Chapter 48: 466-475
Page 466
begin the Day
see Against the Day, thematic, passim.
simple Diurnal Rhythms,- going ever with the Sun, was not the same as this going against it.
Thematic to TRP's vision. Most blatant in Against the Day, from title and
passim.
Page 467
Jamoke
Didnt surface until the 20th century, seems Pynchon is having Overseer Barnes be the originator, notice how M&D dont understand what it means: Appearing at the end of the 19th century, as a blend of java and mocha. By the 1920's, it became slang for someone who lacked mental abilities beyond that of a cup of coffee, probably influenced by moke. In the 1960's, it began to also be used as slang for male genitalia. From WIKI
Mason prefers to switch to Tea... Dixon replies, "Coffee is an art, where precision is all..."
Parallels Mason & Dixon's argument over Wine vs. Beer, earlier in the novel.
Monongahela
The Monongahela Valley was the site of a famous, if small battle that was one of the first in the French and Indian War (Braddock Expedition). It resulted in a sharp defeat for British and Colonial forces against those of the French and their Native American allies. The Monongahela Valley was the site of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. From WIKI
Page 468
Laurel Hill
Laurel Hill, also known as Laurel Ridge or Laurel Mountain, is a 70-mile (110 km) long mountain in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains. This mountain is flanked by Negro Mountain to its east and Chestnut Ridge to its west. From WIKI
Page 469
Cecil County
Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Delaware Valley. It was named for Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605-1675), who was the first Proprietary Governor of the colony of Maryland from 1632 until his death in 1675. The county seat is Elkton (see Head of Elk). The newspaper of record is the Cecil Whig. From WIKI
Mason is referring to when they were snowed in at the Inn, right? This would mean that they already had Felipe the Torpedo at this point, in other words, even though that story, and Lepton Castle come afterwards, it seems to actually have come before... Unless Mason has confused the two (however Dixon doesnt corroborate that)...
Wedge
See page 323.
Page 470
Dumbledores
Olde English for bumblebees
Iron Hill
See LINK
Elf Communities
So given the Tolkienish vibe here, with the mysterious, unowned Iron Hill, and now this... Maybe Squire Haligast is an Elf??? He is beginning to seem to me to represent the era when people still believed in "magic" etc... Maybe he is from the Wedge? See pages 389, 373, 366,
391, 435 & 474.
"Delaware"
Only nine years later, in 1664, the Dutch were themselves forcibly removed by a British expedition under the direction of James, the Duke of York. Fighting off a prior claim by Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, Proprietor of Maryland, the Duke passed his somewhat dubious ownership on to William Penn in 1682. Penn strongly desired access to the sea for his Pennsylvania province and leased what then came to be known as the "Lower Counties on the Delaware" from the Duke. Penn established representative government and briefly combined his two possessions under one General Assembly in 1682. However, by 1704 the Province of Pennsylvania had grown so large that their representatives wanted to make decisions without the assent of the Lower Counties and the two groups of representatives began meeting on their own, one at Philadelphia, and the other at New Castle. Penn and his heirs remained proprietors of both and always appointed the same person Governor for their Province of Pennsylvania and their territory of the Lower Counties. The fact that Delaware and Pennsylvania shared the same governor was not unique. During much of the colonial period, New York and New Jersey shared a governor, as did Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Dependent in early years on indentured labor, Delaware imported more slaves as the number of English immigrants decreased with better economic conditions in England. The colony became a slave society and cultivated tobacco as a cash crop. Before the Revolution, it had begun to shift to mixed agriculture. From WIKI
William Penn
See page 335.
the Duke
See page 337.
