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2026-03-09T17:55:41Z

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** https://shadowticket.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Shadow Ticket
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** https://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Inherent Vice
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Main Page

2026-02-26T05:26:29Z

WikiAdmin: /* Library of Congress Historical Resources */

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

If you wish to contact us or suggest edits, [https://thomaspynchon.com/contact/ '''use this Contact page.''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [https://thomaspynchon.com/pynchon-cover-art/mason-dixon/ ''Mason & Dixon'' covers] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Library of Congress Historical Resources==
''The history of Mason and Dixon's Line'' (1855) by John H. B. Latrobe (John Hazlehurst Boneval) (1803-1891): The story of the demarcation of the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania that became the dividing line between free and slave states. Latrobe was a lawyer, inventor, and speaker; he was also president of the American Colonization Society (1853-90), founder of the Maryland Historical Society, and a central figure in the movement to colonize the Republic of Liberia. [https://www.loc.gov/item/91898509/ Library of Congress]

[https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/items/6948ebb6-4026-4f35-a54e-aad09c32a66a A Plan of the boundary lines between the province of maryland and the three lower counties of delaware]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [https://www.towntopics.com/2026/02/25/drawing-a-line-halfway-through-thomas-pynchons-mason-dixon/ Town Topics (Princeton U.): "Drawing a Line Halfway Through Thomas Pynchon’s ''Mason & Dixon''"]
* [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [https://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [https://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [https://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2026-02-26T05:25:29Z

WikiAdmin: /* The history of Mason and Dixon's Line (1855) */

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

If you wish to contact us or suggest edits, [https://thomaspynchon.com/contact/ '''use this Contact page.''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [https://thomaspynchon.com/pynchon-cover-art/mason-dixon/ ''Mason & Dixon'' covers] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Library of Congress Historical Resources==
''The history of Mason and Dixon's Line'' (1855) by John H. B. Latrobe (John Hazlehurst Boneval) (1803-1891): The story of the demarcation of the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania that became the dividing line between free and slave states. Latrobe was a lawyer, inventor, and speaker; he was also president of the American Colonization Society (1853-90), founder of the Maryland Historical Society, and a central figure in the movement to colonize the Republic of Liberia. [https://www.loc.gov/item/91898509/ Library of Congress]

[https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here A Plan of the boundary lines between the province of maryland and the three lower counties of delaware]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [https://www.towntopics.com/2026/02/25/drawing-a-line-halfway-through-thomas-pynchons-mason-dixon/ Town Topics (Princeton U.): "Drawing a Line Halfway Through Thomas Pynchon’s ''Mason & Dixon''"]
* [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [https://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [https://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [https://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2026-02-26T05:23:24Z

WikiAdmin: /* Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way */

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

If you wish to contact us or suggest edits, [https://thomaspynchon.com/contact/ '''use this Contact page.''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [https://thomaspynchon.com/pynchon-cover-art/mason-dixon/ ''Mason & Dixon'' covers] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==''The history of Mason and Dixon's Line'' (1855)==
By John H. B. Latrobe (John Hazlehurst Boneval) (1803-1891): The story of the demarcation of the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania that became the dividing line between free and slave states. Latrobe was a lawyer, inventor, and speaker; he was also president of the American Colonization Society (1853-90), founder of the Maryland Historical Society, and a central figure in the movement to colonize the Republic of Liberia. [https://www.loc.gov/item/91898509/ Library of Congress]

[A very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [https://www.towntopics.com/2026/02/25/drawing-a-line-halfway-through-thomas-pynchons-mason-dixon/ Town Topics (Princeton U.): "Drawing a Line Halfway Through Thomas Pynchon’s ''Mason & Dixon''"]
* [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [https://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [https://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [https://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2026-02-26T05:17:18Z

WikiAdmin: /* Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way */

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

If you wish to contact us or suggest edits, [https://thomaspynchon.com/contact/ '''use this Contact page.''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [https://thomaspynchon.com/pynchon-cover-art/mason-dixon/ ''Mason & Dixon'' covers] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [https://www.towntopics.com/2026/02/25/drawing-a-line-halfway-through-thomas-pynchons-mason-dixon/ Town Topics (Princeton U.): "Drawing a Line Halfway Through Thomas Pynchon’s ''Mason & Dixon''"]
* [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [https://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [https://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [https://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2026-02-26T05:15:27Z

WikiAdmin: /* External Links */

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

If you wish to contact us or suggest edits, [https://thomaspynchon.com/contact/ '''use this Contact page.''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [https://thomaspynchon.com/pynchon-cover-art/mason-dixon/ ''Mason & Dixon'' covers] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [https://www.towntopics.com/2026/02/25/drawing-a-line-halfway-through-thomas-pynchons-mason-dixon/ Town Topics (Princeton U.): "Drawing a Line Halfway Through Thomas Pynchon’s ''Mason & Dixon''"]
* [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [https://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [https://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [https://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2026-02-26T05:12:54Z

WikiAdmin: /* External Links */

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

If you wish to contact us or suggest edits, [https://thomaspynchon.com/contact/ '''use this Contact page.''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [https://thomaspynchon.com/pynchon-cover-art/mason-dixon/ ''Mason & Dixon'' covers] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [https://www.towntopics.com/2026/02/25/drawing-a-line-halfway-through-thomas-pynchons-mason-dixon/ Drawing a Line Halfway Through Thomas Pynchon’s ''Mason & Dixon'']
* [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [https://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [https://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [https://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Pynchon Newbies

2025-10-20T20:58:22Z

WikiAdmin: Protected "Pynchon Newbies" ([Edit=Allow only administrators] (indefinite) [Move=Allow only administrators] (indefinite))

Mason & Dixon Reviews

2025-10-20T20:58:08Z

WikiAdmin: Protected "Mason & Dixon Reviews": Page is too prominent ([Edit=Allow only administrators] (indefinite) [Move=Allow only administrators] (indefinite))

'''05/18/2008''' - [http://themoderatevoice.com/entertainment/reviews/19708/book-review-thomas-pynchons-mason-dixon-an-18th-century-musing-on-all-things/ '''The Moderate Voice'''] - Shaun Mullen: "Like Pynchon’s 2007 magnum opus, [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Against the Day''] (reviewed [http://kikoshouse.blogspot.com/2007/09/book-review-against-day.html here]), ''Mason & Dixon'' is complex, wonderfully subversive and laugh-out-loud funny. But also like that book, it is more accessible than his earlier works, notably [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Gravity’s Rainbow''], a masterpiece but with prose so dense that you can stand a fork in them."

'''08/15/97''' - [[Commonweal Review - Frank McConnell|'''Commonweal''']] - Frank McConnell: "I've never been any good at keeping secrets. So: Thomas Pynchon's ''Mason & Dixon'' is not only the most stunning novel I've read in the last twenty years, but one of the most stunning novels I've read, comma, period. At this point I think we can safely argue that the radiant center of American fiction is inhabited by only three characters, Melville, Faulkner, and Pynchon, and I'm not too sure about Melville, and ! left out the unapproachable Henry James only because he didn't really want to be American. So am I telling you that if you don't read ''Mason & Dixon'' your life will be, by that measure, impoverished? You bet. But of course most of you won't  or at least you won't finish it. It's long, by which I mean long; it's involuted, convoluted, self-referential  it's Thomas Pynchon  and it has, as all of Pynchon's novels, virtually no plot. It is, simply, magnificent."

'''07/97 - [[Surveyors of the Enlightenment|The Atlantic Monthly]]''' - Rick Moody: "This is just the kind of truth that we often encounter in Pynchon: not simply what it means, finally, to be American  kith and kin of slaveholders and abolitionists, racists and liberals, the powerful and the powerless, the dispossessed and the rapacious, the oppressed and the oppressors  but that the boundary lines that have been surveyed to separate our American dichotomies, the boundaries of rhetoric and philosophy, are arbitrary, tentative, unwritten in human nature."

'''06/12/97 - [[Entropology|The New York Review of Books]]''' Louis Menand: "By appropriating the loose and baggy forms of Sterne and Swift, Pynchon has found an ideal vehicle for his meditation on the worlds that were lost, and the suffering that was caused, just so people could understand one another better. He has produced a work of cultural anthropology, a ''Tristes Tropiques'' of North American civilization, and an astonishing and wonderful book."

'''06/97''' - [http://www.altx.com/ebr/reviews/rev8/r8hinds.htm '''Electronic Book Review'''] - Elizabeth Jane Wall Hinds: "Beyond the "factual" history, what Mason & Dixon more elegantly delivers is a history re-imagined, an alternative to recorded history, in the form of what one might call the "paranormal": reading Mason & Dixon is like a visit to Charles Wilson Peale's museum, itself an eighteenth-century creation, with its oddities and "freaks of nature" just close enough to verifiable facticity to look believable..."

'''05/18/97''' - [http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/18/reviews/970518.18boylet.html?_r=1&oref=slogin '''New York Times Book Review'''] - T. Coraghessan Boyle: "This is the old Pynchon, the true Pynchon, the best Pynchon of all. ''Mason & Dixon'' is a groundbreaking book, a book of heart and fire and genius, and there is nothing quite like it in our literature, except maybe ''V.'' and ''Gravity's Rainbow.''"

'''05/12/97''' - [[The Nation - John Leonard|'''The Nation''']] - John Leonard: "This is the Pynchon who just can't stop himself, who ups antes and lowers booms. Like his mechanical duck, if he keeps flying we won't see and can't catch him. I should be telling you that ''Mason & Dixon'' is shapely and coherent. That you will care about a baffled astronomer and a horny surveyor in the grip of forces they can't even locate, much less modify. That for the first time in Pynchon we get extended families (difficult fathers and lonely children), magnanimity instead of mockery, closure instead of dissolution. But already, to prove myself worthy of a masterwork, I'm haring down absurdist wormholes."

'''05/04/97 - [http://www.judithfitzgerald.ca/thomaspynchon.html Toronto Star]''' - Judith Fitzgerald: "With a doff of its cap to such as Conrad's ''Heart of Darkness'', Lowry's ''Under the Volcano'', ''The Iliad'' and ''The Vanity of Human Wishes'' (Dr. Johnson), Pynchon's doughty duo first hits South Africa's Capetown and St. Helena in order to observe and calibrate the 1751 Transit of Venus before landing in America and turning its astronomical skills to terrestrial cartography, namely the painstaking task of determining the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland (which, by the stars, puts the house of one unhappily married couple in two states, a serendipitous blessing in the opinion of all concerned)."

'''04/29/97 - [http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/04/27/daily/pynchon-book-review.html New York Times]''' - Michiko Kakutani: "As rendered by Pynchon, ''Mason & Dixon'' is not simply the story of these two men's intertwined lives and their personal search for knowledge. It's also a hugely ambitious epic about America and the Age of Reason and the origins of modernity that showcases all of Pynchon's prodigious gifts as a writer: his magician's ability to fuse history and fable, science and science fiction; his Swiftean grasp of satire and his vaudevillian's sense of farce. It is a book that testifies to his remarkable powers of invention and his sheer power as a storyteller, a storyteller who this time demonstrates that he can write a novel that is as moving as it is cerebral, as poignant as it is daring."

'''04/27/97 - [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/1997/04/27/RV50945.DTL&type=printable San Francisco Chronicle]''' Paul Skenazy: "It's a book content to ask more questions than it answers -- about what the West has always signified, what it means to map and shape the unruly earth, how we enslave and seek redemption in the same breath. For all of Pynchon's artistic skills with novelistic structure, he's always resisted closure and consistency. For all his intellectual breadth and associative elegance, his talents show themselves in pieces, lines and word play that resurrect cliches and turn asides into aphorisms."

{{MD Alpha Nav}}

MD Alpha Nav

2025-10-20T20:57:52Z

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Mason & Dixon - Page by Page Annotation

2025-10-20T20:57:36Z

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Main Page

2025-10-16T21:32:37Z

WikiAdmin: Protected "Main Page": Home Page is too prominent ([Edit=Allow only administrators] (indefinite) [Move=Allow only administrators] (indefinite))

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

If you wish to contact us or suggest edits, [https://thomaspynchon.com/contact/ '''use this Contact page.''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [https://thomaspynchon.com/pynchon-cover-art/mason-dixon/ ''Mason & Dixon'' covers] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

MediaWiki:Sidebar

2025-10-08T03:20:15Z

WikiAdmin:

Main Page

2025-07-27T22:15:01Z

WikiAdmin:

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

If you wish to contact us or suggest edits, [https://thomaspynchon.com/contact/ '''use this Contact page.''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [https://thomaspynchon.com/pynchon-cover-art/mason-dixon/ ''Mason & Dixon'' covers] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2025-07-06T23:00:48Z

WikiAdmin: 2025 Updates - Amazon etc

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

[http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Contact Us''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [https://thomaspynchon.com/pynchon-cover-art/mason-dixon/ ''Mason & Dixon'' covers] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2025-07-06T22:30:16Z

WikiAdmin: 2025 Updates - Amazon etc

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

[http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Contact Us''']

*'''Purchase ''Mason & Dixon''''': [https://amzn.to/4eBzeZz Paperback] | [https://amzn.to/4eBqTFv Hardcover]
*[https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Mason+%26+Dixon&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_odkw=Thomas+Pynchon+Against+the+Day&_osacat=0 '''Search EBay for ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [[Mason & Dixon covers|''Mason & Dixon'' covers]] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

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==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Chapter 42: 422-435

2024-03-21T00:25:16Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 426 */

==Page 422==
'''Weather-gage''' 
"Sh OED lists 'have or keep the weather gauge of' as be windward of, fig get the better of." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

See also: [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22449&sort=author More Discussion on Dinn's notes]

'''Dromonds''' 
The dromons (from Greek δρόμων, dromon, i.e. "runner") were the most important warships of the Byzantine navy from the 6th to 12th centuries AD. They were indirectly developed from the ancient trireme and were usually propelled by both oar and sail, a configuration that had been used by navies in the Mediterranean Sea for centuries. - from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromon Wikipedia]

'''Spielers''' 
"Anglicized plural of German 'player' (as in Mabuse, Der...)" ([http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']). Possibly spelled as an "anglicized plural" in order to pun off spoilers, spies...?

Random House's unabridged dictionary has spielers as "1. a barker, as at a circus sideshow. 2. a person with an extravagant line of talk. 3. (Australia) a swindler. 4. (US slang) an announcer for a radio or television, especially one who gives commercials. 5. (British slang) a gambling den."

==Page 423==
'''hey? right out of G. Rex's Purse it came''' 
"G Rex being King George" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes''], see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_367 367].

'''The Tub!''' 
Cf. ''[[T#tub|A Tale of a Tub]]'', a satire by Jonathon Swift? Read it in [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikisource], or read about it in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikipedia], which describes it in such a Pynchonian light:
:"the book is constructed like a layer cake, with Digression and Tale alternating. However, the digressions overwhelm the narrative, both in terms of the forcefulness and imaginativeness of writing and in terms of volume [...] Many critics have followed Swift's biographer Irvin Ehrenpreis in arguing that there is no single, consistent narrator in the work [...] The digressions individually frustrate readers who expect a clear purpose [...] Some, such as the discussion of ears or of wisdom being like a nut, a cream sherry, a cackling hen, etc., are outlandish and require a militantly aware and thoughtful reader."

Wikipedia also notes that satire targeted "indexers, note-makers." I found myself squirming as I read this paragraph while working on this wiki:
:"Swift's targets in the Tale included indexers, note-makers, and, above all, people who saw 'dark matter' in books. Attacking criticism generally, he appears delighted that one of his enemies, William Wotton, offered to explain the Tale in an 'answer' to the book and that one of the men he had explicitly attacked, Curll, offered to explain the book to the public. In the fifth edition of the book in 1705, Swift provided an apparatus to the work that incorporated Wotton's explanations and Swift's narrator's own notes as well. The notes appear to occasionally provide genuine information and just as often to mislead, and William Wotton's name, a defender of the Moderns, was appended to a number of notes. This allows Swift to make the commentary part of the satire itself, as well as to elevate his narrator to the level of self-critic."

On the other hand, I delighted in the Pynchonian names: Curll and William Wotton.

'''Laws of Leverage''' 
The principle that describes how a tool such as a lever can amplify a force, allowing a massive object to be moved.

[The Law of the Lever] was proven by Archimedes using geometric reasoning. It shows that if the distance a from the fulcrum to where the input force is applied (point A) is greater than the distance b from fulcrum to where the output force is applied (point B), then the lever amplifies the input force. If the distance from the fulcrum to the input force is less than from the fulcrum to the output force, then the lever reduces the input force. Recognizing the profound implications and practicalities of the law of the lever, Archimedes has been famously attributed with the quotation "Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world." From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_advantage WIKI]

'''Library at Alexandria, circa 390 A.D.''' 
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was probably the largest, and certainly the most famous, of the libraries of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and existed, and functioned as a major center of scholarship, at least until the time of Rome's conquest of Egypt, and probably for many centuries thereafter. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_alexandria WIKI]

==Page 425==
'''Oh Ruddier than the Cherry''' 
"Aria from Handel's Acis and Galatea of c 1720" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

I believe that the words were written by John Gay (1688–1732) and that Handel set them to music. In this operatic scene, "the giant Polyphemus [a love-stricken cyclops], more used to wreaking terror and devastation than feelings of love, attempts to woo Galatea (O ruddier than the cherry) but Galatea flees in terror" ([http://www.bamptonopera.org/repertory/mozhanacisdetail.htm Bampton Classic Opera]). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Wikipedia] for more on the tale.

Listen to it, hear: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbyxE9QWPfc&mode=related&search= YouTube]

Read along while you listen:
:O RUDDIER than the cherry!
:O sweeter than the berry!
::O nymph more bright
:Than moonshine night,
:Like kidlings blithe and merry!
:Ripe as the melting cluster!
:No lily has such lustre;
::Yet hard to tame
::As raging flame,
:And fierce as storms that bluster!

:Ripe as the melting cluster,
:no lily has such luster;
:yet hard to tame as raging flame
:and fierce as storms that bluster.

:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O nymph more bright
:than moonshine night
:like kidlings blithe and merry.

'''It flies through the Air, in a curious, as it seems ''directed'', Arc, hits the Tub with a solid ''bong'', flattening its Point''' 
Cf. p. 5, opening line to novel: "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings"

'''Hungarian Vampirism''' 
Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vampir (вампир) in Serbia and Bulgaria, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire WIKI]

'''[[V#voam|Professor Voam]] , Philosophical Operator''' 
"Voam appeared a hundred pages [p. 321] back as the 'camp naturalist' that Dixon consulted about Emerson's watch. That incident must have been a 'flash forward.'" -- [http://osdir.com/ml/culture.literature.thomas-pynchon/2002-03/msg00114.html from MDMD Dinn's notes on Ch. 41]

In addition to Voam's striking job titles ("camp naturalist" and "Philosophical Operator"), note that in Pennsylvania and New Jersey there is an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. — and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter.

==Page 426==
<div id="Torpedo"></div>'''Torpedo''' 
Electric eel, here - though this is incorrect as a "torpedo," when speaking of electric naval life, is an electric ray, order Torpediniformes (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_ray Wikipedia]). Also, see page [https://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_23:_228-237#Page_234 234]. The professor himself acknowledges the erroneousness of the term on page 431. See [[T#Torpedo|Alphabetical Entry]].

'''Ferric Prodigy''' 
Ferric refers to iron-containing materials or compounds. In chemistry the term is reserved for iron with an oxidation number of +3, also denoted iron(III) or Fe3+. On the other hand, ferrous refers to iron with oxidation number of +2, denoted iron(II) or Fe2+. Iron(III) is usually the most stable form of iron in air, as illustrated by the pervasiveness of rust, an insoluble iron(III)-containing material. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferric WIKI]

'''"You'd be flatter'n a Griddle-Cake" [...] "Excuse me,-- to what End? Gazing at it, as it fries? saying Oh you're so Circular...your Airr-Bubbles, they're so intriguing,--"''' 
" "*Than*, *than*" Took me a few parse errors before I realizes that Voam's intended 'flatter than' is read by Mason as 'flattering'." -- [https://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes] There's a story that Philadelphian [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._C._Fields W. C. Fields] used to tell about his uncle who was so poor he couldn't afford a kite, and had to hire one. "I have a picture of him down in front of the saloon, hirin' a kite," joked Mr. Fields.

