Pynchon Wiki: Against the Day

Revision as of 11:32, 18 March 2007 by Bleakhaus (Talk | contribs) (External Links)

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Welcome to the Against the Day Wiki

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Order Against the Day
Gravity's Rainbow and Mason & Dixon wikis
We've rolled out v1.0 of the Gravity's Rainbow wiki and the Mason & Dixon wiki. Both are structured like this one, and your current username and password will work for all three. Much of the content for these novels currently at ThomasPynchon.com has made the move over to the wiki format, along with new structures for page-by-page annotation. So feel free to make contributions to those two wikis when the inspiration strikes.

This is the newly created Wiki for Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day. You can take a look at the cover, read the book description written by Pynchon himself, read the reviews, entertain some theories on the source of the title, or check out the Errata.

How to Use this Wiki

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the Against the Day Alphabetical Index, used to keep track of the myriad characters, real and imagined, as well as events, arcana, and lots of other stuff. The second is the Spoiler-Free Annotations by Page, which allows the reader to look up and contribute allusions and references while reading the book, in a convenient and spoiler-free manner. These two sections are so far almost entirely different, but we're working on integrating them.

Apart from those, it's up to you! In addition to your own research, feel free to add relevant information or interpetations gleaned from other Against the Day online discussions such as the Pynchon-L mailing list, The Chumps of Choice blog, Against the Day blog, and others-- with proper attribution, of course.

Alphabetical Index

Information on the characters, events, and everything else in Against the Day, organized alphabetically:
Against the Day Alpha Guide
A·B·C·D·E·F·G·H·I·J·K·L·M·N·O·P·Q·R·S·T·U·V·W·XYZ top of page


Spoiler-free Annotations by Page

An alternate form of commentary on the text. The guiding principle of these annotations is to remain spoiler-free, so that readers can follow along without the fear that later parts of the book will be revealed.

Part One:
The Light Over the Ranges

1-25, 26-56, 57-80, 81-96, 97-118

Part Two:
Iceland Spar

119-148, 149-170, 171-198, 199-218, 219-242, 243-272, 273-295, 296-317, 318-335, 336-357, 358-373, 374-396, 397-428

Part Three:
Bilocations

429-459, 460-488, 489-524, 525-556, 557-587, 588-614, 615-643, 644-677, 678-694

Part Four:
Against the Day

695-723, 724-747, 748-767, 768-791, 792-820, 821-848, 849-863, 864-891, 892-918, 919-945, 946-975, 976-999, 1000-1017, 1018-1039, 1040-1062

Part Five:
Rue du Départ

1063-1085

Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines

Click here for help with editing and creating pages.

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

  • When creating a new page, if its information pertains to one (and only one) specific Pynchon novel, please categorize it with the appropriate identifier. For example, a page pertaining to Against the Day (currently the only novel being annotated here), should use the syntax [[Category:ATD]].
  • To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the entry on Peter Tait as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg [[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

External Links

The Modern Word: counting down to ATD
The Fictional Woods - a Pynchon forum

Featured Article

Pynchon writing on Marilyn Monroe's death

The World is at Fault
A letter that Pynchon wrote to his former Cornell roommate Jules Siegel in the early 1960s, featuring a thematic connection to a scene in Against the Day.

"When Marilyn Monroe got out of the game, I wrote something like, 'Southern California's special horror notwithstanding, if the world offered nothing, nowhere to support or make bearable whatever her private grief was, then it is that world, and not she, that is at fault.'
I wrote that in the first few shook-up minutes after hearing the bulletin..."

( more...)


Image Gallery

Below are some of the images you will find on the Against the Day Wiki.


We will be providing more support for using this wiki in the coming weeks. Feel free to contact us (admin at pynchonwiki dot com) with any questions.

Thanks, and enjoy...

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