Difference between revisions of "ATD 243-272"

Revision as of 15:39, 22 January 2007

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

Page 243

The Chums return
When were the Chums last seen in AtD? As far back as page 142?

A brief reminder of who the Chums are and what we know about them so far:

Randolph St. Cosmo, commander.

Lindsay Nosegay, Master-at-Arms (second in command), hates slackers and slang.

Miles Blundell, handyman, awkward, with an "ample waist" (11), also ship's Commissary, whose cooking ranges from pure cordon bleu to inedible. (110)

Darby Suckling, the baby of the crew, served "as both factotum and mascotte". By page 141 or so, has transformed from spirited youth to bomb obsessed, (111) sneering, snide cynic. Because of hitting adolescence?

Chick Counterfly, the newest member of the crew, picked up by the Chums in the South while on the run from the KKK. At last appearance, had become Dr. Counterfly, knowledgeable Science Officer aboard the Inconvenience (141). Reliably humorous. (110)

Fumaioli in Venice

Italian: funnels; fumaioli are large wide-topped chimneys, common to the rooftops of Venice.

certo
sure, certain.

Seccatura
Italian: Inconvenience

Page 244

ragazza
Italian: girl.

Picardy thirds
The use of a major chord at the end of a musical section in a minor key. Miles seems just as moved by them as Lew. Cf p50

stabilimento
Italian: establishment

Page 245

Garibaldi
Famous Italian leader, major figure in the Italian Unification. Wikipedia

"Ehi, sugo!"
"Hey, sauce!" Does this make sense to anyone?

twentyfold
5 chums times 4 suspects each.

osteria
tavern.

San Polo
The smallest district/area in Venice, and among the oldest. Wikipedia

calli
Venetian 'street' or 'lane'.

Page 246

sotoporteghi
passageways. See picture for one example [1].

"Sa stai, O! Lungo, ehi!"
???

cameriere
waitresses.

pallonisti
ballonists.

Ehi, macche, Pina!
???

giadrul
???

"with all the spaghetti-joints in this town to choose from, are you saying those dadblame Russians have come in here?"
reminiscent of a similar line from the film Casablanca, spoken by Humphrey Bogart: "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."

Page 247

tacchino
turkey.

Dum vivimus, bibamus
While we live, let us drink. Corruption of "Dum vivimus, vivamus".

vini frizzanti
sparkling wine.

SANGUIS RUBER, MENS PURA
Latin: Red blood, clean mind.

Serrata del Maggior Consiglio
Great Council Lockout, 1297. Link to the "Maggior Consiglio" entry on Reference.com [2]

Napoleon's abolition
1797. Wikipedia

Polos' return
Marco Polo together with his father and uncle returned to Venice in 1295 from their travel to China started in 1271.
Marco Polo (1254-1324), a Venetian traveller. Was born of a nobel family at Venice, while his father and uncle had gone on a mercantile expedition by Constantinople and the Crimea to Bokhara and to Cathy (China). The Mongol prince commissioned them as envoys to the Pope, a commission they tried in vain to carry out in Italy (1269). The Polos started again a new trip to China in 1271, taking with them young Marco, and arrived at the court of Kublai Khan in 1275 by way of Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khotan to Lop Nor, then across the Gobi desert to Kansu and Shang-tu. Marco Polo entered the diplomatic service of Kublai Khan and was sent on missions to various parts of the Mongol empire. The Polos left China on 1282 and returned by way of Sumatra, India, and Persia to Venice (1295). In 1298 Marco was in command of a galley at the battle of Curzola, where the Venetians were defeated by the Genoese, and he was a prisoner for a year at Genoa. Here it was thought that he dictated to another captive an account of his travels, published under the title of Divisamemt dou monde. (English title: The Travels of Marco Polo.) (Marco Polo.)

Page 248

Attenzione al culo
"Pay attention to your rear." Likely meant as "watch your ass."

Doge by Giovanni Bellini

For some thousand years, the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice was styled the Doge, a rare but not unique Italian title derived from the Latin Dux, as the major Italian parallel Duce and the English Duke. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Wikipedia entry

Shambhala
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala is a mystical kingdom hidden somewhere beyond the snowpeaks of the Himalayas. Shambhala is believed to be a society where all the inhabitants are enlightened. During the 19th century, Theosophical Society founder H.P. Blavatsky alluded to the Shambhala myth, giving it currency for Western occult enthusiasts. Later esoteric writers further emphasized and elaborated on the concept of a hidden land inhabited by a hidden mystic brotherhood whose members labor for the good of humanity. Wikipedia entry

an episode of intentional blindness
Echoes the "denial of ordinary vision" that Lew sees when he meets Professor Renfrew (p. 240). Might these "blind spots" in sense evoke Iceland Spar?

