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 Worst of all, Lew's adored young wife, Troth, when she found his breezy note, headed straight for the interurban and up to Chicago, intending to plead with him to come back, though by the time she got off at Union Station, reflection to the pulse of the rails had done its work.

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When did we slip from "Boy's Adventure Novel" to "Allegorical Morality Play"? Lew's wife's name is Troth! So even the very embodiment of faith and loyalty has chosen to abandon him for his unknown sin! And could it be that the "unknown sin" is simply an allegory for an unrepentant sinner? Perhaps Lew is feigning ignorance, or is in deep denial, over the actions he's committed which have sewn such disapproval. Although the advice from the Orientalist about Lew being the hallucination works too well if this is a moral allegory where Lew actually is the unrepented sin.

Here, we see Lew literally lose faith. He has lost his job, his reputation, his wife, and his hat. Oh, and he's lost the truth—again, literally—since "troth" is also just the archaic form of "truth." Double Oh! He's also lost love as well! I mean because he just lost Troth's love and trust and not because he earlier lost Wensleydale's love and trust.

"reflection to the pulse of the rails had done its work"
It's as if Troth has been hypnotized. That's exactly the kind of plot device an 18th or 19th century novel would have been based on! Pynchon previously mentions mesmerism with Zombini the Mysterious, the man Merle Rideout's wife left him for. Does that mean we should see Merle and Lew as reflections of each other, both having lost their wives to a hypnotic lure? I'm sure it's all part of some grand theme in the book that I'm not currently privy to because I've only read thirty-seven pages so far. But I'm sure it's something about the kinds of losses man has suffered due to new technologies. Or Lew Basnight is simply the allegorical morality play of Merle's life, a shadow reflection to help cement the theme in the reader's mind.

Chapter 1: Section 5: Page 38: Line 51 (633)

 And without speaking further, turned, there, right out among the city traffic, and walked away, soon vanishing into the summertime clutter of noise and light.

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Wensleydale's a bit dramatic, no? Is this supposed to feel like the closing scene of a movie just before the credits roll? For a brief second I was going to consider what music would be appropriate for the credit scroll but then Hollywood kicked me in the balls and just screamed, "'Hallelujah'! It's going to be 'Hallelujah', you got that?!"

Chapter 1: Section 5: Page 38: Line 50 (632)

 "You have destroyed your name."

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To be fair, his name is Lube Ass Night. It didn't have too far to go to be destroyed.

Chapter 1: Section 5: Page 37: Line 49 (631)

 "I don't deserve this, Wensleydale."

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This is something I don't think I've ever said to anybody but shall henceforth be adding to my standard responses. I'm not sure when I'll use it since I don't often wear a hat (at least not one shaped like a raccoon) but I'm sure it'll be in some customer service situation (where I'm the customer) and I'm given attitude while trying to rectify some service error, probably in a fast food drive-thru. Let me practice.

"I don't deserve this, Burgerville."

Chapter 1: Section 5: Page 37: Line 48 (630)

 A close business associate followed, confronted, and publicly denounced him, knocking his hat off and kicking it into the middle of Clark Street, where it was run over by a beer wagon.

* * * * * * * * * *

"A close business associate"
Remember, "Lew Basnight" equals "Lube Ass Night" so "a close business associate" is probably a closeted "acquaintance" who feels the need to be overly judgmental and confrontational in order to protect themselves from the same public scrutiny.

"publicly denounced him"
It was important for this "close business associate" to be seen publicly denouncing Lew for his sin. It's The Boomer Bible's Harrier 101: blame others before they can blame you. But that blame must be loudly stated and spread widely for it to distract adequately.

"knocking his hat off"
This is probably the limit of violence most Victorians were want to engage in. It sends a clear message while maintaining a modicum of class restraint. It's also a good way for somebody not really wanting to hurt the person they're accusing because they're simply making a public gesture with which they don't completely agree. The kicking the hat into the street was probably going a step too far but what can you do when such passion is involved? And there must be passion involved because why else track Lew down just to make this public display?! All of Lew's other business associates seemed to believe the note just fine!

"Clark Street"
Does his mean anything? I'm into comic books so I obviously think it has to do with Clark Kent. So the removal of the hat and the loud proclamation both serve to destroy Lew's secret identity. He has been outed and revealed to be the sin he is.

Chapter 1: Section 5: Page 37: Line 47 (629)

 No use.

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Lew left a note to throw off his fellow employees and business associates that he'd "be back shortly." This is the sentence that points out the note was, um, "no use." Is there more to it? Probably! This whole bit about Lew fleeing and trying to be left alone is probably just Pynchon recounting his experiences in trying to stop writing! "I'm all noveled out! Leave me alone, editors and publishers and critics and fans!" But then we were all, "No, sir. No. You must keep writing. I believe you've promised us at least one more book along the lines of Gravity's Rainbow, Mason & Dixon, and Against the Day. So get to work!"

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 He fled in among the skyscrapers of Chicago, leaving a note at work suggesting he'd be back shortly.

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The big city! Where we all eventually flee to pretend we're not sins personified. Or, at the very least, we find we're less judged since everybody else is also a sin personified. Let he who is not a sin make the first judgy face is what I've always said. But then I'm judgment personified so I'm just trying to avoid competition.

Chapter 1: Section 5: Page 37: Line 45 (627)

 "It's no use to me."

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I suppose it's true. Knowledge of one's true self can't make the person stop being their true self. It's just who they are and now maybe they understand it better. But what does one do with the knowledge that they're not an actual person and just the hallucination of somebody else's sin? That's the kind of knowledge you quickly repress or dismiss as hokum and just get back to living however you were living. It's too much, man!

Chapter 1: Section 5: Page 37: Line 44 (626)

 "When your anger has cooled, consider what I have told you."

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What he told Lew was that "It was hallucinating you," "it" being the sin he couldn't remember which caused him strife with seemingly everybody, whether they knew about it or just could feel it roll off of him in waves. What this "Orientalist" is suggesting is that Lew Basnight is a sin personified. And because this advice has turned into a mini-story whereas the previous advice was just one sentence and done, I think we, the readers, need to seriously consider that Lew Basnight is a sin become a man.

I just realized Lew's name is "Lube Ass Night" and now I believe he is sodomy personified.

Chapter 1: Section 5: Page 37: Lines 42-43 (624-625)

 "Here's cash. Can I go?"

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How did I get sucked into this detailed account of one of Lew Basnight's therapy sessions about drafts versus cash? There must be some subtext about the economic state of affairs of the United States in this time. Like maybe there's going to be a huge depression soon based on the price of silver falling precipitously!

Chapter 1: Section 5: Page 37: Lines 40-41 (622-623)

 "A formality. Too many bank drafts have come back unhonored."

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Oh the nerve! "Trust my ancient mysterious wisdom that makes no sense and doesn't even come close to answering your question but I'm not going to trust your check." Maybe look at the possible reason the checks have been cancelled, Mr. Maybe You're the Hallucination!