Thomas Pynchon Wiki - User contributions [en]

Chapter 26: 257-265

2007-06-28T18:29:48Z

Phidre: /* Page 262 */ to journey west

==Page 257==
'''[[1763#November|November]] 15, 1763''' 

==Page 262==
'''''the way ev'rything, suddenly, has begun to gravitate towards B-flat major''''' 
B flat major is the easiest key for many wind instruments and therefore very popular for hymns and anthems, as well as later on for jazz.

'''To Anacreon in Heaven''' 
Then a British drinking song; later to become "The Star-Spangled Banner".

==Page 263==

'''''As to journey west...grow older, and die...to turn Eastward...defy death''''' 
Journeying westward as following the "Stream of the Day" makes turning eastward a turning "Against the Day", as it were. The Reverend's story, as a means of travelling into the past, is also bound "against the wind".

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Chapter 8: 77-86

2007-06-28T18:15:43Z

Phidre: /* Page 82 */ frikkadel

==Page 77==

'''Etesian''' 
Prevailing northerly monsoonal winds in the summer and early fall

'''not whistle''' 
Such a fun "vice" was not allowed on ship.

'''Torpedick''' 
Like an eel.

'''''Bandieten''''' 
Armed thieves in a band of thieves.

'''Pumplenose''' 
???

==Page 78==

'''monitory''' 
Conveying an admonition or a warning

'''the Watch''' 
Closely observing an area as in a neighborhood watch.

'''his Fell''' 
hide: the dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

'''virid''' 
Etymology: From the Latin viridis, from virere ‘to be green’. 
Pronunciation:/'vɪrɪd/ 
Noun,Singular: virid; Plural,virids 
virid (plural virids):(colour) a bright green colour 
virid colour: Adjective: virid, more virid, most virid 
(colour) having a bright green colour 
1977: His protruberant eyeballs were veined with red like certain kinds of rare marble. He urged me to meditate upon the virid line of the whirling universe. — Angela Carter, The Passion of New Eve

'''''Voorhuis''''' 
Dutch: fronthouse

==Page 79==

'''"Tell me, what'd I say?"''' 
Perhaps a reference to Ray Charles' 1959 hit song, "What'd I say," which features this line. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What'd_I_Say Wikipedia entry]

'''lock'd his front door''' 
(Traditional?)

'''Fumulus''' 
fumulus—A contraction of the words fume and cumulus, indicating water-droplet clouds that form within the top of rising plumes from smokestacks.

==Page 80==

'''''Stoep''''' 
Entered English as 'stoop' in 1789.

'''Theater of the Japanese''' 
Called Noh. See wikipedia. Here is the relevancy for the text:When hand props other than fans are used, they are usually introduced or retrieved by stage attendants who fulfill a similar role to stage crew in contemporary theater. Like their Western counterparts, stage attendants for Noh traditionally dress in black, but unlike in Western theater they may appear on stage during a scene, or may remain on stage during an entire performance, in both cases in plain view of the audience.

'''the Range of their Desires''' 
Must be compared, it would seem, to the name of Part 1 of ATD: Light Over the Ranges.

'''Younkers''' 
youn·ker: Pronunciation: 'y&[ng]-k&r 
Etymology: Dutch: jonker--young nobleman 
Noun
1 : a young man
2 : CHILD, YOUNGSTER Merriam-Webster Dict.

'''delegated the sighing''' 
Jet will not sigh over the romantic overtures; her sisters will.

==Page 81==

'''Jesuit part''' 
his penis, that is part of his lap, where the Guitar is? A(nother) small penis joke with an aware allusion to "Jesuitical", arguing small points?

==Page 82==

'''''lengkua''''' 
the word should be lengkuas, a Malay word for the spice whose Linnean name is Alpinia galanga. Now, this site has a slew of names for it: siamese ginger, siamese galanga, java galangal, greater galangal, el galangal, el adkham, hang dou kou, stor kalanga, galanga, galanga de l'inde, laos, galgant, kulanjan, naukyo, lenkuas, galanga maior, kha, ka, riêng, großer galgant, herbe indienne, da liang jiang, grand galanga, galanga majeur. But the form galangal seems to be the current English name, used alongside galanga. OED shows this word {galanga] in Chaucer
Is Pynchon's lengkua a simple mistake or typo for lengkuas, or could it be a legitimate (though rare) alternate form? I have too much respect for Pynchon and his love of variant forms to assume the former, but I don't see much evidence for the latter. From a linguist online.