==Page 427==
'''Dixon, emerging coprophagously a-grin''' 
coprophagous -- "Feeding on excrement" ([http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coprophagous Wiktionary]); i.e., a sh*t eating grin

'''''exeunt''''' 
Latin for "they leave." Used as a stage direction in theater scripts, though the term is now obsolete. (See [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exeunt Wiktionary])

'''the Slave who spoke to Dixon earlier''' 
"earlier being [page] 419.25 where he meets the 'pretty Bondmaiden'. cf also [page] 431.5." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''I was abducted by Malays''' 
Dixon witnesses this abduction, with Austra's master looking on approvingly, on page 150.

'''Love-Jobbers''' 
Pynchon having more playful fun with the job title of "Jobbers"--"Love," of course, being used euphemistically. Cf. [[B|Body Jobbers]], [[L|Land Jobbers]]

'''Fly-Whisks''' 
A fly-whisk is a tool to swat or disturb flies. It is used as a regalia in some cultures. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_whisk WIKI]

<div id="widows"></div>'''Widows of Christ''' 
See [[W#widows | Alphabetical Entry]]

'''Novitiate''' 
novitiate (per [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/novitiate Wiktionary]):
#the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
#the place where a novice lives and studies
#a novice

'''Rapprochement''' 
"The establishment of or state of having cordial relations; an agreement, accord, or reconciliation." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rapprochement Wiktionary]

'''Dutch Rifle... with a Five-pointed Star... inverted.''' 
Here it is again. See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10:_94-104#Page_101 101].

Dutch rifle wheellock, circa 1630: The jaw is normally tightened with the same spanner used to cock the lock. This being a "Dutch" lock.

==Page 428==
'''A Polaris of Evil''' 
At the time of Mason & Dixon, Polaris only literally meant the North Star: "Polaris" comes from Stella Polaris, the Latin form of its common name "Pole Star". The rarely used Greek name Cynosura (Κυνόσουρα) means "tail of the dog". 

Polaris was the name of a famous guided missile system in the 20th Century. 

Here, North as the place from which death and destruction comes in Pynchon's world is clearly alluded to and what is another negative allusion to "man's best friend" may be implied. There is Pugnax the dog in ATD. Arguably, dogs are symbols of the bourgeoisie in Pynchon, complicit in mankind's war-making History in TRP's vision.

'''Patch-Box''' 
"Another change that was made to the old Jaeger ["brought to the colonies by German gunsmiths in the early 1700’s"] that most scholars consider unique to the American longrifle was the addition of a brass patch box. The Jaegers and the early longrifles had storage compartments in the butt of the gun with sliding carved wood covers. The argument is that these covers were easily lost and something a little more practical was required for the longhunter. Hence, the hinged brass patch box." -- [http://www.americanlongrifles.com/american-longrifle-kentucky-rifle-story.htm The Story of the American Longrifle] (an excellent read, incidentally)

'''Piercings''' 
Pierce-work -- "Metalwork, woodwork, etc., incorporating perforations made for decorative or functional effect." -- OED

==Page 429==
'''a Forest Weapon, match'd to a single Prey, heavier than a Squirrel, not quite so heavy as a Deer....''' 
"about the weight of a man, say? Is that maybe why, in which case, evil polarises around this rifle?" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''inverted Star,- in Lancaster Town''' 
Referring to page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342].

'''form of a Daisy''' 
Possibly an allusion to Daisy brand "Outdoor Products" which would later become famous for their selling of BB Guns to youth etc: Daisy was started in 1882 as Plymouth Iron Windmill Company in Plymouth, Michigan. In 1886 the company started to give BB guns with purchases of windmills. The gun was so popular the company started to sell guns instead of windmills. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Outdoor_Products WIKI]

==Page 430==
'''the Sharper''' 
A sharper is an older term, common since the seventeenth-century, for thieves who use trickery to part an owner with his or her money possessions. Sharpers vary from what we now call con-men by virtue of the simplicity of their cons, which often were impromptu, rather than carefully orchestrated, though those certainly happened as well. The 1737 Dictionary of Thieving Slang defines a sharper as "A Cheat, One who lives by his wits." In the nineteenth-century, and into today, the term is more closely associated with gambling.

Sharpers were romantic figures in the eighteenth-century, valued as imaginative figures for their perceived social independence and ability to create new social networks of gangs. The appeal of an independent society, operating outside the law, has been imaginative evocative for centuries, but in eighteenth-century London philosophical thought, influenced by Thomas Hobbes and Rousseau's new formulations of social contract, the romanticization of thievery reached new levels. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Henry Fielding's novel Jonathan Wild are only two examples of sharpers as heroes, in these cases, to provide satirical ammunition against the British Prime Minister Horace Walpole. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharper WIKI]

'''Mr LeSpark, as he will come to tell the Tale, declines back into the Couch''' 
Tell the tale *now* (as in to Tenebrae, Ives, Ethelmer, DePugh, etc.) or tell the tale *then* as in rat out M&D's tub theft to Lord Lepton? (This idea was sparked by comments in [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes].)

==Page 431==
'''Mr. Linnaeus''' 
See page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_32:_315-326#Page_321 321]

'''''Gymnotus''''' 
Gymnotus is the among the most species-rich group of electric knifefishes (Gymnotiformes) found in the Amazon. Some Gymnotus species live in the leaf litter and root tangles of river banks. Other species are specialized to live on floodplains within the rootmats of floating meadows. Several species are broadly adapted to live in both of these habitats. Gymnotus are nocturnal predators feeding on insects, crustaceans, and other fish. They generate weak electric fields used in locating objects, and also for communication in which the males court females using stereotyped electrical "songs". From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnotus WIKI]

'''''Sí, sí, Cariño''''' 
Literally, Spanish for "Yes, yes, Affection," but cariño can also mean (figuratively) "caress," which is what the Professor is doing to the eel as he's speaking. Perhaps Pynchon offers a clue later on the page in translating the eel's other name, "El Peligroso," as "The Dangerous One." Literally, this translates as "The Danger"; this logic would equate "Cariño" with "Affectionate One."

'''let a Nonelectrickal provide the Thrills for a change''' 
The eel's identity is so wrapped up in being electrical that anything that cannot provide a spark is called "a Nonelectrickal"?!?

==Page 432==
'''El P.''' 
Or LP, long-playing record; certainly a "Cyclickal Creature" with a repetitive life.

'''''una Criatura Cíclica, así eres''''' 
"a cyclical creature, so you are" -- [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/mason-dixon/alpha/s.html HyperArts]

'''worrying about Coach schedules''' 
Perhaps busy travelers in the 18th Century concerned themselves with tight transfers on Coach lines--or perhaps this is more of Pynchon's riffing on Coaches as modern airliners?

<div id="counted-joke"></div>
'''"believe me, he'd be one unhappy Torpedo. How do I know? I counted."''' 
The same joke is used in [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#counted-joke ''Inherent Vice'', p. 18].

'''far off E-do''' 
"Edo is the old name for Tokyo, in use in the 1760s." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 433==
'''surcease''' 
"The cessation of something or someone." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/surcease Wiktionary]

'''Rubicon''' 
Rubicon is a 29 km long river in northern Italy... "Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. This phrase is often used by journalists in newspapers. It refers to Caesar's 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubicon WIKI]

'''Antillean Cigar''' 
Cuban cigar

'''Should be styl'd a "Monthly"''' 
Because a Journal, from French 'jour', is a daily record.

==Page 435==
'''Squire Haligast''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_38:_382-390#Page_389 389], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_37:_371-381#Page_373 373], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_366 366], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#Page_391 391] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_48:_466-475#Page_470 470].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Chapter 42: 422-435

2024-03-21T00:22:16Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 426 */

==Page 422==
'''Weather-gage''' 
"Sh OED lists 'have or keep the weather gauge of' as be windward of, fig get the better of." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

See also: [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22449&sort=author More Discussion on Dinn's notes]

'''Dromonds''' 
The dromons (from Greek δρόμων, dromon, i.e. "runner") were the most important warships of the Byzantine navy from the 6th to 12th centuries AD. They were indirectly developed from the ancient trireme and were usually propelled by both oar and sail, a configuration that had been used by navies in the Mediterranean Sea for centuries. - from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromon Wikipedia]

'''Spielers''' 
"Anglicized plural of German 'player' (as in Mabuse, Der...)" ([http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']). Possibly spelled as an "anglicized plural" in order to pun off spoilers, spies...?

Random House's unabridged dictionary has spielers as "1. a barker, as at a circus sideshow. 2. a person with an extravagant line of talk. 3. (Australia) a swindler. 4. (US slang) an announcer for a radio or television, especially one who gives commercials. 5. (British slang) a gambling den."

==Page 423==
'''hey? right out of G. Rex's Purse it came''' 
"G Rex being King George" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes''], see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_367 367].

'''The Tub!''' 
Cf. ''[[T#tub|A Tale of a Tub]]'', a satire by Jonathon Swift? Read it in [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikisource], or read about it in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikipedia], which describes it in such a Pynchonian light:
:"the book is constructed like a layer cake, with Digression and Tale alternating. However, the digressions overwhelm the narrative, both in terms of the forcefulness and imaginativeness of writing and in terms of volume [...] Many critics have followed Swift's biographer Irvin Ehrenpreis in arguing that there is no single, consistent narrator in the work [...] The digressions individually frustrate readers who expect a clear purpose [...] Some, such as the discussion of ears or of wisdom being like a nut, a cream sherry, a cackling hen, etc., are outlandish and require a militantly aware and thoughtful reader."

Wikipedia also notes that satire targeted "indexers, note-makers." I found myself squirming as I read this paragraph while working on this wiki:
:"Swift's targets in the Tale included indexers, note-makers, and, above all, people who saw 'dark matter' in books. Attacking criticism generally, he appears delighted that one of his enemies, William Wotton, offered to explain the Tale in an 'answer' to the book and that one of the men he had explicitly attacked, Curll, offered to explain the book to the public. In the fifth edition of the book in 1705, Swift provided an apparatus to the work that incorporated Wotton's explanations and Swift's narrator's own notes as well. The notes appear to occasionally provide genuine information and just as often to mislead, and William Wotton's name, a defender of the Moderns, was appended to a number of notes. This allows Swift to make the commentary part of the satire itself, as well as to elevate his narrator to the level of self-critic."

On the other hand, I delighted in the Pynchonian names: Curll and William Wotton.

'''Laws of Leverage''' 
The principle that describes how a tool such as a lever can amplify a force, allowing a massive object to be moved.

[The Law of the Lever] was proven by Archimedes using geometric reasoning. It shows that if the distance a from the fulcrum to where the input force is applied (point A) is greater than the distance b from fulcrum to where the output force is applied (point B), then the lever amplifies the input force. If the distance from the fulcrum to the input force is less than from the fulcrum to the output force, then the lever reduces the input force. Recognizing the profound implications and practicalities of the law of the lever, Archimedes has been famously attributed with the quotation "Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world." From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_advantage WIKI]

'''Library at Alexandria, circa 390 A.D.''' 
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was probably the largest, and certainly the most famous, of the libraries of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and existed, and functioned as a major center of scholarship, at least until the time of Rome's conquest of Egypt, and probably for many centuries thereafter. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_alexandria WIKI]

==Page 425==
'''Oh Ruddier than the Cherry''' 
"Aria from Handel's Acis and Galatea of c 1720" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

I believe that the words were written by John Gay (1688–1732) and that Handel set them to music. In this operatic scene, "the giant Polyphemus [a love-stricken cyclops], more used to wreaking terror and devastation than feelings of love, attempts to woo Galatea (O ruddier than the cherry) but Galatea flees in terror" ([http://www.bamptonopera.org/repertory/mozhanacisdetail.htm Bampton Classic Opera]). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Wikipedia] for more on the tale.

Listen to it, hear: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbyxE9QWPfc&mode=related&search= YouTube]

Read along while you listen:
:O RUDDIER than the cherry!
:O sweeter than the berry!
::O nymph more bright
:Than moonshine night,
:Like kidlings blithe and merry!
:Ripe as the melting cluster!
:No lily has such lustre;
::Yet hard to tame
::As raging flame,
:And fierce as storms that bluster!

:Ripe as the melting cluster,
:no lily has such luster;
:yet hard to tame as raging flame
:and fierce as storms that bluster.

:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O nymph more bright
:than moonshine night
:like kidlings blithe and merry.

'''It flies through the Air, in a curious, as it seems ''directed'', Arc, hits the Tub with a solid ''bong'', flattening its Point''' 
Cf. p. 5, opening line to novel: "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings"

'''Hungarian Vampirism''' 
Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vampir (вампир) in Serbia and Bulgaria, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire WIKI]

'''[[V#voam|Professor Voam]] , Philosophical Operator''' 
"Voam appeared a hundred pages [p. 321] back as the 'camp naturalist' that Dixon consulted about Emerson's watch. That incident must have been a 'flash forward.'" -- [http://osdir.com/ml/culture.literature.thomas-pynchon/2002-03/msg00114.html from MDMD Dinn's notes on Ch. 41]

In addition to Voam's striking job titles ("camp naturalist" and "Philosophical Operator"), note that in Pennsylvania and New Jersey there is an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. — and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter.

==Page 426==
<div id="Torpedo"></div>'''Torpedo''' 
Electric eel, here - though this is incorrect as a "torpedo," when speaking of electric naval life, is an electric ray, order Torpediniformes (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_ray Wikipedia]). Also, see page [https://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_23:_228-237#Page_234 234]. The professor himself acknowledges the erroneousness of the term on page 431. See [[T#Torpedo|Alphabetical Entry]].

'''Ferric Prodigy''' 
Ferric refers to iron-containing materials or compounds. In chemistry the term is reserved for iron with an oxidation number of +3, also denoted iron(III) or Fe3+. On the other hand, ferrous refers to iron with oxidation number of +2, denoted iron(II) or Fe2+. Iron(III) is usually the most stable form of iron in air, as illustrated by the pervasiveness of rust, an insoluble iron(III)-containing material. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferric WIKI]

'''"You'd be flatter'n a Griddle-Cake" [...] "Excuse me,-- to what End? Gazing at it, as it fries? saying Oh you're so Circular...your Airr-Bubbles, they're so intriguing,--"''' 
" "*Than*, *than*" Took me a few parse errors before I realizes that Voam's intended 'flatter than' is read by Mason as 'flattering'." -- [https://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes] There's a story [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._C._Fields W. C. Fields] used to tell about his uncle who was so poor he couldn't afford a kite, and had to hire one. "I have a picture of him down in front of the saloon, hirin' a kite," joked Mr. Fields.

==Page 427==
'''Dixon, emerging coprophagously a-grin''' 
coprophagous -- "Feeding on excrement" ([http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coprophagous Wiktionary]); i.e., a sh*t eating grin

'''''exeunt''''' 
Latin for "they leave." Used as a stage direction in theater scripts, though the term is now obsolete. (See [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exeunt Wiktionary])

'''the Slave who spoke to Dixon earlier''' 
"earlier being [page] 419.25 where he meets the 'pretty Bondmaiden'. cf also [page] 431.5." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''I was abducted by Malays''' 
Dixon witnesses this abduction, with Austra's master looking on approvingly, on page 150.

'''Love-Jobbers''' 
Pynchon having more playful fun with the job title of "Jobbers"--"Love," of course, being used euphemistically. Cf. [[B|Body Jobbers]], [[L|Land Jobbers]]

'''Fly-Whisks''' 
A fly-whisk is a tool to swat or disturb flies. It is used as a regalia in some cultures. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_whisk WIKI]

<div id="widows"></div>'''Widows of Christ''' 
See [[W#widows | Alphabetical Entry]]

'''Novitiate''' 
novitiate (per [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/novitiate Wiktionary]):
#the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
#the place where a novice lives and studies
#a novice

'''Rapprochement''' 
"The establishment of or state of having cordial relations; an agreement, accord, or reconciliation." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rapprochement Wiktionary]

'''Dutch Rifle... with a Five-pointed Star... inverted.''' 
Here it is again. See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10:_94-104#Page_101 101].

Dutch rifle wheellock, circa 1630: The jaw is normally tightened with the same spanner used to cock the lock. This being a "Dutch" lock.

==Page 428==
'''A Polaris of Evil''' 
At the time of Mason & Dixon, Polaris only literally meant the North Star: "Polaris" comes from Stella Polaris, the Latin form of its common name "Pole Star". The rarely used Greek name Cynosura (Κυνόσουρα) means "tail of the dog". 

Polaris was the name of a famous guided missile system in the 20th Century. 

Here, North as the place from which death and destruction comes in Pynchon's world is clearly alluded to and what is another negative allusion to "man's best friend" may be implied. There is Pugnax the dog in ATD. Arguably, dogs are symbols of the bourgeoisie in Pynchon, complicit in mankind's war-making History in TRP's vision.

'''Patch-Box''' 
"Another change that was made to the old Jaeger ["brought to the colonies by German gunsmiths in the early 1700’s"] that most scholars consider unique to the American longrifle was the addition of a brass patch box. The Jaegers and the early longrifles had storage compartments in the butt of the gun with sliding carved wood covers. The argument is that these covers were easily lost and something a little more practical was required for the longhunter. Hence, the hinged brass patch box." -- [http://www.americanlongrifles.com/american-longrifle-kentucky-rifle-story.htm The Story of the American Longrifle] (an excellent read, incidentally)

'''Piercings''' 
Pierce-work -- "Metalwork, woodwork, etc., incorporating perforations made for decorative or functional effect." -- OED

==Page 429==
'''a Forest Weapon, match'd to a single Prey, heavier than a Squirrel, not quite so heavy as a Deer....''' 
"about the weight of a man, say? Is that maybe why, in which case, evil polarises around this rifle?" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''inverted Star,- in Lancaster Town''' 
Referring to page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342].

'''form of a Daisy''' 
Possibly an allusion to Daisy brand "Outdoor Products" which would later become famous for their selling of BB Guns to youth etc: Daisy was started in 1882 as Plymouth Iron Windmill Company in Plymouth, Michigan. In 1886 the company started to give BB guns with purchases of windmills. The gun was so popular the company started to sell guns instead of windmills. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Outdoor_Products WIKI]

==Page 430==
'''the Sharper''' 
A sharper is an older term, common since the seventeenth-century, for thieves who use trickery to part an owner with his or her money possessions. Sharpers vary from what we now call con-men by virtue of the simplicity of their cons, which often were impromptu, rather than carefully orchestrated, though those certainly happened as well. The 1737 Dictionary of Thieving Slang defines a sharper as "A Cheat, One who lives by his wits." In the nineteenth-century, and into today, the term is more closely associated with gambling.

Sharpers were romantic figures in the eighteenth-century, valued as imaginative figures for their perceived social independence and ability to create new social networks of gangs. The appeal of an independent society, operating outside the law, has been imaginative evocative for centuries, but in eighteenth-century London philosophical thought, influenced by Thomas Hobbes and Rousseau's new formulations of social contract, the romanticization of thievery reached new levels. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Henry Fielding's novel Jonathan Wild are only two examples of sharpers as heroes, in these cases, to provide satirical ammunition against the British Prime Minister Horace Walpole. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharper WIKI]

'''Mr LeSpark, as he will come to tell the Tale, declines back into the Couch''' 
Tell the tale *now* (as in to Tenebrae, Ives, Ethelmer, DePugh, etc.) or tell the tale *then* as in rat out M&D's tub theft to Lord Lepton? (This idea was sparked by comments in [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes].)

==Page 431==
'''Mr. Linnaeus''' 
See page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_32:_315-326#Page_321 321]

'''''Gymnotus''''' 
Gymnotus is the among the most species-rich group of electric knifefishes (Gymnotiformes) found in the Amazon. Some Gymnotus species live in the leaf litter and root tangles of river banks. Other species are specialized to live on floodplains within the rootmats of floating meadows. Several species are broadly adapted to live in both of these habitats. Gymnotus are nocturnal predators feeding on insects, crustaceans, and other fish. They generate weak electric fields used in locating objects, and also for communication in which the males court females using stereotyped electrical "songs". From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnotus WIKI]

'''''Sí, sí, Cariño''''' 
Literally, Spanish for "Yes, yes, Affection," but cariño can also mean (figuratively) "caress," which is what the Professor is doing to the eel as he's speaking. Perhaps Pynchon offers a clue later on the page in translating the eel's other name, "El Peligroso," as "The Dangerous One." Literally, this translates as "The Danger"; this logic would equate "Cariño" with "Affectionate One."

