Difference between revisions of "ATD 26-56"

Revision as of 18:18, 28 December 2006

Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.

Page 26

Little Egypt
was the stage name for two popular exotic dancers, Ashea Wabe who danced at the Seeley banquet at the 1893 World's Fair and Farida Mazar Spyropoulos, also performing under the stage name Fatima, appeared at the "Street in Cairo" exhibition on the Midway at the World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893. Wikipedia entry Also a 1961 song by the Coasters.

Page 27

Bacchanale
From Samson et Dalila, op. 47 (1877) Wikipedia entry. Listen to a 30 second MP3 sample

Dally
Merle's relationship with Dally is reminiscent of Ryan and Tatum O'Neal's characters in the 1973 Peter Bogdanovich film, "Paper Moon".

Page 28

Imbottigliata!
Italian for "bottled".

Dahlia Rideout
The lolita motif is common in Pynchon's works. Other lolitas include Bianca in Gravity's Rainbow. Dahlia is four or five years old! She is not a lolita motif here. Lolita was twelve and Humbert was sick. Even her sick father, Merle Rideout, who would sell her to one of the Chums, won't until she is sixteen, maybe fifteen.

Page 29

a l'étouffée
French, meaning a dish fried in a pan. So, pan-fried alligator meat.

Sloane Laboratory
Yale's physics lab built 1882.

Ray Ipsow
In Latin re ipso means "the thing itself." "To the thing itself" was the motto and rallying cry of the investigational method known as phenomenology Wikipedia entry developed by Edmund Husserl Wikipedia entry.

Outer Indianoplace
Derogatory nickname for Indianapolis.

Khartoum... Mahdi's army... Oltre Giubba, instead of down in Alex
Khartoum is the capital of Sudan. The Mahdi army was an Islamic group in the 1880s that advocated a return to strict Islamic values and battled with the government of Khartoum and Egyptian armies. More on these convoluted events at the Wikipedia entry.

Page 30

railroad watch
High-quality pocket watch. [pix and info]

Page 31

Scarsdale Vibe
Scarsdale NY boasts that it's Westchester County's wealthiest community, so a 'Scarsdale vibe' implies 'stinking of money'. Vibe is another Pynchon baddie whose last name starts with "V", e.g., Brock Vond in Vineland.

Foley Walker
"Foley walker" is a term used to indicate a sound-effects expert. Also known as a foley artist [cite]

Page 33

"Old Zip Coon"
"Old Zip Coon" dates from as early as 1834 and is considered the original name for the 19th-century American folk song, 'Turkey in the Straw'. lyrics Wikipedia See also [1] and [2]

Page 36

Lew Basnight
"Bas" is French for "low."

A detective named 'Lew' reminds us of Ross Macdonald's character Lew Archer which in turn recalls another detective, Miles Archer, partner of Sam Spade in San Francisco detective agency Spade & Archer. This may be a bad pun on 'lube-ass night'.

White City Investigations
The name recalls the White Visitation of Gravity's Rainbow. Any connection?

Page 37

fictitiousness
On this and the previous page, there is a question raised of whether the Chums are fictional. Or it could be saying that such fantastical sights as the airship are easy to miss at the fair.

Wyatt Earp
(1848–1929), was a teamster, sometime buffalo hunter, officer of the law in various Western frontier towns, gambler, and saloon-keeper in the Wild West and the U.S. mining frontier from California to Alaska. He is best known for his participation in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Wikipedia

Nellie Bly
(1864-1922) was an American journalist, author, industrialist, and charity worker. She is most famous for an undercover exposé in which she faked insanity to study a mental institution from within. She is also well-known for her record-breaking trip around the world. Wikipedia

"Although the longer a fellow's name has been in the magazines, the harder it is to tell fiction from non-fiction."
May express Pynchon's reaction to the press' treatment of him over the years. In 1964, when Pynchon heard that the New York Herald Tribune was writing an article about him, Pynchon wrote to his agent that he assumed the piece "will be riddled with the same lies, calumnies and all-around knavish disregard for my privacy" as previous articles. ("Pynchon's Letters Nudge His Mask," New York Times, 4 Mar 1998).

Page 39

kazoos
This silly instrument appears in several Pynchon novels.

slow ritual movement
Maybe tai chi, or anachronistic Gurdjieffian dance?