'''Bilimbi pickles''' 
AVERRHOA Bilimbi, or Vilimbipuli or Irumpanpuli (in Malayalam), is a fruit seen in the backyard of most homes in Kerala. Unlike other fruits, it has not found a place in the market or been used in the food preservation industry.[2003 article] It belongs to Oxalidaceae, the sorrel family, and is a small pinnate-leaved tree cultivated in the tropics. The fruit resembles a small green cucumber and grows on the trunk and the older branches. The fruit is about two to five centimetres long and acidic in nature with a sour taste. The flowers are tiny five-petalled and maroon.

The fruit is a rich source of Vitamin C. It fights cholesterol, and is used as a tonic and a laxative. Syrup made from the fruit is used in French Guyana to cure ailments arising from jaundice. The fruit is also known to stop internal bleeding in the stomach.

The fruit was hitherto known to be used only in curries and in the making of pickles. 

Bilimbi pickle 

Ingredients:
Small or medium sized Bilimbi cut lengthwise 1/4 kg
Green chillies 5
Garlic 10 lobes
Ginger 2 pieces about one inch in length
Wheat flour 1/4 dsp (desert spoon — 3 tsps)
Gram flour 1/4 dsp
Chilli powder 1 1/2 dsp
Mustard and fenugreek 1/4 tsp each
Asafoetida powder 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Vinegar 2 oz.
Gingelly oil 2 to 3 oz.

Method:

Add a little salt to the bilimbi and keep in the sun for two days, in a wide-mouthed, shallow earthen vessel. Pour the oil in a deep vessel, and season with the mustard, fenugreek and curry leaves. Then sauté the garlic and ginger after ground to a fine paste. Add the chillies and sauté. (Heat the wheat and gram flour and keep aside). Lower the fire and add the chilli powder and asafoetida. Add the salt and vinegar and bring to a boil. Then add the bilimbi and the fried powders. Remove from fire and bottle when cool.

'''''Bobotie''''' 
???

'''''Frikkadel''''' 
Typical Afrikaner dish, spiced meatball. [http://funkymunky.co.za/meat.html Recipe]

==Page 84==

'''Satay''' 
sa·tay also sa·té or sa·te (sä'tā)
n.
A dish of southeast Asia consisting of strips of marinated meat, poultry, or seafood grilled on skewers and dipped in peanut sauce.
[Malay saté, satai or Indonesian sate, both perhaps of Tamil origin.]

'''Rakhman''' 
A popular indonesian name which seems to be used jokingly.

'''even better, as Eve''' 
(No missing rib? Gets to be disobedient?)

==Page 85==

'''B-st-rd''' 
Who's censoring here? A convention in 18th century literature.

'''a Tun short... law''' 
Tun:large cask especially one holding a volume equivalent to 2 butts or 252 gals
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn - Definition in context

'''Fence-Runner''' 
Not in OED? He means surveyer, insinuating that all surveyers do is measure property lines.

==Page 86==

'''recreations including running ''Amok''''' 
Running amok, sometimes referred to as simply amok (also spelled amuck or amuk), is derived from the Malay word mengamuk, meaning "to go mad with rage" (uncontrollable rage). In typical cases, a man who has shown no previous sign of anger and no inclination to resort to violence will take up a weapon in a sudden frenzy and attempt to kill everyone he meets. Amok episodes of this kind normally end with the amok-runner being killed by bystanders. The contrast between what was seen as the normal placid character of Malays and a sudden outburst of frenzied violence played to Western perceptions of the 'irrational' East. Wikipedia

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Chapter 2: 12-13

2007-06-28T17:56:03Z

Phidre: /* Page 12 */

==Page 12==

'''Needle''' 
The compass needle?