'''let a Nonelectrickal provide the Thrills for a change''' 
The eel's identity is so wrapped up in being electrical that anything that cannot provide a spark is called "a Nonelectrickal"?!?

==Page 432==
'''El P.''' 
Or LP, long-playing record; certainly a "Cyclickal Creature" with a repetitive life.

'''''una Criatura Cíclica, así eres''''' 
"a cyclical creature, so you are" -- [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/mason-dixon/alpha/s.html HyperArts]

'''worrying about Coach schedules''' 
Perhaps busy travelers in the 18th Century concerned themselves with tight transfers on Coach lines--or perhaps this is more of Pynchon's riffing on Coaches as modern airliners?

<div id="counted-joke"></div>
'''"believe me, he'd be one unhappy Torpedo. How do I know? I counted."''' 
The same joke is used in [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#counted-joke ''Inherent Vice'', p. 18].

'''far off E-do''' 
"Edo is the old name for Tokyo, in use in the 1760s." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 433==
'''surcease''' 
"The cessation of something or someone." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/surcease Wiktionary]

'''Rubicon''' 
Rubicon is a 29 km long river in northern Italy... "Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. This phrase is often used by journalists in newspapers. It refers to Caesar's 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubicon WIKI]

'''Antillean Cigar''' 
Cuban cigar

'''Should be styl'd a "Monthly"''' 
Because a Journal, from French 'jour', is a daily record.

==Page 435==
'''Squire Haligast''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_38:_382-390#Page_389 389], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_37:_371-381#Page_373 373], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_366 366], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#Page_391 391] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_48:_466-475#Page_470 470].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Chapter 42: 422-435

2024-03-21T00:19:49Z

WikiAdmin: Added W.C. Fields reference on p. 426

==Page 422==
'''Weather-gage''' 
"Sh OED lists 'have or keep the weather gauge of' as be windward of, fig get the better of." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

See also: [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22449&sort=author More Discussion on Dinn's notes]

'''Dromonds''' 
The dromons (from Greek δρόμων, dromon, i.e. "runner") were the most important warships of the Byzantine navy from the 6th to 12th centuries AD. They were indirectly developed from the ancient trireme and were usually propelled by both oar and sail, a configuration that had been used by navies in the Mediterranean Sea for centuries. - from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromon Wikipedia]

'''Spielers''' 
"Anglicized plural of German 'player' (as in Mabuse, Der...)" ([http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']). Possibly spelled as an "anglicized plural" in order to pun off spoilers, spies...?

Random House's unabridged dictionary has spielers as "1. a barker, as at a circus sideshow. 2. a person with an extravagant line of talk. 3. (Australia) a swindler. 4. (US slang) an announcer for a radio or television, especially one who gives commercials. 5. (British slang) a gambling den."

==Page 423==
'''hey? right out of G. Rex's Purse it came''' 
"G Rex being King George" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes''], see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_367 367].

'''The Tub!''' 
Cf. ''[[T#tub|A Tale of a Tub]]'', a satire by Jonathon Swift? Read it in [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikisource], or read about it in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikipedia], which describes it in such a Pynchonian light:
:"the book is constructed like a layer cake, with Digression and Tale alternating. However, the digressions overwhelm the narrative, both in terms of the forcefulness and imaginativeness of writing and in terms of volume [...] Many critics have followed Swift's biographer Irvin Ehrenpreis in arguing that there is no single, consistent narrator in the work [...] The digressions individually frustrate readers who expect a clear purpose [...] Some, such as the discussion of ears or of wisdom being like a nut, a cream sherry, a cackling hen, etc., are outlandish and require a militantly aware and thoughtful reader."

Wikipedia also notes that satire targeted "indexers, note-makers." I found myself squirming as I read this paragraph while working on this wiki:
:"Swift's targets in the Tale included indexers, note-makers, and, above all, people who saw 'dark matter' in books. Attacking criticism generally, he appears delighted that one of his enemies, William Wotton, offered to explain the Tale in an 'answer' to the book and that one of the men he had explicitly attacked, Curll, offered to explain the book to the public. In the fifth edition of the book in 1705, Swift provided an apparatus to the work that incorporated Wotton's explanations and Swift's narrator's own notes as well. The notes appear to occasionally provide genuine information and just as often to mislead, and William Wotton's name, a defender of the Moderns, was appended to a number of notes. This allows Swift to make the commentary part of the satire itself, as well as to elevate his narrator to the level of self-critic."

On the other hand, I delighted in the Pynchonian names: Curll and William Wotton.

'''Laws of Leverage''' 
The principle that describes how a tool such as a lever can amplify a force, allowing a massive object to be moved.

[The Law of the Lever] was proven by Archimedes using geometric reasoning. It shows that if the distance a from the fulcrum to where the input force is applied (point A) is greater than the distance b from fulcrum to where the output force is applied (point B), then the lever amplifies the input force. If the distance from the fulcrum to the input force is less than from the fulcrum to the output force, then the lever reduces the input force. Recognizing the profound implications and practicalities of the law of the lever, Archimedes has been famously attributed with the quotation "Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world." From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_advantage WIKI]

'''Library at Alexandria, circa 390 A.D.''' 
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was probably the largest, and certainly the most famous, of the libraries of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and existed, and functioned as a major center of scholarship, at least until the time of Rome's conquest of Egypt, and probably for many centuries thereafter. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_alexandria WIKI]

==Page 425==
'''Oh Ruddier than the Cherry''' 
"Aria from Handel's Acis and Galatea of c 1720" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

I believe that the words were written by John Gay (1688–1732) and that Handel set them to music. In this operatic scene, "the giant Polyphemus [a love-stricken cyclops], more used to wreaking terror and devastation than feelings of love, attempts to woo Galatea (O ruddier than the cherry) but Galatea flees in terror" ([http://www.bamptonopera.org/repertory/mozhanacisdetail.htm Bampton Classic Opera]). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Wikipedia] for more on the tale.

Listen to it, hear: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbyxE9QWPfc&mode=related&search= YouTube]

Read along while you listen:
:O RUDDIER than the cherry!
:O sweeter than the berry!
::O nymph more bright
:Than moonshine night,
:Like kidlings blithe and merry!
:Ripe as the melting cluster!
:No lily has such lustre;
::Yet hard to tame
::As raging flame,
:And fierce as storms that bluster!

:Ripe as the melting cluster,
:no lily has such luster;
:yet hard to tame as raging flame
:and fierce as storms that bluster.

:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O nymph more bright
:than moonshine night
:like kidlings blithe and merry.

'''It flies through the Air, in a curious, as it seems ''directed'', Arc, hits the Tub with a solid ''bong'', flattening its Point''' 
Cf. p. 5, opening line to novel: "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings"

'''Hungarian Vampirism''' 
Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vampir (вампир) in Serbia and Bulgaria, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire WIKI]

'''[[V#voam|Professor Voam]] , Philosophical Operator''' 
"Voam appeared a hundred pages [p. 321] back as the 'camp naturalist' that Dixon consulted about Emerson's watch. That incident must have been a 'flash forward.'" -- [http://osdir.com/ml/culture.literature.thomas-pynchon/2002-03/msg00114.html from MDMD Dinn's notes on Ch. 41]

In addition to Voam's striking job titles ("camp naturalist" and "Philosophical Operator"), note that in Pennsylvania and New Jersey there is an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. — and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter.

==Page 426==
<div id="Torpedo"></div>'''Torpedo''' 
Electric eel, here - though this is incorrect as a "torpedo," when speaking of electric naval life, is an electric ray, order Torpediniformes (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_ray Wikipedia]). Also, see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_23:_228-237#Page_234 234]. The professor himself acknowledges the erroneousness of the term on page 431. See [[T#Torpedo|Alphabetical Entry]].

'''Ferric Prodigy''' 
Ferric refers to iron-containing materials or compounds. In chemistry the term is reserved for iron with an oxidation number of +3, also denoted iron(III) or Fe3+. On the other hand, ferrous refers to iron with oxidation number of +2, denoted iron(II) or Fe2+. Iron(III) is usually the most stable form of iron in air, as illustrated by the pervasiveness of rust, an insoluble iron(III)-containing material. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferric WIKI]

'''"You'd be flatter'n a Griddle-Cake" [...] "Excuse me,-- to what End? Gazing at it, as it fries? saying Oh you're so Circular...your Airr-Bubbles, they're so intriguing,--"''' 
" "*Than*, *than*" Took me a few parse errors before I realizes that Voam's intended 'flatter than' is read by Mason as 'flattering'." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes] There's a story W. C. Fields used to tell about his uncle who was so poor he couldn't afford a kite, and had to hire one. "I have a picture of him down in front of the saloon, hirin' a kite," joked Mr. Fields.

==Page 427==
'''Dixon, emerging coprophagously a-grin''' 
coprophagous -- "Feeding on excrement" ([http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coprophagous Wiktionary]); i.e., a sh*t eating grin

'''''exeunt''''' 
Latin for "they leave." Used as a stage direction in theater scripts, though the term is now obsolete. (See [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exeunt Wiktionary])

'''the Slave who spoke to Dixon earlier''' 
"earlier being [page] 419.25 where he meets the 'pretty Bondmaiden'. cf also [page] 431.5." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''I was abducted by Malays''' 
Dixon witnesses this abduction, with Austra's master looking on approvingly, on page 150.

'''Love-Jobbers''' 
Pynchon having more playful fun with the job title of "Jobbers"--"Love," of course, being used euphemistically. Cf. [[B|Body Jobbers]], [[L|Land Jobbers]]

'''Fly-Whisks''' 
A fly-whisk is a tool to swat or disturb flies. It is used as a regalia in some cultures. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_whisk WIKI]

<div id="widows"></div>'''Widows of Christ''' 
See [[W#widows | Alphabetical Entry]]

'''Novitiate''' 
novitiate (per [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/novitiate Wiktionary]):
#the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
#the place where a novice lives and studies
#a novice

'''Rapprochement''' 
"The establishment of or state of having cordial relations; an agreement, accord, or reconciliation." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rapprochement Wiktionary]

'''Dutch Rifle... with a Five-pointed Star... inverted.''' 
Here it is again. See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10:_94-104#Page_101 101].

Dutch rifle wheellock, circa 1630: The jaw is normally tightened with the same spanner used to cock the lock. This being a "Dutch" lock.

==Page 428==
'''A Polaris of Evil''' 
At the time of Mason & Dixon, Polaris only literally meant the North Star: "Polaris" comes from Stella Polaris, the Latin form of its common name "Pole Star". The rarely used Greek name Cynosura (Κυνόσουρα) means "tail of the dog". 

Polaris was the name of a famous guided missile system in the 20th Century. 

Here, North as the place from which death and destruction comes in Pynchon's world is clearly alluded to and what is another negative allusion to "man's best friend" may be implied. There is Pugnax the dog in ATD. Arguably, dogs are symbols of the bourgeoisie in Pynchon, complicit in mankind's war-making History in TRP's vision.

'''Patch-Box''' 
"Another change that was made to the old Jaeger ["brought to the colonies by German gunsmiths in the early 1700’s"] that most scholars consider unique to the American longrifle was the addition of a brass patch box. The Jaegers and the early longrifles had storage compartments in the butt of the gun with sliding carved wood covers. The argument is that these covers were easily lost and something a little more practical was required for the longhunter. Hence, the hinged brass patch box." -- [http://www.americanlongrifles.com/american-longrifle-kentucky-rifle-story.htm The Story of the American Longrifle] (an excellent read, incidentally)

'''Piercings''' 
Pierce-work -- "Metalwork, woodwork, etc., incorporating perforations made for decorative or functional effect." -- OED

==Page 429==
'''a Forest Weapon, match'd to a single Prey, heavier than a Squirrel, not quite so heavy as a Deer....''' 
"about the weight of a man, say? Is that maybe why, in which case, evil polarises around this rifle?" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''inverted Star,- in Lancaster Town''' 
Referring to page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342].

'''form of a Daisy''' 
Possibly an allusion to Daisy brand "Outdoor Products" which would later become famous for their selling of BB Guns to youth etc: Daisy was started in 1882 as Plymouth Iron Windmill Company in Plymouth, Michigan. In 1886 the company started to give BB guns with purchases of windmills. The gun was so popular the company started to sell guns instead of windmills. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Outdoor_Products WIKI]

==Page 430==
'''the Sharper''' 
A sharper is an older term, common since the seventeenth-century, for thieves who use trickery to part an owner with his or her money possessions. Sharpers vary from what we now call con-men by virtue of the simplicity of their cons, which often were impromptu, rather than carefully orchestrated, though those certainly happened as well. The 1737 Dictionary of Thieving Slang defines a sharper as "A Cheat, One who lives by his wits." In the nineteenth-century, and into today, the term is more closely associated with gambling.

Sharpers were romantic figures in the eighteenth-century, valued as imaginative figures for their perceived social independence and ability to create new social networks of gangs. The appeal of an independent society, operating outside the law, has been imaginative evocative for centuries, but in eighteenth-century London philosophical thought, influenced by Thomas Hobbes and Rousseau's new formulations of social contract, the romanticization of thievery reached new levels. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Henry Fielding's novel Jonathan Wild are only two examples of sharpers as heroes, in these cases, to provide satirical ammunition against the British Prime Minister Horace Walpole. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharper WIKI]

'''Mr LeSpark, as he will come to tell the Tale, declines back into the Couch''' 
Tell the tale *now* (as in to Tenebrae, Ives, Ethelmer, DePugh, etc.) or tell the tale *then* as in rat out M&D's tub theft to Lord Lepton? (This idea was sparked by comments in [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes].)

==Page 431==
'''Mr. Linnaeus''' 
See page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_32:_315-326#Page_321 321]

'''''Gymnotus''''' 
Gymnotus is the among the most species-rich group of electric knifefishes (Gymnotiformes) found in the Amazon. Some Gymnotus species live in the leaf litter and root tangles of river banks. Other species are specialized to live on floodplains within the rootmats of floating meadows. Several species are broadly adapted to live in both of these habitats. Gymnotus are nocturnal predators feeding on insects, crustaceans, and other fish. They generate weak electric fields used in locating objects, and also for communication in which the males court females using stereotyped electrical "songs". From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnotus WIKI]

'''''Sí, sí, Cariño''''' 
Literally, Spanish for "Yes, yes, Affection," but cariño can also mean (figuratively) "caress," which is what the Professor is doing to the eel as he's speaking. Perhaps Pynchon offers a clue later on the page in translating the eel's other name, "El Peligroso," as "The Dangerous One." Literally, this translates as "The Danger"; this logic would equate "Cariño" with "Affectionate One."

'''let a Nonelectrickal provide the Thrills for a change''' 
The eel's identity is so wrapped up in being electrical that anything that cannot provide a spark is called "a Nonelectrickal"?!?

==Page 432==
'''El P.''' 
Or LP, long-playing record; certainly a "Cyclickal Creature" with a repetitive life.

'''''una Criatura Cíclica, así eres''''' 
"a cyclical creature, so you are" -- [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/mason-dixon/alpha/s.html HyperArts]

'''worrying about Coach schedules''' 
Perhaps busy travelers in the 18th Century concerned themselves with tight transfers on Coach lines--or perhaps this is more of Pynchon's riffing on Coaches as modern airliners?

<div id="counted-joke"></div>
'''"believe me, he'd be one unhappy Torpedo. How do I know? I counted."''' 
The same joke is used in [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#counted-joke ''Inherent Vice'', p. 18].

'''far off E-do''' 
"Edo is the old name for Tokyo, in use in the 1760s." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 433==
'''surcease''' 
"The cessation of something or someone." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/surcease Wiktionary]

'''Rubicon''' 
Rubicon is a 29 km long river in northern Italy... "Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. This phrase is often used by journalists in newspapers. It refers to Caesar's 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubicon WIKI]

'''Antillean Cigar''' 
Cuban cigar

'''Should be styl'd a "Monthly"''' 
Because a Journal, from French 'jour', is a daily record.

==Page 435==
'''Squire Haligast''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_38:_382-390#Page_389 389], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_37:_371-381#Page_373 373], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_366 366], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#Page_391 391] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_48:_466-475#Page_470 470].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

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* navigation
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* wikis
** https://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Bleeding Edge
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** https://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Against the Day
** https://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Vineland
** https://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Gravity's Rainbow
** https://cl49.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|The Crying of Lot 49
** https://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|V.

V

2019-01-14T23:28:11Z

WikiAdmin:

'''Vacuum''' 
44; 155; 197; 356; 363; 428; 556

'''Vampire''' 
425; Hungarian, 728

'''''Vampyr of Covent Garden''''' 
117; Gothick novel Mason names to Maskelyne

<div id="vane"></div>'''Vane, Sir Henry (1613-62) (The Younger)''' 
116; English statesman who, between 1635 and 1637, was governor of Massachusetts; After returning to England, he entered the House of Commons. Along with [[P#pym|John Pym]], he played a major part in securing the execution of the [[S#strafford|First Earl of Strafford]]; 225; 226; [[Sir Henry Vane|MORE]]

<div id="varna"></div>'''Varna, Battle of''' 
The 1444 campaign the King of Hungary, Ulaszlo I, launched against the Turks (the "infidels") in an attempt to drive them out of Europe. The Christian army was utterly destroyed; lost by [[C#caesarini|Caesarini]], 591

'''Vasquez Brothers''' 
477; have Marimba Quartet on M-D Line crew; 546

<div id="vaucanson"></div>'''Vaucanson, Jacques de (1709-82)''' 
372; He actually did make a mechanical Duck that could eat and excrete. Perhaps his most significant automata were his automatic looms, because years later, Jacquard would invent the punched card so as to ''program'' Vaucanson's looms; 450; 668; ''See also'' [[D#duck|Duck]]; [http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/4-2/text/mazlish.html More]

{{#ev:youtube|djB9oK6pkbA}}

'''Vector of Desire''' 
96; how DePugh LeSpark describes a telescope; [[Vector of Desire|Eymological Musings]]

<div id="veery">'''Veery Brothers'''</div>
289; Cosmo & Damian, professional effigy-makers in Philadelphia; Yes, and what effigies, if they're connected, as one would assume, to the Catholic saints Cosmo (Cosmas) and Damian, twin brothers from 3rd century CE Asia Minor who were martyred. But the connection becomes clearer when one considers that St. Cosmo (Cf. Randolph St. Cosmo in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Against the Day'']) became known as "the modern Priapus," the Greek god of sensuality, his symbol the phallus. The Fete of St. Cosmo and Damiano as late as 1780, was celebrated at Iserni, in Naples, replete with "ex voti" phalli, made of wax, which the women offer up, asking "Blessed St.Cosmo, let it be like this." And Cosmo, you see, is "a rare Wax Artist, our Cosmo is." [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=St._Cosmo Much more on this page on the ''Against the Day'' wiki...]; And as far as "Veery," there's the bird:
:The Veery, a secretive bird, lives in dense shade. The beautiful song of the Veery sounds best at dusk, as it echoes through the deepening gloom of the forest. The bird is rather difficult to see, but it can be lured into view by an imitation of the squeaking of a bird in distress. Its diet is evenly divided between insects obtained on the ground and fruit. It migrates at night, the flock keeping together in dark skies by means of a "contact call" characteristic of the species. Experiments on other thrushes show that their vision in shade or twilight is better than that of most other birds. [http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=BD0266]

'''Veevle''' 
53; on crew of ''Seahorse''; notorious for his reluctance to wake up for guard shifts

'''Vendue''' 
511; an auction; 682

'''Venus''' 
27; 137; 138; "from a Machine" 668

'''Verger''' 
8; church caretaker

'''Vesuvius, Mt.''' 
235

'''Vineland''' 
633; 634

'''Vinovium''' 
218

<div id="VirginiaResolves"></div>'''Virginia Resolves [Resolutions]''' 
The Virginia Resolves were a series of resolutions passed [29 May 1965] by the Virginia House of Burgesses in response to the Stamp Act of 1765. The Stamp Act had been passed by the British Parliament to help pay off some of its debt from its various wars, including the French and Indian War fought in part to protect the American colonies.

