Chapter 1: Section 4: Page 31: Line 113-114 (485-486)

 "Well, actually, it's the Packer's Inn, Forty-seventh and Ashland. Right in the middle of the Stockyards and all—"

* * * * * * * * * *

The Professor still thinks he's having a discussion with a peer and an equal. As if Scarsdale expected an answer to his question. As if Scarsdale had any idea, or even cared, about Heino's accommodations. He just wanted to let Heino know that Scarsdale knew he was staying at a shabby hotel. Heino, not picking up on this, simply clarifies the point by admitting the location of his current domicile is in the middle of The Stockyards. Heino says this without shame because he doesn't realize the game Scarsdale is playing. Just as I wouldn't!

This sentence ends in an em dash because Heino is being interrupted by Scarsdale (or some other jerk rich guy in the dark room). Because, remember, Scarsdale wasn't actually asking the question in the expectation of an answer. He's simply controlling and manipulating the space to exert his power.

Chapter 1: Section 4: Page 31: Line 112 (484)

 "They treating you all right over at the Stockmen's Hotel?" the magnate inquired.

* * * * * * * * * *

I'm assuming "the magnate" is Scarsdale Vibe because I think I know how books work. He's asking this question not because he cares about the answer but because he wants to rub it in that Heino is staying at some working class hotel probably full of immigrants. I tried to look up the Stockmen's Hotel but thanks to the Stockmen's Hotel and Casino in Elko, Nevada, it's practically impossible to find anything else on the Internet in the full minute I was willing to bother. But I'm sure the name derives from the people who stay there: workers at The Stockyards who have maybe only recently arrived in Chicago, or who are itinerant, probably husbands needing work who have travelled to one of the few places they could find a job to send money back home to the family.

Scarsdale Vibe would be basking in the chasm created between the two men's statuses by this simple question asked within the confines of his expensive and luxurious room at the Palmer House, complete with its own elevator and telephone (probably!).

Chapter 1: Section 4: Page 31: Line 111 (483)

 No one had offered to take Professor Vanderjuice's hat, so he held it in his lap, as an insecure actor might a "prop."

* * * * * * * * * *

Who in this meeting of rich assholes gives a shit about anybody but themselves? Of course nobody offered to take his hat. Besides, withholding some social convention that's expected in particular situations is how rich and powerful jerks fuck with the poor and powerless masses. Not that I'm one for simply acting out stupid and arbitrary social conventions. But at least I'm awkwardly refusing to shake your hand for stupid bullshit personal reasons and not as a power play! But then you'd probably guess that by the way I continued to avoid eye contact and the scruffy, immature outfit I had chosen to dress myself in for an important meeting. In this particular case, I probably would have initially gone out without a hat and then never even noticed the "don't have anybody take his hat" power play!

Chapter 1: Section 4: Page 31: Line 110 (482)

 "Tell the house physician the bullet is only in her leg," said Scarsdale Vibe helpfully.

* * * * * * * * * *

Sure, he shot her in the leg with a small-caliber bullet instead of outright killing her but let us not forget that this is 1893! She could easily die from infection. I'm sure he wouldn't take the blame if that happened though. Just like how The Batman claims he doesn't kill but he beats the living shit out of criminals all the time and you have to assume that at least a few of them eventually succumb to their injuries. The Batman has to believe that if a criminal is still breathing when he leaves the scene, he's not at fault for their eventual death. You'd also think that somebody would have died during a beatdown simply due to some other factor in their medical history. But then I guess The Batman wouldn't blame himself for that, either! "Well, they should have gotten that heart condition taken care of," mutters Bruce Wayne as he sips a cup of tea spiked with Peppermint Schnapps and signs some more documents that take health care away from the employees at Wayne Enterprises.

Not that I should be comparing Scarsdale Vibe with The Batman! Shooting an old lady in the leg for insulting him is Penguin or Riddler nonsense! Probably Riddler nonsense more so than The Penguin since The Penguin would have shot her in the face.

"helpfully"
Just such a great word to undercut the entire scene. Vibe's "helpfully" is barely helping at all. But he almost certainly sees himself as being helpful. "I could have let her bleed out!" he might be thinking. "Or I could have shot her in the heart!" Or perhaps he simply thought, "I could have had my bodyguards tear her limb from limb. Oh, the things I could have done to her! If only people could see the real me and how restrained I am with my power!"

Chapter 1: Section 4: Page 31: Line 109 (481)

 The old woman tilted, swayed, and went down like a tree.

* * * * * * * * * *

Well, it wasn't a warning shot!

Having the woman fall over like a tree might be a metaphor for how Scarsdale Vibe treats the entire world. If it's a living organism and it's in his way, it's gone, whether an old lady in a hotel room or a vast forest in some far off country.

Chapter 1: Section 4: Page 31: Line 108 (480)

 Calmly Scarsdale Vibe nodded, raised his ebony air-cane, cocked it, and pressed the trigger.

* * * * * * * * * *

Did I not nail this asshole?! Yes, I admitted to having previously read this chapter before starting this blog. But that was over three months ago! I barely remember any of this beginning stuff! I was judging Scarsdale purely on his name, his wealth, and his accoutrements! Pynchon did a swell job saying exactly who this man was through a limited amount of text. Sure, he also flat-out called him evil at one point but that doesn't really count! You can hear some hyperbolic statement like that and still not believe the person labeled evil would shoot somebody for a simple (although scathing!) insult!

Of course reading one line at a time, I'm left wondering for a bit this question: did he kill her, maim her, or simply fire a warning shot?! How evil will he turn out to be?!

Chapter 1: Section 4: Page 31: Line 107 (479)

 On the way into the lobby, an elderly woman, respectably though not sumptuously dressed, approached him, crying, "If I were your mother I would have strangled you in your cradle."

* * * * * * * * * *

Holy shit. I thought I was being harsh with Scarsdale Vibe just on account of his name and his wealth! Apparently I was spot on! Good for you, soon to probably be dead woman!

This woman will probably never get a name but she's my favorite character in the book. Now I'm going to sound like my super nerdy friend whose favorite character in a popular movie franchise or television show always had to be some obscure character (at least obscure before the Internet made nothing obscure at all). So his favorite character in Star Wars was Wedge Antilles and his favorite character in Star Trek: The Next Generation was Reginald Barclay. This was also my friend who ruined Magic the Gathering for everybody by bringing the first stupid Scrye magazine into the house. Suddenly everybody had a monetary value for each of their cards and they refused to play for ante. It became less a game and more of an investment in a collector's pastime.

I wish somebody had said this to Donald Trump's face. Man, what a great line. "If I were your mother I would have strangled you in your cradle." The fucking shade of it. I'm in awe. Bravo, poor woman! Hoorah!