"Except that in these times, 'need' arises directly from criminal acts of the rich, so it 'deserves' whatever amount of money will atone for it. Fathomable enough for you?"
* * * * * * * * * *
My man, Ray Ipsow!
What are the themes of Pynchon's big three books, Gravity's Rainbow, Against the Day, and Mason & Dixon (and isn't he supposed to have one more of these in here? Covering some major turning point in American history? He'd better be working on it!)? That's not a question that I'm asking so that I can answer it. I'm not that smart. But it seems Gravity's Rainbow had something to do with technology reaching a point where our lives could be taken not just in an instant but almost before an instant . . . sort of beyond the zero. Technology isn't some actor on the stage either so part of the theme was about the people—the Them—who built and controlled this technology, and who use every one of us as a means to their own greedy end: wealth. And guess what the theme of Against the Day is turning out to be? The wealthy manipulating markets and law to increase their wealth while walking over the stooped backs and carcasses of the masses. It also has a lot to say about technology but I'm only thirty pages in so I can't speak to that much (plus I'm only thirty pages in so maybe I've got the whole capitalism is super bad theme all wrong! (But I doubt it)). And what about Mason & Dixon? I don't remember much thematically about that book (which is why I need to re-read it). But it must have a lot to say about racism and the wealth garnered from the slave trade. How could it not?! It's about the frickin' Mason/Dixon line!
My point is that this is another book that I'm thrilled to realize a conservative reader would get angry while reading it. Goddamned Social Justice Warrior Thomas Pynchon!
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