The resolves claimed that in accordance with long established British law, Virginia was subject to taxation only by a parliamentary assembly to which Virginians themselves elected representatives. Since no colonial representatives were elected to the Parliament the only assembly legally allowed to raise taxes would be the Virginia General Assembly. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Resolves WIKI]

prelude to, [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#VirginiaResolutions 395];

'''''Vis centrifuga''''' 
555; Latin: "centrifugal force"

'''''Vis Fulgoris''''' 
685; Latin: "power of lightning"

'''''Vis Inertiae''''' 
708; Latin: "power of inertia"

'''''Vis Martis''''' 
765; Latin: "power of Mars"

'''Visto''' 
234; To facilitate sighting and marking, the surveyors employed axmen to clear
a rough corridor, the Visto, "8 or 9 yards wide" along the points of their
periodic observations and measurements; "Gravity along the Visto, is become
locally less important than Rapture" 651; "upon the Atlantick Sea" 712

<div id="viudas"></div>'''Viudas de Cristo, Las''' 
420, 518; Spanish: "The Widows of Christ"; ''See also'' [[W#widows|Widows of Christ]]

<div id="voam"></div>'''Voam, Professor''' 
321; "camp naturalist" & "Philosophical Operator" on M-D Line crew; FYI: In Pennsylvania and New Jersey there's an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter; 425; 550; 619

'''V.O.C.''' 
58; Dutch: "'''V'''erenigde '''O'''ostindische '''C'''ompagnie" (Dutch East India Company); 69

'''Void''' 
179; 183; 288; Vacancy, 709

'''Volcano, Captain''' 
402; sobriquet of "Amy's" "Uncle"; in Montague's, 564

'''Voltaire (1694-1778)''' 
372; one of the greatest French authors and embodiment of the spirit of the Age of Reason; "remark about Gas and As-tronomers" 385; "Thorns and Angels" 568; writing about the Mechanickal Duck, 668

'''Vongolli''' 
707; Italian: vongole = clam; "French-Shawanese half-breed Renegado" who is
M&D's "sidekick"; reminiscent of [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=G#goll Von Göll in ''Gravity's Rainbow'']

'''Vortices''' 
220; Vortices were an attempt by Continental philosophers and mathematicians to explain how space could be continuously occupied by solid matter (i.e. with no gaps) and yet allow movement. Atomic theories were deemed unacceptable because either they required space between atoms with nothing to fill it or they required solid atoms which interlocked and tesselated to fill space but thereby disallowed any movement; 556; [http://www.goddess.org/vortices/vortex.html Of Further Interest...]

'''Vowtay Brothers''' 
100; Company writers

'''Vroom, Cornelius''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; patriarch of the 5-person Vroom family. Also similar to the name of a 15th century Dutch painter [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelis_Vroom Cornelis Vroom].

Also cf The sound of 'warum' (why) in German in GR: '...her teeth halt on her lower lip, and the warum (varoom, a Plasticman sound) hovers trapped in her mouth.'

'''Vroom, Jemima ("Jet")''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; 16-year-old daughter of Cornelius & Johanna; the three daughters are
named after Job's three beautiful daughters in the Bible.

'''Vroom, Kezia ("Greet")''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; middle daughter of Cornelius & Johanna; the three daughters are named after Job's three beautiful daughters in the Bible.

'''Vroom, Kerrenhappuch ("Els")''' 
60: Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; 12-year-old daughter of Cornelius & Johanna; the three daughters are named after Job's three beautiful daughters in the Bible.

'''Vroom, Johanna ("Vrou" ie 'Mrs.', like Frau in German)''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; wife of Cornelius; ripping her bodice in front of Mason, 87

{{MD Alpha Nav}}

V

2019-01-14T23:25:49Z

WikiAdmin:

'''Vacuum''' 
44; 155; 197; 356; 363; 428; 556

'''Vampire''' 
425; Hungarian, 728

'''''Vampyr of Covent Garden''''' 
117; Gothick novel Mason names to Maskelyne

<div id="vane"></div>'''Vane, Sir Henry (1613-62) (The Younger)''' 
116; English statesman who, between 1635 and 1637, was governor of Massachusetts; After returning to England, he entered the House of Commons. Along with [[P#pym|John Pym]], he played a major part in securing the execution of the [[S#strafford|First Earl of Strafford]]; 225; 226; [[Sir Henry Vane|MORE]]

<div id="varna"></div>'''Varna, Battle of''' 
The 1444 campaign the King of Hungary, Ulaszlo I, launched against the Turks (the "infidels") in an attempt to drive them out of Europe. The Christian army was utterly destroyed; lost by [[C#caesarini|Caesarini]], 591

'''Vasquez Brothers''' 
477; have Marimba Quartet on M-D Line crew; 546

<div id="vaucanson"></div>'''Vaucanson, Jacques de (1709-82)''' 
372; He actually did make a mechanical Duck that could eat and excrete. Perhaps his most significant automata were his automatic looms, because years later, Jacquard would invent the punched card so as to ''program'' Vaucanson's looms; 450; 668; ''See also'' [[D#duck|Duck]]; [http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/4-2/text/mazlish.html More]

'''Vector of Desire''' 
96; how DePugh LeSpark describes a telescope; [[Vector of Desire|Eymological Musings]]

<div id="veery">'''Veery Brothers'''</div>
289; Cosmo & Damian, professional effigy-makers in Philadelphia; Yes, and what effigies, if they're connected, as one would assume, to the Catholic saints Cosmo (Cosmas) and Damian, twin brothers from 3rd century CE Asia Minor who were martyred. But the connection becomes clearer when one considers that St. Cosmo (Cf. Randolph St. Cosmo in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Against the Day'']) became known as "the modern Priapus," the Greek god of sensuality, his symbol the phallus. The Fete of St. Cosmo and Damiano as late as 1780, was celebrated at Iserni, in Naples, replete with "ex voti" phalli, made of wax, which the women offer up, asking "Blessed St.Cosmo, let it be like this." And Cosmo, you see, is "a rare Wax Artist, our Cosmo is." [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=St._Cosmo Much more on this page on the ''Against the Day'' wiki...]; And as far as "Veery," there's the bird:
:The Veery, a secretive bird, lives in dense shade. The beautiful song of the Veery sounds best at dusk, as it echoes through the deepening gloom of the forest. The bird is rather difficult to see, but it can be lured into view by an imitation of the squeaking of a bird in distress. Its diet is evenly divided between insects obtained on the ground and fruit. It migrates at night, the flock keeping together in dark skies by means of a "contact call" characteristic of the species. Experiments on other thrushes show that their vision in shade or twilight is better than that of most other birds. [http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=BD0266]

'''Veevle''' 
53; on crew of ''Seahorse''; notorious for his reluctance to wake up for guard shifts

'''Vendue''' 
511; an auction; 682

'''Venus''' 
27; 137; 138; "from a Machine" 668

'''Verger''' 
8; church caretaker

'''Vesuvius, Mt.''' 
235

'''Vineland''' 
633; 634

'''Vinovium''' 
218

<div id="VirginiaResolves"></div>'''Virginia Resolves [Resolutions]''' 
The Virginia Resolves were a series of resolutions passed [29 May 1965] by the Virginia House of Burgesses in response to the Stamp Act of 1765. The Stamp Act had been passed by the British Parliament to help pay off some of its debt from its various wars, including the French and Indian War fought in part to protect the American colonies.

The resolves claimed that in accordance with long established British law, Virginia was subject to taxation only by a parliamentary assembly to which Virginians themselves elected representatives. Since no colonial representatives were elected to the Parliament the only assembly legally allowed to raise taxes would be the Virginia General Assembly. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Resolves WIKI]

prelude to, [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#VirginiaResolutions 395];

'''''Vis centrifuga''''' 
555; Latin: "centrifugal force"

'''''Vis Fulgoris''''' 
685; Latin: "power of lightning"

'''''Vis Inertiae''''' 
708; Latin: "power of inertia"

'''''Vis Martis''''' 
765; Latin: "power of Mars"

'''Visto''' 
234; To facilitate sighting and marking, the surveyors employed axmen to clear
a rough corridor, the Visto, "8 or 9 yards wide" along the points of their
periodic observations and measurements; "Gravity along the Visto, is become
locally less important than Rapture" 651; "upon the Atlantick Sea" 712

<div id="viudas"></div>'''Viudas de Cristo, Las''' 
420, 518; Spanish: "The Widows of Christ"; ''See also'' [[W#widows|Widows of Christ]]

<div id="voam"></div>'''Voam, Professor''' 
321; "camp naturalist" & "Philosophical Operator" on M-D Line crew; FYI: In Pennsylvania and New Jersey there's an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter; 425; 550; 619

'''V.O.C.''' 
58; Dutch: "'''V'''erenigde '''O'''ostindische '''C'''ompagnie" (Dutch East India Company); 69

'''Void''' 
179; 183; 288; Vacancy, 709

'''Volcano, Captain''' 
402; sobriquet of "Amy's" "Uncle"; in Montague's, 564

'''Voltaire (1694-1778)''' 
372; one of the greatest French authors and embodiment of the spirit of the Age of Reason; "remark about Gas and As-tronomers" 385; "Thorns and Angels" 568; writing about the Mechanickal Duck, 668

'''Vongolli''' 
707; Italian: vongole = clam; "French-Shawanese half-breed Renegado" who is
M&D's "sidekick"; reminiscent of [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=G#goll Von Göll in ''Gravity's Rainbow'']

'''Vortices''' 
220; Vortices were an attempt by Continental philosophers and mathematicians to explain how space could be continuously occupied by solid matter (i.e. with no gaps) and yet allow movement. Atomic theories were deemed unacceptable because either they required space between atoms with nothing to fill it or they required solid atoms which interlocked and tesselated to fill space but thereby disallowed any movement; 556; [http://www.goddess.org/vortices/vortex.html Of Further Interest...]

'''Vowtay Brothers''' 
100; Company writers

'''Vroom, Cornelius''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; patriarch of the 5-person Vroom family. Also similar to the name of a 15th century Dutch painter [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelis_Vroom Cornelis Vroom].

Also cf The sound of 'warum' (why) in German in GR: '...her teeth halt on her lower lip, and the warum (varoom, a Plasticman sound) hovers trapped in her mouth.'

'''Vroom, Jemima ("Jet")''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; 16-year-old daughter of Cornelius & Johanna; the three daughters are
named after Job's three beautiful daughters in the Bible.

'''Vroom, Kezia ("Greet")''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; middle daughter of Cornelius & Johanna; the three daughters are named after Job's three beautiful daughters in the Bible.

'''Vroom, Kerrenhappuch ("Els")''' 
60: Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; 12-year-old daughter of Cornelius & Johanna; the three daughters are named after Job's three beautiful daughters in the Bible.

'''Vroom, Johanna ("Vrou" ie 'Mrs.', like Frau in German)''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; wife of Cornelius; ripping her bodice in front of Mason, 87

{{MD Alpha Nav}}

V

2019-01-14T23:25:17Z

WikiAdmin:

'''Vacuum''' 
44; 155; 197; 356; 363; 428; 556

'''Vampire''' 
425; Hungarian, 728

'''''Vampyr of Covent Garden''''' 
117; Gothick novel Mason names to Maskelyne

<div id="vane"></div>'''Vane, Sir Henry (1613-62) (The Younger)''' 
116; English statesman who, between 1635 and 1637, was governor of Massachusetts; After returning to England, he entered the House of Commons. Along with [[P#pym|John Pym]], he played a major part in securing the execution of the [[S#strafford|First Earl of Strafford]]; 225; 226; [[Sir Henry Vane|MORE]]

<div id="varna"></div>'''Varna, Battle of''' 
The 1444 campaign the King of Hungary, Ulaszlo I, launched against the Turks (the "infidels") in an attempt to drive them out of Europe. The Christian army was utterly destroyed; lost by [[C#caesarini|Caesarini]], 591

'''Vasquez Brothers''' 
477; have Marimba Quartet on M-D Line crew; 546

<div id="vaucanson"></div>'''Vaucanson, Jacques de (1709-82)''' 
372; He actually did make a mechanical Duck that could eat and excrete. Perhaps his most significant automata were his automatic looms, because years later, Jacquard would invent the punched card so as to ''program'' Vaucanson's looms; 450; 668; ''See also'' [[D#duck|Duck]]; [http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/4-2/text/mazlish.html More]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/djB9oK6pkbA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

'''Vector of Desire''' 
96; how DePugh LeSpark describes a telescope; [[Vector of Desire|Eymological Musings]]

<div id="veery">'''Veery Brothers'''</div>
289; Cosmo & Damian, professional effigy-makers in Philadelphia; Yes, and what effigies, if they're connected, as one would assume, to the Catholic saints Cosmo (Cosmas) and Damian, twin brothers from 3rd century CE Asia Minor who were martyred. But the connection becomes clearer when one considers that St. Cosmo (Cf. Randolph St. Cosmo in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/ ''Against the Day'']) became known as "the modern Priapus," the Greek god of sensuality, his symbol the phallus. The Fete of St. Cosmo and Damiano as late as 1780, was celebrated at Iserni, in Naples, replete with "ex voti" phalli, made of wax, which the women offer up, asking "Blessed St.Cosmo, let it be like this." And Cosmo, you see, is "a rare Wax Artist, our Cosmo is." [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=St._Cosmo Much more on this page on the ''Against the Day'' wiki...]; And as far as "Veery," there's the bird:
:The Veery, a secretive bird, lives in dense shade. The beautiful song of the Veery sounds best at dusk, as it echoes through the deepening gloom of the forest. The bird is rather difficult to see, but it can be lured into view by an imitation of the squeaking of a bird in distress. Its diet is evenly divided between insects obtained on the ground and fruit. It migrates at night, the flock keeping together in dark skies by means of a "contact call" characteristic of the species. Experiments on other thrushes show that their vision in shade or twilight is better than that of most other birds. [http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=BD0266]

'''Veevle''' 
53; on crew of ''Seahorse''; notorious for his reluctance to wake up for guard shifts

'''Vendue''' 
511; an auction; 682

'''Venus''' 
27; 137; 138; "from a Machine" 668

'''Verger''' 
8; church caretaker

'''Vesuvius, Mt.''' 
235

'''Vineland''' 
633; 634

'''Vinovium''' 
218

<div id="VirginiaResolves"></div>'''Virginia Resolves [Resolutions]''' 
The Virginia Resolves were a series of resolutions passed [29 May 1965] by the Virginia House of Burgesses in response to the Stamp Act of 1765. The Stamp Act had been passed by the British Parliament to help pay off some of its debt from its various wars, including the French and Indian War fought in part to protect the American colonies.

The resolves claimed that in accordance with long established British law, Virginia was subject to taxation only by a parliamentary assembly to which Virginians themselves elected representatives. Since no colonial representatives were elected to the Parliament the only assembly legally allowed to raise taxes would be the Virginia General Assembly. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Resolves WIKI]

prelude to, [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#VirginiaResolutions 395];

'''''Vis centrifuga''''' 
555; Latin: "centrifugal force"

'''''Vis Fulgoris''''' 
685; Latin: "power of lightning"

'''''Vis Inertiae''''' 
708; Latin: "power of inertia"

'''''Vis Martis''''' 
765; Latin: "power of Mars"

'''Visto''' 
234; To facilitate sighting and marking, the surveyors employed axmen to clear
a rough corridor, the Visto, "8 or 9 yards wide" along the points of their
periodic observations and measurements; "Gravity along the Visto, is become
locally less important than Rapture" 651; "upon the Atlantick Sea" 712

<div id="viudas"></div>'''Viudas de Cristo, Las''' 
420, 518; Spanish: "The Widows of Christ"; ''See also'' [[W#widows|Widows of Christ]]

<div id="voam"></div>'''Voam, Professor''' 
321; "camp naturalist" & "Philosophical Operator" on M-D Line crew; FYI: In Pennsylvania and New Jersey there's an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter; 425; 550; 619

'''V.O.C.''' 
58; Dutch: "'''V'''erenigde '''O'''ostindische '''C'''ompagnie" (Dutch East India Company); 69

'''Void''' 
179; 183; 288; Vacancy, 709

'''Volcano, Captain''' 
402; sobriquet of "Amy's" "Uncle"; in Montague's, 564

'''Voltaire (1694-1778)''' 
372; one of the greatest French authors and embodiment of the spirit of the Age of Reason; "remark about Gas and As-tronomers" 385; "Thorns and Angels" 568; writing about the Mechanickal Duck, 668

'''Vongolli''' 
707; Italian: vongole = clam; "French-Shawanese half-breed Renegado" who is
M&D's "sidekick"; reminiscent of [http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=G#goll Von Göll in ''Gravity's Rainbow'']

'''Vortices''' 
220; Vortices were an attempt by Continental philosophers and mathematicians to explain how space could be continuously occupied by solid matter (i.e. with no gaps) and yet allow movement. Atomic theories were deemed unacceptable because either they required space between atoms with nothing to fill it or they required solid atoms which interlocked and tesselated to fill space but thereby disallowed any movement; 556; [http://www.goddess.org/vortices/vortex.html Of Further Interest...]

'''Vowtay Brothers''' 
100; Company writers

'''Vroom, Cornelius''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; patriarch of the 5-person Vroom family. Also similar to the name of a 15th century Dutch painter [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelis_Vroom Cornelis Vroom].

Also cf The sound of 'warum' (why) in German in GR: '...her teeth halt on her lower lip, and the warum (varoom, a Plasticman sound) hovers trapped in her mouth.'

'''Vroom, Jemima ("Jet")''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; 16-year-old daughter of Cornelius & Johanna; the three daughters are
named after Job's three beautiful daughters in the Bible.

'''Vroom, Kezia ("Greet")''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; middle daughter of Cornelius & Johanna; the three daughters are named after Job's three beautiful daughters in the Bible.

'''Vroom, Kerrenhappuch ("Els")''' 
60: Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; 12-year-old daughter of Cornelius & Johanna; the three daughters are named after Job's three beautiful daughters in the Bible.

'''Vroom, Johanna ("Vrou" ie 'Mrs.', like Frau in German)''' 
60; Dutch: "vroom" = "pious" or "godly"; wife of Cornelius; ripping her bodice in front of Mason, 87

{{MD Alpha Nav}}

Main Page

2015-06-22T18:31:40Z

WikiAdmin: /* Featured Quote */

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

To become a contributor/editor, [http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Create an account.''']

<likebutton>http%3A%2F%2Fmasondixon.pynchonwiki.com%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DMain_Page</likebutton>

[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312423209/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312423209&linkCode=as2&tag=pyncwiki-20 '''Order ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [[Mason & Dixon covers|''Mason & Dixon'' covers]] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Quote ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]
"As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."




== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://reconstruction.eserver.org/021/Haunting.htm Haunting and Hunting: Bodily Resurrection and the Occupation of History in Thomas Pynchon's ''Mason & Dixon''] - Justin Scott Coe
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_m%26d.html The Modern Word page on Mason & Dixon]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [http://www.vheissu.info/mdmd/toc.php Extended ToC for ''Mason & Dixon'']

* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/ The Modern Word Pynchon page]
* [http://z11.invisionfree.com/thefictionalwoods/index.php The Fictional Woods] - a Pynchon forum
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]
* [http://www.waste.org/pynchon-l/ Pynchon-L]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/levy_mason_and_dixon.pdf Toby Levy's ''Mason & Dixon 3 Pages a Day'' Project]
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

===Historical Resources===
* [http://www.udel.edu/johnmack/mason_dixon/ A Brief History of the Mason-Dixon Survey]

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

MediaWiki:Sidebar

2013-10-16T06:07:30Z

WikiAdmin:

* navigation
** mainpage|Home Page
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* wikis
** http://bleedingedge.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Bleeding Edge
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** http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Against the Day
** http://vineland.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Vineland
** http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|Gravity's Rainbow
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** http://v.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page|V.