==Page 13==

'''twin Telescope, by Mr. Dollond''' 
[http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=dollond+telescope pix]

'''Clock by Mr. Ellicott''' 
[http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=ellicott+clock pix]

'''Sector by your Mr. Bird''' 
[http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=john.bird+sector pix]

'''His Ways how strange''' 
His = God's.

'''Imps of the Apprehensive''' 
Allusion to a famous Edgar Allen Poe story, "The Imp of the Perverse"?
Without spoiling that story by telling it,'apprehension' could be said
to be crucial in it.

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Chapter 26: 257-265

2007-06-28T17:45:54Z

Phidre: /* Page 262 */

Chapter 26: 257-265

2007-06-28T17:33:45Z

Phidre: /* Page 257 */ B-flat major

Chapter 60: 585-596

2007-06-26T13:22:56Z

Phidre: New page: ==Page 591== '''''if God should allow him victory over the Worm, he would sacrifice unto Him the first living thing he then happen'd to see''''' Biblical allusion. In ''Judges'' 11, J...

==Page 591==

'''''if God should allow him victory over the Worm, he would sacrifice unto Him the first living thing he then happen'd to see''''' 
Biblical allusion. In ''Judges'' 11, Jephthah vowes to sacrifice whoever first comes into his house, should God grant him victory over the Ammonites. It is actually Jephthah's daughter, and the sacrifice is accomplished. Interpretations disagree though on whether "sacrifice" has to be taken literally.

Chapter 66: 633-645

2007-06-26T13:02:23Z

Phidre: New page: ==Page 634== '''''this first Act of American murder, and the collapse of Vineland the Good''''' cf ''Vineland'', of course. Especially echoes the scene on page 322, where Zoyd is plan...

==Page 634==

'''''this first Act of American murder, and the collapse of Vineland the Good''''' 
cf ''Vineland'', of course. Especially echoes the scene on page 322, where Zoyd is planning to "harbor in Vineland, Vineland the Good".

Chapter 67: 646-657

2007-06-26T12:56:05Z

Phidre: New page: ==Page 654== '''''Far, far to the North and West...Springs of Fire run ev'rywhere.''''' The description and geographical position of the valley hints at Brobdingnag, the nation of gia...

==Page 654==

'''''Far, far to the North and West...Springs of Fire run ev'rywhere.''''' 
The description and geographical position of the valley hints at Brobdingnag, the nation of giants in Swift's ''Gulliver's Travels'' (1726). Gulliver is abandoned by his companions on a field of giant vegetables, and is finally found by a farmer. Brobdingnag is a fictive pensinsula to the north-west of California, which is surrounded by volcanoes.

Chapter 34: 341-348

2007-06-26T12:41:30Z

Phidre: /* Page 346 */

==Page 341==
'''[[1765#January|January]] 10, 1765'''
[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=lancaster,+PA&ie=UTF8&z=10&ll=40.022356,-76.25885&spn=0.546861,1.365051&om=1 Lancaster]

==Page 346==
'''The next day...''' 
[[1765#January|January]] 11, 1765 

'''''Acts have consequences, Dixon, they must''''' 
Might be of interest that this passage has a predecessor in ''Vineland'': "What was she [DL] complaining about? Only that acts, deeply moral and otherwise, have consequences - only the workings of karma." (''Vineland'', p. 132)

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Chapter 35: 349-361

2007-06-26T12:32:20Z

Phidre: /* Page 353 */

==Page 353==

'''I was back in America''' 
The Secton from here until page 392 takes place from [[1765#January|January]] 11, 1765 to [[1765#January|January]] 17, 1765.

'''The Stamp Act Crisis''' 
It's strange to note that the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamp_Act_1765 Stamp Act] wasn't passed until [[1765#March|March]] 22, 1765. The Rev is setting the mood of the times but this is really only the dissatisfaction waiting for a trigger.

==Page 361==
'''''...shall this Machine come abruptly to a Stop...only the Machine, fading as we stand, and a Prairie of desperate Immensity...''''' 
The passage recalls the closing scene of ''Vineland'', in which ''Prairie'' Wheeler is lying on a meadow, waiting for Brock Vond to find her. He doesn't come though.

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