Drave
Possibly a back formation from 'Dravidians,' referring to David Koresh's Branch Davidians.

huh? Bleakhaus 16:23, 19 December 2006 (PST)

Another possibility is that Pynchon had in mind the Scottish noun "drave," which the OED defines as a "fishing expedition in which several men take part, each supplying a net and receiving a share of the profits made. Later, A haul (of fish); also, a shoal." This resonates with the evangelical role that Drave plays (Cf. Matthew 4:18, where Jesus addresses Peter and Matthew, "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.")

It should be noted, though, that there is also a Drave river in south central Europe, though there seems to be little textual evidence to support this association.

"liable for criminal penalties"
Law and the legal profession so far appear in AtD more than any other Pynchon novel (perhaps save The Crying of Lot 49), and so far, like here, in a negative or confusing light, perhaps as part of the establishment Pynchon seems to rail against in the novel.

Page 40

remembrance stick
Similar to keisaku in Zen Buddhism, an attempt by a sensei to alert students to their mindlessness in zazen (sitting meditation), usually administered by a stick. An English translation is stick of compassion. [Wikipedia]

Page 42

scorcher cap
The cap of an early bicycling enthusiast. According to this site,

"In […]1892 [… a] bicyclist to be considered genuine had to be dressed in bicycle clothes. A man had to wear bicycle pants which were baggy at the top and tight to the legs below. Then he had to have bicycle socks and shoes. The shoes were made of canvass. Then he had to have a loose fitting grey colored short which we would designate now as a sport shirt. Then on his head he had to wear a tight fitting cap with a long bill in front, the longer the better up to a certain ceiling length. With this outfit and a bicycle with drop handlebars he was ready to appear in public as a real cyclist. If he could make 20 miles an hour on a good track he was called a 'scorcher,' the idea being that he was going so fast that he would scorch at least the end of his nose if nothing else."

Page 43

White City Investigations
Since the White City dates from 01 May 1893, this ought to be later.

"leisurely rips through the fabric of the day"
See below

Page 44

"He had learned to step to the side of the day."
Through the book there are juxtapositions of things with and against the day. Here, we see Lew set "to the side" of the day.

Page 45

Trabants
"Trabanten" (German for 'satellites') originally - during the Thirty Years' War - were lightly armed foot soldiers; later this term was used for servants and/or bodyguards of high-ranking persons.

"have a lawyer explain civil liability to you"
Again, law. Pynchon must have boned up on legal jargon (or perhaps he got sued?).

Francis Ferdinand
This is indeed the same Franz Ferdinand whose assassination in 1914 triggered World War I. At the time of his appearance in AtD, he would have been 30, and his two passions throughout young adulthood and his 20s were travel and hunting (it is estimated that he shot more than 5,000 deer in his lifetime). Wikipedia entry. He did indeed attend the Chicago Exposition. [3]

Page 46

"staff"
[pix and info]

"In Austria, the Archduke was explaining"......through the line about renting out the Chicago Stockyards "for a weekend's amusement", Pynchon continues his linking of the Stockyard killing-floor with the genocidal horrors of the 2oth Century, it seems. See above. Heidegger (sic) made this connection somewhere and J.M Coetze's novel Elizabeth Costello uses it in a key chapter that was published separately. Researching the details.

"Hungarians are the lowest level of brute existence"
It is unclear whether this shocking sentiment (especially to Hungarians!) expressed by the Archduke is more fictitious than factual. Hungary had become an equal partner in the Austro-Hungarian empire by the 1890s, and Empress Elizabeth herself spoke the Hungarian language and loved its country and people, visiting and residing there often. Pynchon's portrayal of Franz seems to indicate, however, that despite the historic nature of his assassination, he deserved it...!

Mannlicher
A double-barreled rifle designed by Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher. It is reported that Archduke Franz Ferdinand had several of these made special for him.

Interestingly enough, the rifle is also mentioned in Green Hills of Africa and The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway, who used it extensively on hunting.

Franz was eventually assassinated in Sarajevo. Coincidentally (?), fellow assassinee JFK was initially claimed to have been a victim of Lee Harvey Oswald's Mannlicher rifle.

Page 47

K&K Special Security
"K&K" stands for "Kaiserlich und Königlich," German for "imperial and royal (kingly)," to indicate the Austrian two titles of the ruler of the Dual Monarchy: King of Hungary and Emperor of Austria. Wikipedia entry.