Main Page

2013-09-02T18:52:36Z

WikiAdmin:

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

To become a contributor/editor, [http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Create an account.''']

<likebutton>http%3A%2F%2Fmasondixon.pynchonwiki.com%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DMain_Page</likebutton>

[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312423209/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312423209&linkCode=as2&tag=pyncwiki-20 '''Order ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [[Mason & Dixon covers|''Mason & Dixon'' covers]] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Article ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]Check out [http://redroom.com/member/bob-levin/blog/mason-dixon Bob Levin's great article] about ''Mason & Dixon''. "As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."



== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://reconstruction.eserver.org/021/Haunting.htm Haunting and Hunting: Bodily Resurrection and the Occupation of History in Thomas Pynchon's ''Mason & Dixon''] - Justin Scott Coe
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_m%26d.html The Modern Word page on Mason & Dixon]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [http://www.vheissu.info/mdmd/toc.php Extended ToC for ''Mason & Dixon'']

* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/ The Modern Word Pynchon page]
* [http://z11.invisionfree.com/thefictionalwoods/index.php The Fictional Woods] - a Pynchon forum
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]
* [http://www.waste.org/pynchon-l/ Pynchon-L]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/levy_mason_and_dixon.pdf Toby Levy's ''Mason & Dixon 3 Pages a Day'' Project]
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

===Historical Resources===
* [http://www.udel.edu/johnmack/mason_dixon/ A Brief History of the Mason-Dixon Survey]

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Main Page

2013-01-12T18:22:03Z

WikiAdmin:

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

To become a contributor/editor, [http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Create an account.''']

<likebutton>http%3A%2F%2Fmasondixon.pynchonwiki.com%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%3Ftitle%3DMain_Page</likebutton>

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [[Mason & Dixon covers|''Mason & Dixon'' covers]] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

==Dixon's Original Hand Drawn Map Of The Line And Important Points Along The Way==
Zoomable map at the [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl?data=/home/www/data/gmd/gmd384/g3841/g3841f/ct002075.jp2 Library of Congress] or a very large detailed scan [https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/handle/1774.2/34999?show=full here]

== Featured Article ==
[[file:bob-levin_redroom.jpg|thumb|75px|left]]Check out [http://redroom.com/member/bob-levin/blog/mason-dixon Bob Levin's great article] about ''Mason & Dixon''. "As soon as I finished, I wanted to (a) immediately re-read it; (b) enroll in a one semester course devoted to nothing but its study; or ( c) stick it on the shelf and have nothing to do with it again. “Mason & Dixon” is a great novel; and I say this without having understood what seemed any more than, oh, ten percent."



== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://reconstruction.eserver.org/021/Haunting.htm Haunting and Hunting: Bodily Resurrection and the Occupation of History in Thomas Pynchon's ''Mason & Dixon''] - Justin Scott Coe
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_m%26d.html The Modern Word page on Mason & Dixon]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [http://www.vheissu.info/mdmd/toc.php Extended ToC for ''Mason & Dixon'']

* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/ The Modern Word Pynchon page]
* [http://z11.invisionfree.com/thefictionalwoods/index.php The Fictional Woods] - a Pynchon forum
* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]
* [http://www.waste.org/pynchon-l/ Pynchon-L]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/levy_mason_and_dixon.pdf Toby Levy's ''Mason & Dixon 3 Pages a Day'' Project]
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

===Historical Resources===
* [http://www.udel.edu/johnmack/mason_dixon/ A Brief History of the Mason-Dixon Survey]

<div style="clear:both;"></div>

==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

File:Bob-levin redroom.jpg

2013-01-12T18:20:31Z

WikiAdmin: Writer Bob Levin

Writer Bob Levin

Chapter 6: 47-57

2012-07-13T19:38:52Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 55 */

==Page 47==

'''Interdiction at sea''' 
Interdiction: Authoritative prohibition 
A court order prohibiting a party from doing a certain activity
- interdict: a sequential process that includes surveillance of often broad ocean areas''' 

'''Skanderoon''' 
Iskenderun, Turkish port, eastern Mediterranean.

'''Loxodrome''' 
Line of constant compass bearing on the surface of the Earth. A parallel of latitude is a loxodrome, but most great-circle arcs are not (the exceptions being the Equator and every meridian). Here, what you might call a bee-line.

==Page 48==

'''Caffeinist''' 
Anachronism (1830).

'''new Captain''' 
(Did the last one die of his wounds then?)

==Page 49==

'''Jolly Roger''' 

Flag with skull and crossbones, typically flown by pirates. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_roger WIKI]

'''Mustard-Grinder''' 
Mustarder: one who dealt in buying and selling mustard 
GRINDER: one who operates a grinding machine in any of several trades 
From [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sam/occupation.html Colonial Occupations, online].

==Page 50==

'''Tenerife''' 

Spanish Island off the coast of Africa. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife WIKI].

'''the Lizard''' 

Peninsula of Cornwall, most southerly point of Great Britain. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lizard WIKI]

'''Sutton Pool''' 

Plymouth harbor. [http://www.plymouthdata.info/SuttonPool.htm WIKI]

==Page 52==

'''Hautboy''' 

Or hautbois, French for oboe.

==Page 53==

'''cheaply opiated Pint''' 
Yes, opium beer; cheap opium beer. Also in ATD.

'''Quantz Etude''' 
Johann Joachim Quantz [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Joachim_Quantz Wikipedia] (January 30, 1697–July 12, 1773) was a German flutist, flute maker and composer.

Quantz began his musical studies as a child with his uncle. He began to concentrate on the flute, performing more and more on the instrument. He gradually became known as the finest flautist in Europe, and toured France and England. He became flute teacher, flute maker and composer to Frederick II of Prussia (Frederick the Great) in 1740. He was an innovator in flute design, adding keys to the instrument to help with intonation (playing in tune), for example.

Although Quantz wrote many pieces of music, mainly for the flute (including around 300 flute concertos), he is best known today as the author of Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversière zu spielen (1752), a treatise on flute playing. It is of great interest today as a source of information on performance practice and flute technique in the 18th century.

'''Etude''' An etude (from the French word étude meaning "study") is a short musical composition designed to provide practice in a particular technical skill in the performance of a solo instrument.

==Page 54==

'''Enemas of... Coffee''' 
(Cf AtD)

'''Slow-Matches''' 
Slow match, or matchcord, is rope impregnated with nitrates to make it burn slowly, evenly, and reliably despite wind or rain. When the trigger was pulled, a lever applied the burning rope to the powder in the priming pan, thus firing the gun. This drawing illustrates a musketeer aiming his gun, with the slow match smouldering at both ends. For the first few hundred years of firearms, this was the only way to shoot them. 
From the [http://www.metamuseum.com/us%5CSlowMatch/ Slow Match Website].

'''"Pat... O'Brian... acknowledg'd as the best Yarn-Spinner in all the Fleets."''' 

Patrick O'Brian (died in 2000) was a novelist mostly known for his nautical novels surrounding the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_O%27Brian WIKI]

==Page 55==

'''Turk's Head''' 
A knot built on a cylinder (such as a rope) and having a woven appearance on the surface. Used decoratively or to create a grip. [http://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford/dp/057109659X/ref=sr_1_1/103-6132115-1362208?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186416528&sr=8-1 ''Ashley's Book of Knots''] (published in the 1940s, still in print) describes dozens of forms. "A notable practical use for the Turk's head is to mark the "king spoke" of a ship's wheel; when this spoke is upright the rudder is in a central position" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turk's_head_knot Wikipedia]).

'''Matthew Walker''' 
A knot tied in the strands of a rope, forming a projection or knob. The Matthew Walker is generally tied in the middle of the rope; the strands are then laid up again to the end. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Walker_knot pix on Wikipedia].

'''Mr. Higgs's Obsessedness as to Loose Ends''' 
Boatswain (pronounced "bo's'n") Higgs, on the frigate ''Seahorse'' is a pun on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson "Higgs boson" particle], aka "the God Particle", the existence of which was confirmed on July 10, 2012. As Mr. Higgs is obsessed with loose ends, so too were particle physicists obsessed with finding an instance of the Higgs boson particle which, although theorized in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Model Standard Model of particle physics], had not, until 2012, been detected. Thus was the loose end of the Higgs boson particle finally tied, although, this being Science, the discovery is not 100% certain. Although the new particle is "consistent with" the Higgs boson, scientists are cautious as to whether it is formally identified as actually being the Higgs boson, pending further analysis.

'''Jewel Block''' 
Naut.) block at the extremity of a yard, through which the halyard of a studding sail is rove.

==Page 56==

'''perfectly beneath us''' 
Astronomy 101 would have to flunk TRP-- anywhere in the Tropics the sun will be overhead on some days. At the Equator, only on the two equinoxes.

It pays to remember that this section is narrated by the Reverend Cherrycoke. He may well be embellishing the story in unrealistic ways for the children's entertainment. I find it unlikely that Pynchon himself would make such a mistake.

==Page 57==
'''attendant [[I#Inconvenience|Inconvenience]]''' 
Others' wills and preferences which complicate one's fantasies of comeliness and willingness.

Note that [[B#bodine|Fender-Belly Bodine's]] ship, the H.M.S. Inconvenience appears again in 2006 in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=I#inconvenience ''Against the Day''].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Chapter 6: 47-57

2012-07-06T01:33:24Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 55 */

==Page 47==

'''Interdiction at sea''' 
Interdiction: Authoritative prohibition 
A court order prohibiting a party from doing a certain activity
- interdict: a sequential process that includes surveillance of often broad ocean areas''' 

'''Skanderoon''' 
Iskenderun, Turkish port, eastern Mediterranean.

'''Loxodrome''' 
Line of constant compass bearing on the surface of the Earth. A parallel of latitude is a loxodrome, but most great-circle arcs are not (the exceptions being the Equator and every meridian). Here, what you might call a bee-line.

==Page 48==

'''Caffeinist''' 
Anachronism (1830).

'''new Captain''' 
(Did the last one die of his wounds then?)

==Page 49==

'''Jolly Roger''' 

Flag with skull and crossbones, typically flown by pirates. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_roger WIKI]

'''Mustard-Grinder''' 
Mustarder: one who dealt in buying and selling mustard 
GRINDER: one who operates a grinding machine in any of several trades 
From [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sam/occupation.html Colonial Occupations, online].

==Page 50==

'''Tenerife''' 

Spanish Island off the coast of Africa. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife WIKI].

'''the Lizard''' 

Peninsula of Cornwall, most southerly point of Great Britain. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lizard WIKI]

'''Sutton Pool''' 

Plymouth harbor. [http://www.plymouthdata.info/SuttonPool.htm WIKI]

==Page 52==

'''Hautboy''' 

Or hautbois, French for oboe.

==Page 53==

'''cheaply opiated Pint''' 
Yes, opium beer; cheap opium beer. Also in ATD.

'''Quantz Etude''' 
Johann Joachim Quantz [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Joachim_Quantz Wikipedia] (January 30, 1697–July 12, 1773) was a German flutist, flute maker and composer.

Quantz began his musical studies as a child with his uncle. He began to concentrate on the flute, performing more and more on the instrument. He gradually became known as the finest flautist in Europe, and toured France and England. He became flute teacher, flute maker and composer to Frederick II of Prussia (Frederick the Great) in 1740. He was an innovator in flute design, adding keys to the instrument to help with intonation (playing in tune), for example.

Although Quantz wrote many pieces of music, mainly for the flute (including around 300 flute concertos), he is best known today as the author of Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversière zu spielen (1752), a treatise on flute playing. It is of great interest today as a source of information on performance practice and flute technique in the 18th century.

'''Etude''' An etude (from the French word étude meaning "study") is a short musical composition designed to provide practice in a particular technical skill in the performance of a solo instrument.

==Page 54==

'''Enemas of... Coffee''' 
(Cf AtD)

'''Slow-Matches''' 
Slow match, or matchcord, is rope impregnated with nitrates to make it burn slowly, evenly, and reliably despite wind or rain. When the trigger was pulled, a lever applied the burning rope to the powder in the priming pan, thus firing the gun. This drawing illustrates a musketeer aiming his gun, with the slow match smouldering at both ends. For the first few hundred years of firearms, this was the only way to shoot them. 
From the [http://www.metamuseum.com/us%5CSlowMatch/ Slow Match Website].

'''"Pat... O'Brian... acknowledg'd as the best Yarn-Spinner in all the Fleets."''' 

Patrick O'Brian (died in 2000) was a novelist mostly known for his nautical novels surrounding the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_O%27Brian WIKI]

==Page 55==

'''Turk's Head''' 
A knot built on a cylinder (such as a rope) and having a woven appearance on the surface. Used decoratively or to create a grip. [http://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford/dp/057109659X/ref=sr_1_1/103-6132115-1362208?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186416528&sr=8-1 ''Ashley's Book of Knots''] (published in the 1940s, still in print) describes dozens of forms. "A notable practical use for the Turk's head is to mark the "king spoke" of a ship's wheel; when this spoke is upright the rudder is in a central position" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turk's_head_knot Wikipedia]).

'''Matthew Walker''' 
A knot tied in the strands of a rope, forming a projection or knob. The Matthew Walker is generally tied in the middle of the rope; the strands are then laid up again to the end. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Walker_knot pix on Wikipedia].

'''Mr. Higgs's Obsessedness as to Loose Ends''' 
Boatswain (pronounced "bo's'n") Higgs, on the frigate ''Seahorse'' is a pun on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson "Higgs boson" particle], aka "the God Particle", the existence of which was confirmed on July 10, 2012. As Mr. Higgs is obsessed with loose ends, so too were particle physicists obsessed with finding an instance of the Higgs boson particle which, although theorized in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Model Standard Model of particle physics], had not, until 2012, been detected. Thus was the loose end of the Higgs boson particle finally tied, although, this being Science, the discovery is not 100% certain. Although the new particle is "consistent with" the Higgs boson, scientists are cautious as to whether it is formally identified as actually being the Higgs boson, pending further analysis.)

'''Jewel Block''' 
Naut.) block at the extremity of a yard, through which the halyard of a studding sail is rove.

==Page 56==

'''perfectly beneath us''' 
Astronomy 101 would have to flunk TRP-- anywhere in the Tropics the sun will be overhead on some days. At the Equator, only on the two equinoxes.

It pays to remember that this section is narrated by the Reverend Cherrycoke. He may well be embellishing the story in unrealistic ways for the children's entertainment. I find it unlikely that Pynchon himself would make such a mistake.

==Page 57==
'''attendant [[I#Inconvenience|Inconvenience]]''' 
Others' wills and preferences which complicate one's fantasies of comeliness and willingness.

Note that [[B#bodine|Fender-Belly Bodine's]] ship, the H.M.S. Inconvenience appears again in 2006 in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=I#inconvenience ''Against the Day''].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Chapter 6: 47-57

2012-07-06T01:32:59Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 54 */

==Page 47==

'''Interdiction at sea''' 
Interdiction: Authoritative prohibition 
A court order prohibiting a party from doing a certain activity
- interdict: a sequential process that includes surveillance of often broad ocean areas''' 

'''Skanderoon''' 
Iskenderun, Turkish port, eastern Mediterranean.

'''Loxodrome''' 
Line of constant compass bearing on the surface of the Earth. A parallel of latitude is a loxodrome, but most great-circle arcs are not (the exceptions being the Equator and every meridian). Here, what you might call a bee-line.

==Page 48==

'''Caffeinist''' 
Anachronism (1830).

'''new Captain''' 
(Did the last one die of his wounds then?)

==Page 49==

'''Jolly Roger''' 

Flag with skull and crossbones, typically flown by pirates. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_roger WIKI]

'''Mustard-Grinder''' 
Mustarder: one who dealt in buying and selling mustard 
GRINDER: one who operates a grinding machine in any of several trades 
From [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sam/occupation.html Colonial Occupations, online].

==Page 50==

'''Tenerife''' 

Spanish Island off the coast of Africa. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife WIKI].

'''the Lizard''' 

Peninsula of Cornwall, most southerly point of Great Britain. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lizard WIKI]

'''Sutton Pool''' 

Plymouth harbor. [http://www.plymouthdata.info/SuttonPool.htm WIKI]

==Page 52==

'''Hautboy''' 

Or hautbois, French for oboe.

==Page 53==

'''cheaply opiated Pint''' 
Yes, opium beer; cheap opium beer. Also in ATD.

'''Quantz Etude''' 
Johann Joachim Quantz [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Joachim_Quantz Wikipedia] (January 30, 1697–July 12, 1773) was a German flutist, flute maker and composer.

Quantz began his musical studies as a child with his uncle. He began to concentrate on the flute, performing more and more on the instrument. He gradually became known as the finest flautist in Europe, and toured France and England. He became flute teacher, flute maker and composer to Frederick II of Prussia (Frederick the Great) in 1740. He was an innovator in flute design, adding keys to the instrument to help with intonation (playing in tune), for example.

Although Quantz wrote many pieces of music, mainly for the flute (including around 300 flute concertos), he is best known today as the author of Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversière zu spielen (1752), a treatise on flute playing. It is of great interest today as a source of information on performance practice and flute technique in the 18th century.

'''Etude''' An etude (from the French word étude meaning "study") is a short musical composition designed to provide practice in a particular technical skill in the performance of a solo instrument.

==Page 54==

'''Enemas of... Coffee''' 
(Cf AtD)

'''Slow-Matches''' 
Slow match, or matchcord, is rope impregnated with nitrates to make it burn slowly, evenly, and reliably despite wind or rain. When the trigger was pulled, a lever applied the burning rope to the powder in the priming pan, thus firing the gun. This drawing illustrates a musketeer aiming his gun, with the slow match smouldering at both ends. For the first few hundred years of firearms, this was the only way to shoot them. 
From the [http://www.metamuseum.com/us%5CSlowMatch/ Slow Match Website].

'''"Pat... O'Brian... acknowledg'd as the best Yarn-Spinner in all the Fleets."''' 

Patrick O'Brian (died in 2000) was a novelist mostly known for his nautical novels surrounding the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_O%27Brian WIKI]

==Page 55==

'''Turk's Head''' 
A knot built on a cylinder (such as a rope) and having a woven appearance on the surface. Used decoratively or to create a grip. [http://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford/dp/057109659X/ref=sr_1_1/103-6132115-1362208?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186416528&sr=8-1 ''Ashley's Book of Knots''] (published in the 1940s, still in print) describes dozens of forms. "A notable practical use for the Turk's head is to mark the "king spoke" of a ship's wheel; when this spoke is upright the rudder is in a central position" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turk's_head_knot Wikipedia]).

'''Matthew Walker''' 
A knot tied in the strands of a rope, forming a projection or knob. The Matthew Walker is generally tied in the middle of the rope; the strands are then laid up again to the end. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Walker_knot pix on Wikipedia]

'''Jewel Block''' 
Naut.) block at the extremity of a yard, through which the halyard of a studding sail is rove.

==Page 56==

'''perfectly beneath us''' 
Astronomy 101 would have to flunk TRP-- anywhere in the Tropics the sun will be overhead on some days. At the Equator, only on the two equinoxes.

It pays to remember that this section is narrated by the Reverend Cherrycoke. He may well be embellishing the story in unrealistic ways for the children's entertainment. I find it unlikely that Pynchon himself would make such a mistake.

==Page 57==
'''attendant [[I#Inconvenience|Inconvenience]]''' 
Others' wills and preferences which complicate one's fantasies of comeliness and willingness.

Note that [[B#bodine|Fender-Belly Bodine's]] ship, the H.M.S. Inconvenience appears again in 2006 in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=I#inconvenience ''Against the Day''].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Chapter 6: 47-57

2012-07-06T01:32:28Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 54 */ Add Higgs paragraph

==Page 47==

'''Interdiction at sea''' 
Interdiction: Authoritative prohibition 
A court order prohibiting a party from doing a certain activity
- interdict: a sequential process that includes surveillance of often broad ocean areas''' 

'''Skanderoon''' 
Iskenderun, Turkish port, eastern Mediterranean.

'''Loxodrome''' 
Line of constant compass bearing on the surface of the Earth. A parallel of latitude is a loxodrome, but most great-circle arcs are not (the exceptions being the Equator and every meridian). Here, what you might call a bee-line.

