZc%2FJ5X6Y2G%2Fw6rXwVAnwkK8QpU5Ag%3D&reserved=0
>>> <
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.etymonline.com%2Fword%2FPentecost&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172532959%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Mbe5AP2p8fDuKzbSfvtQ7cM%2BMmJcGVXDbKFzgZdOfU4%3D&reserved=0
>>> ><https://www.etymonline.com/word/Pentecost>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >> 50 is the Number for Pentecost so 49 would be just before the
>>> unveiling.
>>> >>
>>> >> --
>>> >> Pynchon-L:
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwaste.org%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fpynchon-l&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172553101%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WMv2NO%2BtyUbbMvKMgcAYUZyVZKo8YeEcf6l0uJrRWjM%3D&reserved=0
>>> <
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwaste.org%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fpynchon-l&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172574646%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=MWUUatvNUOl%2FJDqqB8yMhTC20%2FXA80jIEcGM440SSV0%3D&reserved=0
>>> ><https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l>
>>> >> --
>>> >> Pynchon-L:
>>> https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwaste.org%2Fmailman%2Flistinfo%2Fpynchon-l&data=05%7C02%7Cmi256118%40ucf.edu%7C177ee49561a94d16ada408dec59a6944%7Cbb932f15ef3842ba91fcf3c59d5dd1f1%7C0%7C0%7C639165464172599193%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=3r73Tm52Nx%2BTv89TI9xMH2%2BMctO5UNABC8hJzh%2B%2F%2FWQ%3D&reserved=0
>>> <https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l>
>>> > --
>>> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>
>>
>>> --
>>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>
>>