Page 249

"Those whose enduring object is power in this world are only too happy to use without remorse the others, whose aim is of course to transcend all question of power. Each regards the other as a pack of deluded fools."
Over time, Pynchon appears to have come to a belief in a massive conflict between cultures "valuing anaysis and differentiation" and those valuing "unity and integration". The two alternate maps of Asia could be a reference to these disparate worldviews.Wikipedia entry on V.

paramorphoscope
AtD is itself a paramorphoscope; satire and science fiction typically hold up a distorting mirror to the world in which they are written, and present worlds "set to the side of the one we have taken". In the end the correct paramorphic "mirror" shows the world clearly.

the asylum on San Servolo
First established as a military hospital in 1715, later became a mental asylum. Seems that San Servolo is to Venice what Bedlam is to London. Wikipedia

Clifford's term
W.K. Clifford, (1845-1879): an English mathematician. Wikipedia

Page 250

St Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco) in Venice

Dr. Cantor
Georg Cantor (1845 - 1918), German mathematician. Cantor's Theorem is what is most relevant to his mention here.

the plano-convex designs of Griendl von Ach
For a brief history of the compound-lens microscope, and the roles played by the Italians and the Dutch, including Griendl von Ach, see: http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Microscope

prophetic vision of St. Mark
Mark the Evangelist (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark and a companion of Peter. From this site: "...a prophetic dream that Mark was said to have experienced during his earlier, supposed ministry in the area of the Venetian lagoon. In it he was visited by an angel who told him that he would find his final resting place on the very site where San Marco would later be built." In the first century there was no settlement worth mentioning in the Lagoon yet. The prophecy was "fulfilled" in 828 when the saint's remains stolen on orders of Doge Giustiniano Participazio in Alexandria were brought to Venice. Wikipedia entry St. Mark is represented by a winged lion and is the patron saint of Venice [3].

Page 251

The Lion of St. Mark, by Carpaccio

Lion of St. Mark by Carpaccion
Vittore Carpaccio (c.1460–1525/6) was a Venetian painter. Wikipedia entry

the vision of St. Mark, but in reverse
In St. Mark's vision, an angel appeared to Mark and informed him that his remains would one day end up in his present location, which later became Venice. Here, Miles seems to assume the form of the angel (in the form of a lion?) and the 'promise' Pynchon mentions seems to be the angel's promise to Mark.

our own duty, our own fate... the real journey
Pynchon's one-paragraph summation of human life and its meaning recalls a letter Pynchon wrote in the early 1960s, The World is at Fault, in which he also summed up the entirety of human life in a few tidy sentences. Both employ the word 'pilgrimage.'

Page 252

sotopòrteghi
Tunnels or passageways under large buildings.

Glagolitic
The Glagolitic Alphabet is the oldest known Slavic alphabet (9th c.). It originated as a tactic to lessen the dependence of the subjects of the Prince of Greater Moravia on Frankish priests, who banned it but could not suppress it; it played a similar role in preserving Bulgarian independence from Byzantium. [4] It appears to be a nexus of the kind of simultaneous temporal and spiritual tasks the Chums of Chance are now involved in. In this, it raises the issues first explored by Pynchon in the "Tchitcherine in Kyrghizia" sections of Gravity's Rainbow in which the introduction of a written alphabet causes immense political and social change.

Gauloise
famous French cigarette. See Wikipedia.

scusi
excuse me.

Affascinante, caro
Fascinating, dear.

ragazzo
boy.

Mattoidi
Borderland cases between sanity and insanity.

Prego
Please.

Page 253

Pozzuoli
A city in the Province of Naples (Napoli) in the region of Campania. See Wikipedia.

sfumato
It refers to a well known painting method which blends so subtly the colors and tones that no perceptible transition as demonstrated by Leonardo da Vince's Mona Lisa. See Wikipedia. The context seems to imply smoke, then fumo instead should be used.

Page 254

Pax tibi
Peace to you.

"Chums of Chance were expected to die on the job. Or else live forever, there being two schools of thought, actually."
Possibly a reference to the fact that the Chums seem to live simultaneously in the "real" world of the novel and also in fictional stories within the novel.

Page 255

Mostruccio
?

Samoyeds

Samoyeds
These nomadic reindeer herders help with the herding, pull sleds, and are sometimes called "the smiley dog" in reference to their seemingly smiling faces. Wikipedia

Bastille Day
The Campanile di San Marco collapsed 14 July 1902. Pynchon Wiki on the Campanile.

lasagnoni
Lasagne, a long-cut pasta with rectangular section. But what's the true meaning the author used here?

Page 256

"four-brick groupings
Padzhitnoff sees the Campanile come apart as a game of Tetris! The "four-brick groupings [...] begin their gentle, undeadly descent, rotating and translating in all available modes". (See page 123 for more on Tetris.)

the tower collapses
Might have some relation to the final poem of Gravity's Rainbow.

Page 258

Tetralith
Modern math term for three dimensional solid formed by merging three hyperbolic paraboloids in a manner that they have a common midpoint. See Tetralith Photo #2. Pynchon just means a Tetris-shaped projectile, a Tetromino.

Japanese character for "four" being same as that for "death"
Not quite correct. The Japanese characters for four 四 and death 死 are quite distinct, but can be pronounced in the same way, hence the taboo.

Ryohei Uchida
Ultra-nationalist, founder of the Black Dragon Soceity (see below), a right-wing, paramilitary organization. See Ryohei Uchida.

polny pizdets
sad state of affairs.