==Page 48==

'''Caffeinist''' 
Anachronism (1830).

'''new Captain''' 
(Did the last one die of his wounds then?)

==Page 49==

'''Jolly Roger''' 

Flag with skull and crossbones, typically flown by pirates. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jolly_roger WIKI]

'''Mustard-Grinder''' 
Mustarder: one who dealt in buying and selling mustard 
GRINDER: one who operates a grinding machine in any of several trades 
From [http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~sam/occupation.html Colonial Occupations, online].

==Page 50==

'''Tenerife''' 

Spanish Island off the coast of Africa. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife WIKI].

'''the Lizard''' 

Peninsula of Cornwall, most southerly point of Great Britain. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lizard WIKI]

'''Sutton Pool''' 

Plymouth harbor. [http://www.plymouthdata.info/SuttonPool.htm WIKI]

==Page 52==

'''Hautboy''' 

Or hautbois, French for oboe.

==Page 53==

'''cheaply opiated Pint''' 
Yes, opium beer; cheap opium beer. Also in ATD.

'''Quantz Etude''' 
Johann Joachim Quantz [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Joachim_Quantz Wikipedia] (January 30, 1697–July 12, 1773) was a German flutist, flute maker and composer.

Quantz began his musical studies as a child with his uncle. He began to concentrate on the flute, performing more and more on the instrument. He gradually became known as the finest flautist in Europe, and toured France and England. He became flute teacher, flute maker and composer to Frederick II of Prussia (Frederick the Great) in 1740. He was an innovator in flute design, adding keys to the instrument to help with intonation (playing in tune), for example.

Although Quantz wrote many pieces of music, mainly for the flute (including around 300 flute concertos), he is best known today as the author of Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversière zu spielen (1752), a treatise on flute playing. It is of great interest today as a source of information on performance practice and flute technique in the 18th century.

'''Etude''' An etude (from the French word étude meaning "study") is a short musical composition designed to provide practice in a particular technical skill in the performance of a solo instrument.

==Page 54==

'''Enemas of... Coffee''' 
(Cf AtD)

'''Slow-Matches''' 
Slow match, or matchcord, is rope impregnated with nitrates to make it burn slowly, evenly, and reliably despite wind or rain. When the trigger was pulled, a lever applied the burning rope to the powder in the priming pan, thus firing the gun. This drawing illustrates a musketeer aiming his gun, with the slow match smouldering at both ends. For the first few hundred years of firearms, this was the only way to shoot them. 
From the [http://www.metamuseum.com/us%5CSlowMatch/ Slow Match Website].

'''"Pat... O'Brian... acknowledg'd as the best Yarn-Spinner in all the Fleets."''' 

Patrick O'Brian (died in 2000) was a novelist mostly known for his nautical novels surrounding the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_O%27Brian WIKI]

'''Mr. Higgs's Obsessedness as to Loose Ends''' 
Boatswain (pronounced "bo's'n") Higgs, on the frigate ''Seahorse'' is a pun on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson "Higgs boson" particle], aka "the God Particle", the existence of which was confirmed on July 10, 2012. As Mr. Higgs is obsessed with loose ends, so too were particle physicists obsessed with finding an instance of the Higgs boson particle which, although theorized in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Model Standard Model of particle physics], had not, until 2012, been detected. Thus was the loose end of the Higgs boson particle finally tied, although, this being Science, the discovery is not 100% certain. Although the new particle is "consistent with" the Higgs boson, scientists are cautious as to whether it is formally identified as actually being the Higgs boson, pending further analysis.)

==Page 55==

'''Turk's Head''' 
A knot built on a cylinder (such as a rope) and having a woven appearance on the surface. Used decoratively or to create a grip. [http://www.amazon.com/Ashley-Book-Knots-Clifford/dp/057109659X/ref=sr_1_1/103-6132115-1362208?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1186416528&sr=8-1 ''Ashley's Book of Knots''] (published in the 1940s, still in print) describes dozens of forms. "A notable practical use for the Turk's head is to mark the "king spoke" of a ship's wheel; when this spoke is upright the rudder is in a central position" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turk's_head_knot Wikipedia]).

'''Matthew Walker''' 
A knot tied in the strands of a rope, forming a projection or knob. The Matthew Walker is generally tied in the middle of the rope; the strands are then laid up again to the end. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Walker_knot pix on Wikipedia]

'''Jewel Block''' 
Naut.) block at the extremity of a yard, through which the halyard of a studding sail is rove.

==Page 56==

'''perfectly beneath us''' 
Astronomy 101 would have to flunk TRP-- anywhere in the Tropics the sun will be overhead on some days. At the Equator, only on the two equinoxes.

It pays to remember that this section is narrated by the Reverend Cherrycoke. He may well be embellishing the story in unrealistic ways for the children's entertainment. I find it unlikely that Pynchon himself would make such a mistake.

==Page 57==
'''attendant [[I#Inconvenience|Inconvenience]]''' 
Others' wills and preferences which complicate one's fantasies of comeliness and willingness.

Note that [[B#bodine|Fender-Belly Bodine's]] ship, the H.M.S. Inconvenience appears again in 2006 in [http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=I#inconvenience ''Against the Day''].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

H

2012-07-06T01:18:41Z

WikiAdmin:

'''Hadley, John (1682-1744)''' 
270; English mathematician who invented the reflecting telescope and the
reflecting (Hadley's) quadrant.

'''Hadrian's Wall''' 
282; The Wall, located in Britain, was built by order of the Emperor Hadrian, probably given during his visit to Britain in AD 122. Hadrian wanted to mark the northern boundary of his Empire. Expansion further north came later when from AD 140 to 163 Hadrian's Wall was briefly replaced by the Antonine Wall. The frontier soon moved south again, back to Hadrian's Wall. Interestingly, there is little evidence of major conflict on Hadrian's Wall. <ref>[http://www.hadrians-wall.org/ Hadrian's Wall - World Heritage Site]</ref>; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian%27s_wall Wikipedia entry]

'''Ha-Ha''' 
17; a ditch with a wall on its inner side below ground level, forming a boundary to a garden or park without interrupting the view from within, being visible only from a close proximity (OED, 18th Ed.)

'''Hailstone, Mr.''' 
192

'''Haimo of Halberstadt''' 
385; doctor

'''Half-Hunter''' 
298

'''Halfpenny, Mr.''' 
722; author of ''Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste''

'''Halifax Packet''' 
554; transports M&D back to England; 704

'''Haligast, Squire''' 
366;435

<div id="halley"></div>'''Halley, Dr. Edmund (1656-1742)''' 
131; English astronomer & mathematician; in 1676 he went to St. Helena to
make the first catalogue of the stars in the southern hemisphere; he was the
first to recommend observing the Transit of Venus to determine the sun's
parallax; he predicted the return of the comet that was thereafter named for
him; 152; 187; 438; 631

'''Hammerfost Island''' 
738; where Dixon stayed on his way to the Hollow Earth; a small town (pop. 9,561 in 1995) in Finnmark co., No. Norway, on Kvaløy island. It is the northernmost town of Europe, but its harbor is always ice-free. Tourists are attracted by its uninterrupted daylight from May 17 to July 29. There are fish-processing plants. Chartered c.1795, Hammerfest was heavily damaged by British naval bombardment in 1809, by fire in 1890, and by retreating German forces in 1944. <ref>[http://www.bartleby.com Bartleby.com]</ref>

'''Handel, George Friederic (1685-1759)''' 
229; German-English composer of great reknown

'''Hanger''' 
365; a sword worn at the side; especially, in the 18th century, a short, curved sword. This is what Dimdown uses to attack Armand Allegre; 381; 386

'''Hannings, John''' 
460

'''Hanover''' 
226; 551

'''Hansel''' 
551

'''Harland, Mr. & Mrs. John''' 
330; M&D set up their observatory on his farm; 393; 441

'''Harris's Ferry''' 
310; river crossing ferry at the site of present-day
Harrisburg, capital of Pennsylvania and not too many miles (c. 50
miles?) north of the M-D line on the Susquehanna River

'''Harris''' 
658; Philadelphia land speculator at the M-D Line

<div id="Harrison"></div>'''Harrison, John (1693-1776)''' 
201; English horologist who invented a timekeeper (chronometer) capable of
compensating for errors due to variations of climate, thus solving the problem of determining longitude at sea and finally claiming the huge prize offered by the government; 213; 322; 436; 728

'''Harrold, Captain''' 
99

'''''Hatchoir''''' 
381

<div id="hawke"></div>'''Hawke, Edward, Admiral (1710-81)''' 
27; British admiral in command of the fleet blockading the French naval station of Brest in 1759. The French fleet was badly needed to assist the French army in Canada and in 1759, the French admiral Count de [[C#conflans|Conflans]] made a run at breaking the blockade. However, Hawke's fleet caught up to them and drove them into [[Q#quiberon|Quiberon Bay]] where nine French ships were destroyed, virtually incapacitating the fleet. This was key in Britains taking Canada from the French; 52

<div id="Head of Elk"></div>'''Head of Elk''' 
397; refers to the head of Maryland's Elk River. It flows through
Cecil County and into Chesapeake Bay in the NE corner of Maryland just west
of the Delaware border. Head of Elk was of strategic significance in the
Revolutionary War: [http://www.ushistory.org/march/phila/elk.htm MORE]

'''"Hearts of Oak"''' 
53

'''Heinz''' 
551

'''Helen of Troy''' 
176; 179

'''Helgi''' 
634; See [[F#finnbogi|Finnbogi]]

'''Heliotrope''' 
549; reddish-purple colour

<div id="hellfire"></div>'''Hellfire Club''' 
110; indulged in orgies at [[M#medmenham|Medmenham Abbey]]; 418; ''See also'' [[W#wilkes|Wilkes, John]]

'''Henry, Patrick (1736-99)''' 
395; American statesman & lawyer born in Hanover county, Virginia; 488

'''Henry VIII (1491-1547)''' 
392; king of England from1509, and quite rotund

'''Hepatomachy''' 
378; "hepato" = relating to the liver; "-machy" = dispute, controversy; the ancients considered the liver the seat of love; thus "Hepatomachy" might very well be "romantic intrigues"

'''Hercules''' 
249; "labor like"

'''Heriulfsson, Biarni''' 
634;

'''Hermuthruda''' 
352; Queen of Scotland

'''Herod''' 
632

'''Herodotus''' 
350

'''Herren, the''' 
152; German: "Masters"

'''Herren XVII''' 
58; This might be an erratum. The Dutch spelling at the time was ''Heeren'', spelled nowadays ''Heren'', and always pronounced with a long ''e''. The spelling used here is German. These 17 gentlemen formed together the representants of the shareholders of the VOC.

'''Herschel, Sir William (1738-1822)''' 
213; British astronomer who, in 1781, discovered Uranus; 708

<div id="hesperus"></div>'''Hesperus''' 
96; Hesperos was the god of the Evening Star (the Planet Venus). He was depicted as a white-winged god crowned with a starry oreole - a male version of Astraia. In vase-paintings usually only his face was shown shining in the heavens <ref>[http://www.theoi.com/Ouranos/Hesperos.html Theoi Project - A Guide to Greek Gods, Spirits & Monsters]</ref>

'''Hester, Aunt''' 
199; Charles Mason's sister, married to Elroy; 762

'''Hetty, Aunt''' 
200; aka Aunt Hester; 763

'''Hia Emperors''' 
623; The Xia Dynasty, established by Yu, ran from ca. 2205-1766 BC. This is said to be the empire that introduced slavery to China. The emperor was Chung K'ang, said to have ruled from 2159-2147 BC.

'''Hibernia''' 
309; aka Ireland

'''Hickman, Thomas''' 
450; on M-D Line kitchen crew; 460; veteran of Braddock's defeat, 614

'''Higgs, Mr.''' 
The boatswain (pronounced "bo's'n") on the ''Seahorse'', the frigate that takes Mason and Dixon to Cape of Good Hope. His name is a pun on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson "Higgs boson"] subatomic particle, aka "the God Particle", the existence of which was confirmed on July 10, 2012.

'''Hindoo''' 
567

'''Hipparchus''' 
574

'''History''' 
44; 68; 75; 349-51; 530; 565; 579; Bad, 615; 629; 708; 747

'''H.M.S. ''Emerald''''' 
738

'''Hob Headless''' 
215; goblin; 505

'''Hobab''' 
297; working on Obs in Philadelphia

'''''Hogarthian Society'', Gin's''' 
247; English satirical painter and caricaturist, William Hogarth (1697-1764) painted "modern moral subjects," including ''Gin Lane'', a series of cartoons depicting the appalling levels of alcoholism and public drunkenness that resulted from the development of gin as the first drinkable distilled liquor that the urban poor could afford to abuse. The term "Hogarthian" often refers more to scenes of squalor and depravity than to Hogarth himself.

<div id="hollow"></div>'''Hollow-Earthers''' 
"A complete, largely unsens'd World, held within our own [...] waiting for some Summons to Light" 548; Dixon and Stig, 602-603; "the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth" 707; Dixon taken by Being with "Very large eyes" 739; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_earth Plenty more at Wikipedia...]; [http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/holearth.html More info...]

'''Honorable John''' 
252

'''Hood, Zacharia''' 
570; Maryland's Stamp Distributor

'''Hoogli''' 
196; river in East Bengal, on which Calcutta (as in "Black Hole of") is
located

'''Hooke, Dr.''' 
188

'''Hoomp''' 
602

'''Horst, Young''' 
661

'''Hothouse Rose''' 
520

'''Hottentot-Land''' 
7;

'''Hounslow Heath''' 
208

'''Howard''' 
764; "Fine with me, as Howard says to Howard, only please try not to kick
that Switch to the main Battery, lest Mr. Dixon, -- oh dear. -- Ingvarr.
What did I just say?" - a reference to the Three Stooges: Larry Fine, Moe Howard & Curly Howard [Thanks to Joe Gioia]

'''Howdah''' 
562; a seat or covered pavilion on the back of an elephant; 572

'''Hsi and Ho''' 
622-28; The earliest recorded solar eclipse was 22 October 2134 BC. Ancient Chinese records note that "the Sun and Moon did not meet harmoniously." The two Chinese royal astronomers, Hsi and Ho, failed to predict it and were executed by the unhappy emperor; Court Astronomers for one of the Hia Emperors of China, 622-28; [[Hsi and Ho|The Historickal Personages]]

'''''Hsiu''''' 
623; "or Moon-station of Fang"; The Hsiu are twelve constellations analogous to western zodiacal signs, used to identify position around the Celestial Equator (as the zodiac locates it on the ecliptic). These twelve are also related to the twelve branches in Feng Shui. Fang is the constellation known as Ti-Chieh (Earth's Triumph) and is located within the 72 stars of evil influence. "Fang is a narrow hsiu, only covering a few degrees. Thus, solar eclipses . . . occurring in Fang . . . are moderately rare" (Newton 64)

'''Huang, Lord''' 
626; "Here we must answer to the Market"; Here are three
possible etymologies:

:'''Huang-En or Huang-Fan''': Gods of their respective stars.

:'''Huang-Chin Li-Shih''': Generic name for the Liu-ting spirits . . . Gold is the elemental force of the West, hence these genii are called the "Athletes of the Western Country," or Region of Gold.

:'''Huang K'un''': The God of incense makers and sellers. In the time of Yu,
lightening having struck one of the trees in Hsi T'ien, the Western
Paradise, one of the branches fell into the Blue River. When cast on the
bank, it gave forth so sweet a perfume that it was taken and presented to
the Emperor. No one but Huang K'un was able to explain its origin. Yu had
incense-sticks made from it and ordered them to be burnt in honor of the
Gods. From that time Huang K'un was regarded as the first promoter of this
nation-wide industry.

<div id="hu"></div>'''Hu Gadarn''' 
600; [[Hu Gadarn|HERE]]; ''See also'' [[C#cymry|Cymry]]

'''Humphrey, Duke''' 
560

'''Hum-strum''' 
228; ''O.E.D.'': fr hum + strum, a roughly made or out of tune musical instrument; a hurdy gurdy

'''Hunter, Elizabeth''' 
239; Thomas Hunter's third wife who married Ralph Dixon (George Dixon's
father) after Thos Hunter died

'''Hunter, Jeremiah''' 
239; Thomas Hunter's brother

'''Hunter, Mary''' 
229; Jeremiah Dixon's mother; 238; from a Newcastle family, 239

'''Hunter, Thomas''' 
239; Mary Hunter's father

'''Hunters''' 
43; Jeremiah Dixon's maternal branch of the family, Quakers all

'''Hurricanoe/Hurricane''' 
413; aka "Hurricane" (a large private party - 18th cent.); at Castle Lepton; 527

'''Hurworth''' 
215; town about 3.5 miles south of Darlington and one mile east
of Croft Bridge in Durham County, England

'''Hutchinson, Governor''' 
128; of St. Helena

<div id="hynes"></div>'''Hynes, Tom''' 
7; eventual husband of Catherine Wheat; 575; [[Proceedings of the Council of Maryland|Historical Sources]]

'''Hynes, William''' 
575; Tom's father

'''Hysteresis''' 
630: ''Oxford English Dictionary'': "A phenomenon observed in some physical systems, by which changes in a property (e.g. magnetization, or length) lag behind changes in an agent on which they depend (e.g. magnetizing force, or stress), so that the value of the former at any moment depends on the manner of the previous variation of the latter (e.g. whether it was increasing or decreasing in value)"; [http://www.lassp.cornell.edu/sethna/hysteresis/hysteresis.html MORE]

===References===
<references/>

{{MD Alpha Nav}}

H

2012-07-06T01:17:35Z

WikiAdmin: Add Mr Higgs entry

'''Hadley, John (1682-1744)''' 
270; English mathematician who invented the reflecting telescope and the
reflecting (Hadley's) quadrant.

'''Hadrian's Wall''' 
282; The Wall, located in Britain, was built by order of the Emperor Hadrian, probably given during his visit to Britain in AD 122. Hadrian wanted to mark the northern boundary of his Empire. Expansion further north came later when from AD 140 to 163 Hadrian's Wall was briefly replaced by the Antonine Wall. The frontier soon moved south again, back to Hadrian's Wall. Interestingly, there is little evidence of major conflict on Hadrian's Wall. <ref>[http://www.hadrians-wall.org/ Hadrian's Wall - World Heritage Site]</ref>; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian%27s_wall Wikipedia entry]

'''Ha-Ha''' 
17; a ditch with a wall on its inner side below ground level, forming a boundary to a garden or park without interrupting the view from within, being visible only from a close proximity (OED, 18th Ed.)