Kuchenteigs-Verderbtheit
This is not a german word as far as I know and most likely not even a degenerate Habsburg will have used it (but then i havent read Franz Ferdinands account of his travels...). Sounds more like some babelfish automatic translation of "pastry-depravity" to me. I wonder what the german translator will make of this. My guess is, s/he will not make a "typical german" combined noun out of it, but turn the phrase to be able to use an adverb like "mehlspeisennarrisch" instead (what with in Austria and Bavaria there is a word for (mostly sweet) pastry: "Mehlspeise" (literally "flour-meal), and "narrisch" is Austrian/Viennese for being (slightly) mad). But then, of course, there might be a pun intended I as a bad english-speaker just dont get. Maybe via the pronounciation? Check out this dictionary, head for "continue searching" and press "voice output" - voila, thats what "Kuchenteigs-Verderbtheit" sounds like.

...the only place in Chicago a man could find a decent orange phosphate...
A reference to the modern stereotype that black people like orange soda, here called a phosphate.

Page 48

grip cars
The lead cars in cable-car systems. [Wikipedia]

"...'st los, Hund?"
German for "'s up, dog?"

And when Franz Ferdinand pays, everybody pays!
WWI?

Page 49

Kinsley's
A famous steakhouse at 105-107 Adams St. in downtown Chicago. The building was erected in 1885.

Welsbach mantles
One of the most important advances in the history of lighting, the Welsbach mantle (for a period so ubiquitous it became more commonly known simply as 'gas mantle') was first sold commercially in 1892 and quickly spread throughout Europe. It remained an important part of street lighting until the widespread introduction of electric lighting in the early 1900s. Wikipedia entry.

Reverend Moss Gatlin
A fictional character. Is he connected to Rev. Cherrycoke? They are both Reverends with strong political opinions and you can hear Pynchon's voice here very strong.

fascinators
Hair adornments. [pix]

"bearing the insults of the day"
See note on page 44 above

Blake's Jerusalem
The original lines From William Blake's poem are:

I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

Page 50

Picardy third
The use of a major chord at the end of a musical section in a minor key. Wikipedia entry

Page 51

deadfalls
Low points where refuse collects? Cf. Pynchon's story, Low-Lands?[def]

"prophesiers who had seen America as it might be in visions America's wardens could not tolerate"
Coupled with the cover blurb Pynchon wrote: "If it is not the world, it is what the world might be with a minor adjustment or two. According to some, this is one of the main purposes of fiction." Could Against the Day be Pynchon's prophecy of a future America?

The Unsleeping Eye
an apparent reference to Pinkerton's competing PI agency. See also page 13.

Page 52

Inconvenience
Lew Basnight's temporary presence on the airship may be the first clue as to why it's called Inconvenience. Perhaps his growing sympathy for the anarchists will lead to greater involvement by him, the Chums, or at least the book in portraying the anarchist movement, which is viewed as an inconvenience to the ruling classes. Pynchon may consider his novel's message, similarly, as an inconvenient truth about America's past, present or both.

I thought it was just a polysyllable that sounds stately but means the opposite.--Robot 13:18, 5 December 2006 (PST)

"some weeks till the fair closes"
30 October 1893.

Freddie Turner
"The Significance of the Frontier in American History" From this paper:"In this advance, the frontier is the outer edge of the wave--the meeting point between savagery and civilization." [etext]

Page 53

Blitz Instruments and Wackett Punches
Mentioned in 1911 Britannica article 'Slaughter-house' [etext]

"The frontier ends and disconnection begins"
Here, the free cowboy myth of Buffalo Bill's show is replaced by the grim reality of the stockyard worker.

Cause and effect
A major theme in Gravity's Rainbow.

How the dickens do I know?
A possible reference to the novels of Charles Dickens, who critiques in such works as Hard Times (1854) the onset of urban decay, and the choked living and working conditions of the proletariat as the Industrial Revolution steams onward.

Page 55

"...they continued in a fragmented reverie which,... often announced some change in the works"
Good to notice when the Chums get like this again: i.e. unfocused, depressed, without direction, it may lead to patterns in the plot.

"Speculation begun to fill the day."
See note on page 44 above

Annotation Index