Crude Russian: a total screwup.

Black Dragon Society
A paramiltary, ultra-nationalist, right-wing organization in Japan founded by Ryohei Uchida in 1901. Its initial public goal was to support Janpanese expansion in Manchuria. Therefore, during the period from 1901 to the end of World War I, it aimed to help the Japanese government drive the Russian presence out of that region. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 (a war fought over Manchuria, with the Russians soundly defeated) it was active in espionage, sabotage and assassination against the Russians. During the 20's, 30's and later periods the Black Dragon Society evolved and expanded its activities around the world, including the United States. It was finally disbanded in 1946 by General MacArthur after World War II. Wikipedia entry.

Smirno
Russian: quiet!

Page 259

dov'era, com'era
where it was, as it was. See veniceblog. On July 14, 1902 the St. Mark's Campanile in Piazza San Marco, Venice, mysteriously and totally collapsed. Under the 'battle cry' of com'era, dov'era it was rebuilt. The Campanile was reopened on April 25 (St. Mark's Day) 1912. Wikipedia. Also, Cf p.255.

Page 260

Deuce and Sloat return
These two, it will be recalled, are the men hired by the mine owners to kill Webb Traverse. (193) It is unclear who is whose sidekick. (195) Sloat tends to bodies, Deuce the spirit. (197)

Curly Dee
Mathematicians call the "partial derivative" symbol "curly d." Wikipedia shows the symbol.

inside out
Optical illusion.

Page 261

Mayva and Lake
Webb Traverse's wife and daughter.

lard smoke
Cf. p. 10, "tall smokestacks unceasingly vomiting black grease-smoke," and p. 216, "Just greasy ashes by the trailside."

biscuit-shooter
I.e., a cook.

Cañon City
Site of the Colorado State Penitentiary, meant to suggest Deuce and Sloat had done time there.

gong
??? 17:18, 1 January 2007 (PST)Bklyn48

Page 262

Willis Turnstone
???

Page 263

"Crazier."
Cf Bonnie and Clyde.

Oleander Prudge
???

Page 264

single-jacker
A miner who with a hammer and spike cuts a hole into rock for placement of a stick of dynamite. A set of holes are cut for each "synchronized" blast. (Double jackers work as a team.) Infer (this) one as a loner, a bit crazy, single minded, silent, easily hurt or misunderstood, doesn't play well with others...

Page 265

gullet of days
???

Page 266

white-throated swift
A swift is a small plainly colored bird similar to swallow.

November
November 1903.

nymph du pave
should probably read "nymphE du pave": street-whore. Theoretically this could also translate as: (image of a) nymph on a mosaic (tesselated floor) - like the huge roman one of Ariadne in the Rue du Pavé in Avenche (Switzerland) german weblink

geometric episode
Vaguely reminiscent of Proust on Combray: "And on one of the longest walks we ever took from Combray there was a spot where the narrow road emerged suddenly on to an immense plain, closed at the horizon by strips of forest over which rose and stood alone the fine point of Saint-Hilaire's steeple, but so sharpened and so pink that it seemed to be no more than sketched on the sky by the finger-nail of a painter anxious to give to such a landscape, to so pure a piece of 'nature,' this little sign of art, this single indication of human existence." etext

Engelmann spruce
Picea engelmannii A short biography of Dr. Engelmann (lit. Angel-Man) Wikipedia-Entry, more elaborated on german site

albatross cloth
Evidently a distinct color/design for a wedding or wedding party dress in the West at the time. I have no OED at the moment, but there are at least two online "diaries" or descriptions using the phrase. Here is one: "We were married August 6, 1896 at 7:30 AM at my folk’s residence among friends and relatives. To honor the event, my folks had our parlor decorated with many flowers including roses, myrtle and geraniums. I wore an elegant gown of white silk and albatross cloth."

Page 267

Jemt-land
A Province in the center of Sweden Wikipedia

Page 268

side hobbles
???

Page 269

items, nearly always stolen
Cf bower-bird.

marmot
A stout-bodied, short-legged rodent that has coarse fur, a short bushy tail, and very short ears, lives in burrows, and hibernates in winter; also: a prairie dog or one of the larger ground squirrels.
Marmots are native to Colorado and live at the higher altitudes. They are about the size of a weasel.

"huevón"
From hueva (egg). According to this blog huevon "literally refers to the size of a mans "cojones" (another pseudo decent word that has seen a lot of mainstream play). It is commonly used to indicate how lazy someone is. The bigger the "huevon" you are, the lazier. As with "guey", however, this too has often been used to say dude or buddy."

pinche cabron
fucking asshole.

Page 271

skip
A wagon or basket on a track in a mine, or generally any scooter.

ex-Danite
Danites were Joseph Smith's vigilantes, "Armies of Israel", during the Mormon War 1838 in Missouri, i.e., before travel to Utah.

"Avenging Angels"
Brigham Young's group with similar purpose as Danite above, sometimes called Danites as well.

Page 272

the Delores
Dolores River runs through Cortez (where Deuce seems to be, next to exploding cactus p270). "We woke up in the Dolores... [VALLEY/REGION/HOTEL]"

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