'''Hailstone, Mr.''' 
192

'''Haimo of Halberstadt''' 
385; doctor

'''Half-Hunter''' 
298

'''Halfpenny, Mr.''' 
722; author of ''Rural Architecture in the Chinese Taste''

'''Halifax Packet''' 
554; transports M&D back to England; 704

'''Haligast, Squire''' 
366;435

<div id="halley"></div>'''Halley, Dr. Edmund (1656-1742)''' 
131; English astronomer & mathematician; in 1676 he went to St. Helena to
make the first catalogue of the stars in the southern hemisphere; he was the
first to recommend observing the Transit of Venus to determine the sun's
parallax; he predicted the return of the comet that was thereafter named for
him; 152; 187; 438; 631

'''Hammerfost Island''' 
738; where Dixon stayed on his way to the Hollow Earth; a small town (pop. 9,561 in 1995) in Finnmark co., No. Norway, on Kvaløy island. It is the northernmost town of Europe, but its harbor is always ice-free. Tourists are attracted by its uninterrupted daylight from May 17 to July 29. There are fish-processing plants. Chartered c.1795, Hammerfest was heavily damaged by British naval bombardment in 1809, by fire in 1890, and by retreating German forces in 1944. <ref>[http://www.bartleby.com Bartleby.com]</ref>

'''Handel, George Friederic (1685-1759)''' 
229; German-English composer of great reknown

'''Hanger''' 
365; a sword worn at the side; especially, in the 18th century, a short, curved sword. This is what Dimdown uses to attack Armand Allegre; 381; 386

'''Hannings, John''' 
460

'''Hanover''' 
226; 551

'''Hansel''' 
551

'''Harland, Mr. & Mrs. John''' 
330; M&D set up their observatory on his farm; 393; 441

'''Harris's Ferry''' 
310; river crossing ferry at the site of present-day
Harrisburg, capital of Pennsylvania and not too many miles (c. 50
miles?) north of the M-D line on the Susquehanna River

'''Harris''' 
658; Philadelphia land speculator at the M-D Line

<div id="Harrison"></div>'''Harrison, John (1693-1776)''' 
201; English horologist who invented a timekeeper (chronometer) capable of
compensating for errors due to variations of climate, thus solving the problem of determining longitude at sea and finally claiming the huge prize offered by the government; 213; 322; 436; 728

'''Harrold, Captain''' 
99

'''''Hatchoir''''' 
381

<div id="hawke"></div>'''Hawke, Edward, Admiral (1710-81)''' 
27; British admiral in command of the fleet blockading the French naval station of Brest in 1759. The French fleet was badly needed to assist the French army in Canada and in 1759, the French admiral Count de [[C#conflans|Conflans]] made a run at breaking the blockade. However, Hawke's fleet caught up to them and drove them into [[Q#quiberon|Quiberon Bay]] where nine French ships were destroyed, virtually incapacitating the fleet. This was key in Britains taking Canada from the French; 52

<div id="Head of Elk"></div>'''Head of Elk''' 
397; refers to the head of Maryland's Elk River. It flows through
Cecil County and into Chesapeake Bay in the NE corner of Maryland just west
of the Delaware border. Head of Elk was of strategic significance in the
Revolutionary War: [http://www.ushistory.org/march/phila/elk.htm MORE]

'''"Hearts of Oak"''' 
53

'''Heinz''' 
551

'''Helen of Troy''' 
176; 179

'''Helgi''' 
634; See [[F#finnbogi|Finnbogi]]

'''Heliotrope''' 
549; reddish-purple colour

<div id="hellfire"></div>'''Hellfire Club''' 
110; indulged in orgies at [[M#medmenham|Medmenham Abbey]]; 418; ''See also'' [[W#wilkes|Wilkes, John]]

'''Henry, Patrick (1736-99)''' 
395; American statesman & lawyer born in Hanover county, Virginia; 488

'''Henry VIII (1491-1547)''' 
392; king of England from1509, and quite rotund

'''Hepatomachy''' 
378; "hepato" = relating to the liver; "-machy" = dispute, controversy; the ancients considered the liver the seat of love; thus "Hepatomachy" might very well be "romantic intrigues"

'''Hercules''' 
249; "labor like"

'''Heriulfsson, Biarni''' 
634;

'''Hermuthruda''' 
352; Queen of Scotland

'''Herod''' 
632

'''Herodotus''' 
350

'''Herren, the''' 
152; German: "Masters"

'''Herren XVII''' 
58; This might be an erratum. The Dutch spelling at the time was ''Heeren'', spelled nowadays ''Heren'', and always pronounced with a long ''e''. The spelling used here is German. These 17 gentlemen formed together the representants of the shareholders of the VOC.

'''Herschel, Sir William (1738-1822)''' 
213; British astronomer who, in 1781, discovered Uranus; 708

<div id="hesperus"></div>'''Hesperus''' 
96; Hesperos was the god of the Evening Star (the Planet Venus). He was depicted as a white-winged god crowned with a starry oreole - a male version of Astraia. In vase-paintings usually only his face was shown shining in the heavens <ref>[http://www.theoi.com/Ouranos/Hesperos.html Theoi Project - A Guide to Greek Gods, Spirits & Monsters]</ref>

'''Hester, Aunt''' 
199; Charles Mason's sister, married to Elroy; 762

'''Hetty, Aunt''' 
200; aka Aunt Hester; 763

'''Hia Emperors''' 
623; The Xia Dynasty, established by Yu, ran from ca. 2205-1766 BC. This is said to be the empire that introduced slavery to China. The emperor was Chung K'ang, said to have ruled from 2159-2147 BC.

'''Hibernia''' 
309; aka Ireland

'''Hickman, Thomas''' 
450; on M-D Line kitchen crew; 460; veteran of Braddock's defeat, 614

'''Higgs, Mr.''' 
The boatswain (pronounced "bo's'n") on the ''Seahorse'', the frigate that takes Mason and Dixon to Cape of Good Hope. His name is a pun on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higgs_boson "Higgs boson" particle], aka "the God Particle", the existence of which was confirmed on July 10, 2012.

'''Hindoo''' 
567

'''Hipparchus''' 
574

'''History''' 
44; 68; 75; 349-51; 530; 565; 579; Bad, 615; 629; 708; 747

'''H.M.S. ''Emerald''''' 
738

'''Hob Headless''' 
215; goblin; 505

'''Hobab''' 
297; working on Obs in Philadelphia

'''''Hogarthian Society'', Gin's''' 
247; English satirical painter and caricaturist, William Hogarth (1697-1764) painted "modern moral subjects," including ''Gin Lane'', a series of cartoons depicting the appalling levels of alcoholism and public drunkenness that resulted from the development of gin as the first drinkable distilled liquor that the urban poor could afford to abuse. The term "Hogarthian" often refers more to scenes of squalor and depravity than to Hogarth himself.

<div id="hollow"></div>'''Hollow-Earthers''' 
"A complete, largely unsens'd World, held within our own [...] waiting for some Summons to Light" 548; Dixon and Stig, 602-603; "the ancient City he has discover'd beneath the Earth" 707; Dixon taken by Being with "Very large eyes" 739; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollow_earth Plenty more at Wikipedia...]; [http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/holearth.html More info...]

'''Honorable John''' 
252

'''Hood, Zacharia''' 
570; Maryland's Stamp Distributor

'''Hoogli''' 
196; river in East Bengal, on which Calcutta (as in "Black Hole of") is
located

'''Hooke, Dr.''' 
188

'''Hoomp''' 
602

'''Horst, Young''' 
661

'''Hothouse Rose''' 
520

'''Hottentot-Land''' 
7;

'''Hounslow Heath''' 
208

'''Howard''' 
764; "Fine with me, as Howard says to Howard, only please try not to kick
that Switch to the main Battery, lest Mr. Dixon, -- oh dear. -- Ingvarr.
What did I just say?" - a reference to the Three Stooges: Larry Fine, Moe Howard & Curly Howard [Thanks to Joe Gioia]

'''Howdah''' 
562; a seat or covered pavilion on the back of an elephant; 572

'''Hsi and Ho''' 
622-28; The earliest recorded solar eclipse was 22 October 2134 BC. Ancient Chinese records note that "the Sun and Moon did not meet harmoniously." The two Chinese royal astronomers, Hsi and Ho, failed to predict it and were executed by the unhappy emperor; Court Astronomers for one of the Hia Emperors of China, 622-28; [[Hsi and Ho|The Historickal Personages]]

'''''Hsiu''''' 
623; "or Moon-station of Fang"; The Hsiu are twelve constellations analogous to western zodiacal signs, used to identify position around the Celestial Equator (as the zodiac locates it on the ecliptic). These twelve are also related to the twelve branches in Feng Shui. Fang is the constellation known as Ti-Chieh (Earth's Triumph) and is located within the 72 stars of evil influence. "Fang is a narrow hsiu, only covering a few degrees. Thus, solar eclipses . . . occurring in Fang . . . are moderately rare" (Newton 64)

'''Huang, Lord''' 
626; "Here we must answer to the Market"; Here are three
possible etymologies:

:'''Huang-En or Huang-Fan''': Gods of their respective stars.

:'''Huang-Chin Li-Shih''': Generic name for the Liu-ting spirits . . . Gold is the elemental force of the West, hence these genii are called the "Athletes of the Western Country," or Region of Gold.

:'''Huang K'un''': The God of incense makers and sellers. In the time of Yu,
lightening having struck one of the trees in Hsi T'ien, the Western
Paradise, one of the branches fell into the Blue River. When cast on the
bank, it gave forth so sweet a perfume that it was taken and presented to
the Emperor. No one but Huang K'un was able to explain its origin. Yu had
incense-sticks made from it and ordered them to be burnt in honor of the
Gods. From that time Huang K'un was regarded as the first promoter of this
nation-wide industry.

<div id="hu"></div>'''Hu Gadarn''' 
600; [[Hu Gadarn|HERE]]; ''See also'' [[C#cymry|Cymry]]

'''Humphrey, Duke''' 
560

'''Hum-strum''' 
228; ''O.E.D.'': fr hum + strum, a roughly made or out of tune musical instrument; a hurdy gurdy

'''Hunter, Elizabeth''' 
239; Thomas Hunter's third wife who married Ralph Dixon (George Dixon's
father) after Thos Hunter died

'''Hunter, Jeremiah''' 
239; Thomas Hunter's brother

'''Hunter, Mary''' 
229; Jeremiah Dixon's mother; 238; from a Newcastle family, 239

'''Hunter, Thomas''' 
239; Mary Hunter's father

'''Hunters''' 
43; Jeremiah Dixon's maternal branch of the family, Quakers all

'''Hurricanoe/Hurricane''' 
413; aka "Hurricane" (a large private party - 18th cent.); at Castle Lepton; 527

'''Hurworth''' 
215; town about 3.5 miles south of Darlington and one mile east
of Croft Bridge in Durham County, England

'''Hutchinson, Governor''' 
128; of St. Helena

<div id="hynes"></div>'''Hynes, Tom''' 
7; eventual husband of Catherine Wheat; 575; [[Proceedings of the Council of Maryland|Historical Sources]]

'''Hynes, William''' 
575; Tom's father

'''Hysteresis''' 
630: ''Oxford English Dictionary'': "A phenomenon observed in some physical systems, by which changes in a property (e.g. magnetization, or length) lag behind changes in an agent on which they depend (e.g. magnetizing force, or stress), so that the value of the former at any moment depends on the manner of the previous variation of the latter (e.g. whether it was increasing or decreasing in value)"; [http://www.lassp.cornell.edu/sethna/hysteresis/hysteresis.html MORE]

===References===
<references/>

{{MD Alpha Nav}}

Chapter 42: 422-435

2011-12-15T04:45:08Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 432 */

==Page 422==
'''Weather-gage''' 
"Sh OED lists 'have or keep the weather gauge of' as be windward of, fig get the better of. On a side note, Pynchon also uses gage in GR for marijuana (in the Red Malcolm scene) and I always presumed this was a corruption of ganja or ganga, but no, it is listed under gage, LME, var of gauge, 1 A quart pot, long rare or obs LME, 2 A pipe; a pipeful (orig. of tobacco, now chiefly of marijuana), hence, marijuana, slang L17. That's L17 slang, foax! and no doubt the contents of the pipe
changed some time before GW started growing and selling his crop in
the M18." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

See also: [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22449&sort=author More Discussion on Dinn's notes]

'''Dromonds''' 
The dromons (from Greek δρόμων, dromon, i.e. "runner") were the most important warships of the Byzantine navy from the 6th to 12th centuries AD. They were indirectly developed from the ancient trireme and were usually propelled by both oar and sail, a configuration that had been used by navies in the Mediterranean Sea for centuries. - from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromon Wikipedia]

'''Spielers''' 
"Anglicized plural of German 'player' (as in Mabuse, Der...)" ([http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']). Possibly spelled as an "anglicized plural" in order to pun off spoilers, spies...?

==Page 423==
'''hey? right out of G. Rex's Purse it came''' 
"G Rex being King George" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes''], see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_367 367].

'''The Tub!''' 
Cf. ''[[T#tub|A Tale of a Tub]]'', a satire by Jonathon Swift? Read it in [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikisource], or read about it in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikipedia], which describes it in such a Pynchonian light:
:"the book is constructed like a layer cake, with Digression and Tale alternating. However, the digressions overwhelm the narrative, both in terms of the forcefulness and imaginativeness of writing and in terms of volume [...] Many critics have followed Swift's biographer Irvin Ehrenpreis in arguing that there is no single, consistent narrator in the work [...] The digressions individually frustrate readers who expect a clear purpose [...] Some, such as the discussion of ears or of wisdom being like a nut, a cream sherry, a cackling hen, etc., are outlandish and require a militantly aware and thoughtful reader."

Wikipedia also notes that satire targeted "indexers, note-makers." I found myself squirming as I read this paragraph while working on this wiki:
:"Swift's targets in the Tale included indexers, note-makers, and, above all, people who saw 'dark matter' in books. Attacking criticism generally, he appears delighted that one of his enemies, William Wotton, offered to explain the Tale in an 'answer' to the book and that one of the men he had explicitly attacked, Curll, offered to explain the book to the public. In the fifth edition of the book in 1705, Swift provided an apparatus to the work that incorporated Wotton's explanations and Swift's narrator's own notes as well. The notes appear to occasionally provide genuine information and just as often to mislead, and William Wotton's name, a defender of the Moderns, was appended to a number of notes. This allows Swift to make the commentary part of the satire itself, as well as to elevate his narrator to the level of self-critic."

On the other hand, I delighted in the Pynchonian names: Curll and William Wotton.

'''Library at Alexandria, circa 390 A.D.''' 
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was probably the largest, and certainly the most famous, of the libraries of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and existed, and functioned as a major center of scholarship, at least until the time of Rome's conquest of Egypt, and probably for many centuries thereafter. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_alexandria WIKI]

==Page 425==
'''Oh Ruddier than the Cherry''' 
"Aria from Handel's Acis and Galatea of c 1720" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

I believe that the words were written by John Gay (1688–1732) and that Handel set them to music. In this operatic scene, "the giant Polyphemus [a love-stricken cyclops], more used to wreaking terror and devastation than feelings of love, attempts to woo Galatea (O ruddier than the cherry) but Galatea flees in terror" ([http://www.bamptonopera.org/repertory/mozhanacisdetail.htm Bampton Classic Opera]). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Wikipedia] for more on the tale.

Listen to it, hear: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbyxE9QWPfc&mode=related&search= YouTube]

Read along while you listen:
:O RUDDIER than the cherry!
:O sweeter than the berry!
::O nymph more bright
:Than moonshine night,
:Like kidlings blithe and merry!
:Ripe as the melting cluster!
:No lily has such lustre;
::Yet hard to tame
::As raging flame,
:And fierce as storms that bluster!

:Ripe as the melting cluster,
:no lily has such luster;
:yet hard to tame as raging flame
:and fierce as storms that bluster.

:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O nymph more bright
:than moonshine night
:like kidlings blithe and merry.

'''It flies through the Air, in a curious, as it seems ''directed'', Arc, hits the Tub with a solid ''bong'', flattening its Point''' 
Cf. p. 5, opening line to novel: "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings"

'''Hungarian Vampirism''' 
Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vampir (вампир) in Serbia and Bulgaria, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire WIKI]

'''[[V#voam|Professor Voam]] , Philosophical Operator''' 
"Voam appeared a hundred pages [p. 321] back as the 'camp naturalist' that Dixon consulted about Emerson's watch. That incident must have been a 'flash forward.'" -- [http://osdir.com/ml/culture.literature.thomas-pynchon/2002-03/msg00114.html from MDMD Dinn's notes on Ch. 41]

In addition to Voam's striking job titles ("camp naturalist" and "Philosophical Operator"), note that in Pennsylvania and New Jersey there is an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. — and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter.

==Page 426==
'''Torpedo''' 
Electric eel, here - though this is incorrect as a "torpedo," when speaking of electric naval life, is an electric ray, order Torpediniformes (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_ray Wikipedia]). Also, see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_23:_228-237#Page_234 234]. The professor himself acknowledges the erroneousness of the term on page 431.

'''Ferric Prodigy''' 
Ferric refers to iron-containing materials or compounds. In chemistry the term is reserved for iron with an oxidation number of +3, also denoted iron(III) or Fe3+. On the other hand, ferrous refers to iron with oxidation number of +2, denoted iron(II) or Fe2+. Iron(III) is usually the most stable form of iron in air, as illustrated by the pervasiveness of rust, an insoluble iron(III)-containing material. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferric WIKI]

'''"You'd be flatter'n a Griddle-Cake" [...] "Excuse me,-- to what End? Gazing at it, as it fries? saying Oh you're so Circular...your Airr-Bubbles, they're so intriguing,--"''' 
" "*Than*, *than*" Took me a few parse errors before I realizes that Voam's intended 'flatter than' is read by Mason as 'flattering'." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 427==
'''Dixon, emerging coprophagously a-grin''' 
coprophagous -- "Feeding on excrement" ([http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coprophagous Wiktionary]); i.e., a sh*t eating grin

'''''exeunt''''' 
Latin for "they leave." Used as a stage direction in theater scripts, though the term is now obsolete. (See [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exeunt Wiktionary])

'''the Slave who spoke to Dixon earlier''' 
"earlier being [page] 419.25 where he meets the 'pretty Bondmaiden' and it is Austra from the Cape. cf also [page] 431.5." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''Love-Jobbers''' 
Pynchon having more playful fun with the job title of "Jobbers"--"Love," of course, being used euphemistically. Cf. [[B|Body Jobbers]], [[L|Land Jobbers]]

'''Fly-Whisks''' 
A fly-whisk is a tool to swat or disturb flies. It is used as a regalia in some cultures. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_whisk WIKI]

'''in payment of a Debt forever unexplain'd to me''' 
"Perhaps Austra incurred this debt by failing to lure Charles into fathering a child by her. Oh Complicity! Oh Complexity!" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''Novitiate''' 
novitiate (per [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/novitiate Wiktionary]):
#the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
#the place where a novice lives and studies
#a novice

'''Rapprochement''' 
"The establishment of or state of having cordial relations; an agreement, accord, or reconciliation." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rapprochement Wiktionary]

'''Dutch Rifle... with a Five-pointed Star... inverted.''' 
Here it is again. See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10:_94-104#Page_101 101].

Dutch rifle wheellock, circa 1630: The jaw is normally tightened with the same spanner used to cock the lock. This being a "Dutch" lock.

==Page 428==
'''A Polaris of Evil''' 
At the time of Mason & Dixon, Polaris only literally meant the North Star: "Polaris" comes from Stella Polaris, the Latin form of its common name "Pole Star". The rarely used Greek name Cynosura (Κυνόσουρα) means "tail of the dog". 

Polaris was the name of a famous guided missile system in the 20th Century. 

Here, North as the place from which death and destruction comes in Pynchon's world is clearly alluded to and what is another negative allusion to "man's best friend" may be implied. There is Pugnax the dog in ATD. Arguably, dogs are symbols of the bourgeoisie in Pynchon, complicit in mankind's war-making History in TRP's vision.

'''Patch-Box''' 
"Another change that was made to the old Jaeger ["brought to the colonies by German gunsmiths in the early 1700’s"] that most scholars consider unique to the American longrifle was the addition of a brass patch box. The Jaegers and the early longrifles had storage compartments in the butt of the gun with sliding carved wood covers. The argument is that these covers were easily lost and something a little more practical was required for the longhunter. Hence, the hinged brass patch box." -- [http://www.americanlongrifles.com/american-longrifle-kentucky-rifle-story.htm The Story of the American Longrifle] (an excellent read, incidentally)

'''Piercings''' 
Pierce-work -- "Metalwork, woodwork, etc., incorporating perforations made for decorative or functional effect." -- OED

==Page 429==
'''a Forest Weapon, match'd to a single Prey, heavier than a Squirrel, not quite so heavy as a Deer....''' 
"about the weight of a man, say? Is that maybe why, in which case, evil polarises around this rifle?" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''inverted Star,- in Lancaster Town''' 
Referring to page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342].

'''form of a Daisy''' 
Possibly an allusion to Daisy brand "Outdoor Products" which would later become famous for their selling of BB Guns to youth etc: Daisy was started in 1882 as Plymouth Iron Windmill Company in Plymouth, Michigan. In 1886 the company started to give BB guns with purchases of windmills. The gun was so popular the company started to sell guns instead of windmills. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Outdoor_Products WIKI]

==Page 430==
'''the Sharper''' 
A sharper is an older term, common since the seventeenth-century, for thieves who use trickery to part an owner with his or her money possessions. Sharpers vary from what we now call con-men by virtue of the simplicity of their cons, which often were impromptu, rather than carefully orchestrated, though those certainly happened as well. The 1737 Dictionary of Thieving Slang defines a sharper as "A Cheat, One who lives by his wits." In the nineteenth-century, and into today, the term is more closely associated with gambling.

