Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Chapter 1: Section 6: Pages 55-56: Line 187 (980)

 The Colorado Silver Mining Camp, like the other former exhibits, was occupied now by drifters, squatters, mothers with nursing infants, hell-raisers hired for the run of the Fair, now, their market value having vanished, returned to the consolations of drink, dogs and cats who preferred the company of their own species, some who still bore memories of Pugnax and his conversation, and excursions they had been out on.

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"Colorado Silver Mining Camp"
Colorado is where Lew has headed off to, perhaps just as fake as this Colorado, being the Frontier has gone and what is Lew's reality anyway?

"drifters, squatters, mothers with nursing infants, hell-raisers hired for the run of the Fair"
All people, not just the hell-raisers, who have zero market value and are just seen by the market as burdens, leeches, and blemishes on society. It also feels like an apt description of the cast of The Grapes of Wrath except for the infant who should be a grown man because Rose's infant died but she still had milk to give. Spoiler!

"dogs and cats who preferred the company of their own species"
Ambiguous but I think the "who preferred the company of their own species" refers only to cats because dogs fucking love everyone.

"some who still bore memories of Pugnax and his conversation, and excursions they had been out on"
Well this explains what Pugnax was up to while the Chums ate crappy sandwiches and got day drunk on cheap wine. Dirty old Pugnax making time with the locals while the Chums were verging on suicide via boredom. Pretty sure this suggests that Pugnax had sex with at least one cat while at the Fair.

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