Sharpers were romantic figures in the eighteenth-century, valued as imaginative figures for their perceived social independence and ability to create new social networks of gangs. The appeal of an independent society, operating outside the law, has been imaginative evocative for centuries, but in eighteenth-century London philosophical thought, influenced by Thomas Hobbes and Rousseau's new formulations of social contract, the romanticization of thievery reached new levels. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Henry Fielding's novel Jonathan Wild are only two examples of sharpers as heroes, in these cases, to provide satirical ammunition against the British Prime Minister Horace Walpole. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharper WIKI]

'''Mr LeSpark, as he will come to tell the Tale, declines back into the Couch''' 
Tell the tale *now* (as in to Tenebrae, Ives, Ethelmer, DePugh, etc.) or tell the tale *then* as in rat out M&D's tub theft to Lord Lepton? (This idea was sparked by comments in [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes].)

==Page 431==
'''Mr. Linnaeus''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_32:_315-326#Page_321 321] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_35:_349-361#Page_360 360].

'''''Gymnotus''''' 
Gymnotus is the among the most species-rich group of electric knifefishes (Gymnotiformes) found in the Amazon. Some Gymnotus species live in the leaf litter and root tangles of river banks. Other species are specialized to live on floodplains within the rootmats of floating meadows. Several species are broadly adapted to live in both of these habitats. Gymnotus are nocturnal predators feeding on insects, crustaceans, and other fish. They generate weak electric fields used in locating objects, and also for communication in which the males court females using stereotyped electrical "songs". From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnotus WIKI]

'''''Sí, sí, Cariño''''' 
Literally, Spanish for "Yes, yes, Affection," but cariño can also mean (figuratively) "caress," which is what the Professor is doing to the eel as he's speaking. Perhaps Pynchon offers a clue later on the page in translating the eel's other name, "El Peligroso," as "The Dangerous One." Literally, this translates as "The Danger"; this logic would equate "Cariño" with "Affectionate One."

'''let a Nonelectrickal provide the Thrills for a change''' 
The eel's identity is so wrapped up in being electrical that anything that cannot provide a spark is called "a Nonelectrickal"?!?

==Page 432==
'''El P.''' 
Or LP, long-playing record; certainly a "Cyclickal Creature" with a repetitive life.

'''''una Criatura Ci'clica, asi eres''''' 
"a cyclical creature, so you are" -- [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/mason-dixon/alpha/s.html HyperArts]

'''worrying about Coach schedules''' 
Perhaps busy travelers in the 18th Century concerned themselves with tight transfers on Coach lines--or perhaps this is more of Pynchon's riffing on Coaches as modern airliners?

<div id="counted-joke"></div>
'''"believe me, he'd be one unhappy Torpedo. How do I know? I counted."''' 
The same joke is used in [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#counted-joke ''Inherent Vice'', p. 18].

'''far off E-do''' 
"Edo is the old name for Tokyo, in use in the 1760s." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 433==
'''surcease''' 
"The cessation of something or someone." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/surcease Wiktionary]

'''Rubicon''' 
Rubicon is a 29 km long river in northern Italy... "Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. This phrase is often used by journalists in newspapers. It refers to Caesar's 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubicon WIKI]

'''Antillean Cigar''' 
Cuban cigar

==Page 435==
'''Squire Haligast''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_38:_382-390#Page_389 389], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_37:_371-381#Page_373 373], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_366 366], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#Page_391 391] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_48:_466-475#Page_470 470].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Chapter 42: 422-435

2011-12-15T04:44:48Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 432 */

==Page 422==
'''Weather-gage''' 
"Sh OED lists 'have or keep the weather gauge of' as be windward of, fig get the better of. On a side note, Pynchon also uses gage in GR for marijuana (in the Red Malcolm scene) and I always presumed this was a corruption of ganja or ganga, but no, it is listed under gage, LME, var of gauge, 1 A quart pot, long rare or obs LME, 2 A pipe; a pipeful (orig. of tobacco, now chiefly of marijuana), hence, marijuana, slang L17. That's L17 slang, foax! and no doubt the contents of the pipe
changed some time before GW started growing and selling his crop in
the M18." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

See also: [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22449&sort=author More Discussion on Dinn's notes]

'''Dromonds''' 
The dromons (from Greek δρόμων, dromon, i.e. "runner") were the most important warships of the Byzantine navy from the 6th to 12th centuries AD. They were indirectly developed from the ancient trireme and were usually propelled by both oar and sail, a configuration that had been used by navies in the Mediterranean Sea for centuries. - from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromon Wikipedia]

'''Spielers''' 
"Anglicized plural of German 'player' (as in Mabuse, Der...)" ([http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']). Possibly spelled as an "anglicized plural" in order to pun off spoilers, spies...?

==Page 423==
'''hey? right out of G. Rex's Purse it came''' 
"G Rex being King George" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes''], see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_367 367].

'''The Tub!''' 
Cf. ''[[T#tub|A Tale of a Tub]]'', a satire by Jonathon Swift? Read it in [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikisource], or read about it in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikipedia], which describes it in such a Pynchonian light:
:"the book is constructed like a layer cake, with Digression and Tale alternating. However, the digressions overwhelm the narrative, both in terms of the forcefulness and imaginativeness of writing and in terms of volume [...] Many critics have followed Swift's biographer Irvin Ehrenpreis in arguing that there is no single, consistent narrator in the work [...] The digressions individually frustrate readers who expect a clear purpose [...] Some, such as the discussion of ears or of wisdom being like a nut, a cream sherry, a cackling hen, etc., are outlandish and require a militantly aware and thoughtful reader."

Wikipedia also notes that satire targeted "indexers, note-makers." I found myself squirming as I read this paragraph while working on this wiki:
:"Swift's targets in the Tale included indexers, note-makers, and, above all, people who saw 'dark matter' in books. Attacking criticism generally, he appears delighted that one of his enemies, William Wotton, offered to explain the Tale in an 'answer' to the book and that one of the men he had explicitly attacked, Curll, offered to explain the book to the public. In the fifth edition of the book in 1705, Swift provided an apparatus to the work that incorporated Wotton's explanations and Swift's narrator's own notes as well. The notes appear to occasionally provide genuine information and just as often to mislead, and William Wotton's name, a defender of the Moderns, was appended to a number of notes. This allows Swift to make the commentary part of the satire itself, as well as to elevate his narrator to the level of self-critic."

On the other hand, I delighted in the Pynchonian names: Curll and William Wotton.

'''Library at Alexandria, circa 390 A.D.''' 
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was probably the largest, and certainly the most famous, of the libraries of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and existed, and functioned as a major center of scholarship, at least until the time of Rome's conquest of Egypt, and probably for many centuries thereafter. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_alexandria WIKI]

==Page 425==
'''Oh Ruddier than the Cherry''' 
"Aria from Handel's Acis and Galatea of c 1720" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

I believe that the words were written by John Gay (1688–1732) and that Handel set them to music. In this operatic scene, "the giant Polyphemus [a love-stricken cyclops], more used to wreaking terror and devastation than feelings of love, attempts to woo Galatea (O ruddier than the cherry) but Galatea flees in terror" ([http://www.bamptonopera.org/repertory/mozhanacisdetail.htm Bampton Classic Opera]). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Wikipedia] for more on the tale.

Listen to it, hear: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbyxE9QWPfc&mode=related&search= YouTube]

Read along while you listen:
:O RUDDIER than the cherry!
:O sweeter than the berry!
::O nymph more bright
:Than moonshine night,
:Like kidlings blithe and merry!
:Ripe as the melting cluster!
:No lily has such lustre;
::Yet hard to tame
::As raging flame,
:And fierce as storms that bluster!

:Ripe as the melting cluster,
:no lily has such luster;
:yet hard to tame as raging flame
:and fierce as storms that bluster.

:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O nymph more bright
:than moonshine night
:like kidlings blithe and merry.

'''It flies through the Air, in a curious, as it seems ''directed'', Arc, hits the Tub with a solid ''bong'', flattening its Point''' 
Cf. p. 5, opening line to novel: "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings"

'''Hungarian Vampirism''' 
Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vampir (вампир) in Serbia and Bulgaria, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire WIKI]

'''[[V#voam|Professor Voam]] , Philosophical Operator''' 
"Voam appeared a hundred pages [p. 321] back as the 'camp naturalist' that Dixon consulted about Emerson's watch. That incident must have been a 'flash forward.'" -- [http://osdir.com/ml/culture.literature.thomas-pynchon/2002-03/msg00114.html from MDMD Dinn's notes on Ch. 41]

In addition to Voam's striking job titles ("camp naturalist" and "Philosophical Operator"), note that in Pennsylvania and New Jersey there is an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. — and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter.

==Page 426==
'''Torpedo''' 
Electric eel, here - though this is incorrect as a "torpedo," when speaking of electric naval life, is an electric ray, order Torpediniformes (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_ray Wikipedia]). Also, see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_23:_228-237#Page_234 234]. The professor himself acknowledges the erroneousness of the term on page 431.

'''Ferric Prodigy''' 
Ferric refers to iron-containing materials or compounds. In chemistry the term is reserved for iron with an oxidation number of +3, also denoted iron(III) or Fe3+. On the other hand, ferrous refers to iron with oxidation number of +2, denoted iron(II) or Fe2+. Iron(III) is usually the most stable form of iron in air, as illustrated by the pervasiveness of rust, an insoluble iron(III)-containing material. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferric WIKI]

'''"You'd be flatter'n a Griddle-Cake" [...] "Excuse me,-- to what End? Gazing at it, as it fries? saying Oh you're so Circular...your Airr-Bubbles, they're so intriguing,--"''' 
" "*Than*, *than*" Took me a few parse errors before I realizes that Voam's intended 'flatter than' is read by Mason as 'flattering'." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 427==
'''Dixon, emerging coprophagously a-grin''' 
coprophagous -- "Feeding on excrement" ([http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coprophagous Wiktionary]); i.e., a sh*t eating grin

'''''exeunt''''' 
Latin for "they leave." Used as a stage direction in theater scripts, though the term is now obsolete. (See [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exeunt Wiktionary])

'''the Slave who spoke to Dixon earlier''' 
"earlier being [page] 419.25 where he meets the 'pretty Bondmaiden' and it is Austra from the Cape. cf also [page] 431.5." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''Love-Jobbers''' 
Pynchon having more playful fun with the job title of "Jobbers"--"Love," of course, being used euphemistically. Cf. [[B|Body Jobbers]], [[L|Land Jobbers]]

'''Fly-Whisks''' 
A fly-whisk is a tool to swat or disturb flies. It is used as a regalia in some cultures. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_whisk WIKI]

'''in payment of a Debt forever unexplain'd to me''' 
"Perhaps Austra incurred this debt by failing to lure Charles into fathering a child by her. Oh Complicity! Oh Complexity!" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''Novitiate''' 
novitiate (per [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/novitiate Wiktionary]):
#the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
#the place where a novice lives and studies
#a novice

'''Rapprochement''' 
"The establishment of or state of having cordial relations; an agreement, accord, or reconciliation." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rapprochement Wiktionary]

'''Dutch Rifle... with a Five-pointed Star... inverted.''' 
Here it is again. See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10:_94-104#Page_101 101].

Dutch rifle wheellock, circa 1630: The jaw is normally tightened with the same spanner used to cock the lock. This being a "Dutch" lock.

==Page 428==
'''A Polaris of Evil''' 
At the time of Mason & Dixon, Polaris only literally meant the North Star: "Polaris" comes from Stella Polaris, the Latin form of its common name "Pole Star". The rarely used Greek name Cynosura (Κυνόσουρα) means "tail of the dog". 

Polaris was the name of a famous guided missile system in the 20th Century. 

Here, North as the place from which death and destruction comes in Pynchon's world is clearly alluded to and what is another negative allusion to "man's best friend" may be implied. There is Pugnax the dog in ATD. Arguably, dogs are symbols of the bourgeoisie in Pynchon, complicit in mankind's war-making History in TRP's vision.

'''Patch-Box''' 
"Another change that was made to the old Jaeger ["brought to the colonies by German gunsmiths in the early 1700’s"] that most scholars consider unique to the American longrifle was the addition of a brass patch box. The Jaegers and the early longrifles had storage compartments in the butt of the gun with sliding carved wood covers. The argument is that these covers were easily lost and something a little more practical was required for the longhunter. Hence, the hinged brass patch box." -- [http://www.americanlongrifles.com/american-longrifle-kentucky-rifle-story.htm The Story of the American Longrifle] (an excellent read, incidentally)

'''Piercings''' 
Pierce-work -- "Metalwork, woodwork, etc., incorporating perforations made for decorative or functional effect." -- OED

==Page 429==
'''a Forest Weapon, match'd to a single Prey, heavier than a Squirrel, not quite so heavy as a Deer....''' 
"about the weight of a man, say? Is that maybe why, in which case, evil polarises around this rifle?" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''inverted Star,- in Lancaster Town''' 
Referring to page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342].

'''form of a Daisy''' 
Possibly an allusion to Daisy brand "Outdoor Products" which would later become famous for their selling of BB Guns to youth etc: Daisy was started in 1882 as Plymouth Iron Windmill Company in Plymouth, Michigan. In 1886 the company started to give BB guns with purchases of windmills. The gun was so popular the company started to sell guns instead of windmills. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Outdoor_Products WIKI]

==Page 430==
'''the Sharper''' 
A sharper is an older term, common since the seventeenth-century, for thieves who use trickery to part an owner with his or her money possessions. Sharpers vary from what we now call con-men by virtue of the simplicity of their cons, which often were impromptu, rather than carefully orchestrated, though those certainly happened as well. The 1737 Dictionary of Thieving Slang defines a sharper as "A Cheat, One who lives by his wits." In the nineteenth-century, and into today, the term is more closely associated with gambling.

Sharpers were romantic figures in the eighteenth-century, valued as imaginative figures for their perceived social independence and ability to create new social networks of gangs. The appeal of an independent society, operating outside the law, has been imaginative evocative for centuries, but in eighteenth-century London philosophical thought, influenced by Thomas Hobbes and Rousseau's new formulations of social contract, the romanticization of thievery reached new levels. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Henry Fielding's novel Jonathan Wild are only two examples of sharpers as heroes, in these cases, to provide satirical ammunition against the British Prime Minister Horace Walpole. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharper WIKI]

'''Mr LeSpark, as he will come to tell the Tale, declines back into the Couch''' 
Tell the tale *now* (as in to Tenebrae, Ives, Ethelmer, DePugh, etc.) or tell the tale *then* as in rat out M&D's tub theft to Lord Lepton? (This idea was sparked by comments in [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes].)

==Page 431==
'''Mr. Linnaeus''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_32:_315-326#Page_321 321] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_35:_349-361#Page_360 360].

'''''Gymnotus''''' 
Gymnotus is the among the most species-rich group of electric knifefishes (Gymnotiformes) found in the Amazon. Some Gymnotus species live in the leaf litter and root tangles of river banks. Other species are specialized to live on floodplains within the rootmats of floating meadows. Several species are broadly adapted to live in both of these habitats. Gymnotus are nocturnal predators feeding on insects, crustaceans, and other fish. They generate weak electric fields used in locating objects, and also for communication in which the males court females using stereotyped electrical "songs". From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnotus WIKI]

'''''Sí, sí, Cariño''''' 
Literally, Spanish for "Yes, yes, Affection," but cariño can also mean (figuratively) "caress," which is what the Professor is doing to the eel as he's speaking. Perhaps Pynchon offers a clue later on the page in translating the eel's other name, "El Peligroso," as "The Dangerous One." Literally, this translates as "The Danger"; this logic would equate "Cariño" with "Affectionate One."

'''let a Nonelectrickal provide the Thrills for a change''' 
The eel's identity is so wrapped up in being electrical that anything that cannot provide a spark is called "a Nonelectrickal"?!?

==Page 432==
'''El P.''' 
Or LP, long-playing record; certainly a "Cyclickal Creature" with a repetitive life.

'''''una Criatura Ci'clica, asi eres''''' 
"a cyclical creature, so you are" -- [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/mason-dixon/alpha/s.html HyperArts]

'''worrying about Coach schedules''' 
Perhaps busy travelers in the 18th Century concerned themselves with tight transfers on Coach lines--or perhaps this is more of Pynchon's riffing on Coaches as modern airliners?

<div id="counted-joke"></div>
'''"believe me, he'd be one unhappy Torpedo. How do I know? I counted.''' 
The same joke is used in [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#counted-joke ''Inherent Vice'', p. 18].

'''far off E-do''' 
"Edo is the old name for Tokyo, in use in the 1760s." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 433==
'''surcease''' 
"The cessation of something or someone." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/surcease Wiktionary]

'''Rubicon''' 
Rubicon is a 29 km long river in northern Italy... "Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. This phrase is often used by journalists in newspapers. It refers to Caesar's 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubicon WIKI]

'''Antillean Cigar''' 
Cuban cigar

==Page 435==
'''Squire Haligast''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_38:_382-390#Page_389 389], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_37:_371-381#Page_373 373], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_366 366], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#Page_391 391] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_48:_466-475#Page_470 470].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Chapter 42: 422-435

2011-12-15T04:44:21Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 432 */

==Page 422==
'''Weather-gage''' 
"Sh OED lists 'have or keep the weather gauge of' as be windward of, fig get the better of. On a side note, Pynchon also uses gage in GR for marijuana (in the Red Malcolm scene) and I always presumed this was a corruption of ganja or ganga, but no, it is listed under gage, LME, var of gauge, 1 A quart pot, long rare or obs LME, 2 A pipe; a pipeful (orig. of tobacco, now chiefly of marijuana), hence, marijuana, slang L17. That's L17 slang, foax! and no doubt the contents of the pipe
changed some time before GW started growing and selling his crop in
the M18." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

See also: [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22449&sort=author More Discussion on Dinn's notes]

'''Dromonds''' 
The dromons (from Greek δρόμων, dromon, i.e. "runner") were the most important warships of the Byzantine navy from the 6th to 12th centuries AD. They were indirectly developed from the ancient trireme and were usually propelled by both oar and sail, a configuration that had been used by navies in the Mediterranean Sea for centuries. - from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromon Wikipedia]

'''Spielers''' 
"Anglicized plural of German 'player' (as in Mabuse, Der...)" ([http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']). Possibly spelled as an "anglicized plural" in order to pun off spoilers, spies...?

==Page 423==
'''hey? right out of G. Rex's Purse it came''' 
"G Rex being King George" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes''], see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_367 367].

'''The Tub!''' 
Cf. ''[[T#tub|A Tale of a Tub]]'', a satire by Jonathon Swift? Read it in [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikisource], or read about it in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikipedia], which describes it in such a Pynchonian light:
:"the book is constructed like a layer cake, with Digression and Tale alternating. However, the digressions overwhelm the narrative, both in terms of the forcefulness and imaginativeness of writing and in terms of volume [...] Many critics have followed Swift's biographer Irvin Ehrenpreis in arguing that there is no single, consistent narrator in the work [...] The digressions individually frustrate readers who expect a clear purpose [...] Some, such as the discussion of ears or of wisdom being like a nut, a cream sherry, a cackling hen, etc., are outlandish and require a militantly aware and thoughtful reader."

Wikipedia also notes that satire targeted "indexers, note-makers." I found myself squirming as I read this paragraph while working on this wiki:
:"Swift's targets in the Tale included indexers, note-makers, and, above all, people who saw 'dark matter' in books. Attacking criticism generally, he appears delighted that one of his enemies, William Wotton, offered to explain the Tale in an 'answer' to the book and that one of the men he had explicitly attacked, Curll, offered to explain the book to the public. In the fifth edition of the book in 1705, Swift provided an apparatus to the work that incorporated Wotton's explanations and Swift's narrator's own notes as well. The notes appear to occasionally provide genuine information and just as often to mislead, and William Wotton's name, a defender of the Moderns, was appended to a number of notes. This allows Swift to make the commentary part of the satire itself, as well as to elevate his narrator to the level of self-critic."

On the other hand, I delighted in the Pynchonian names: Curll and William Wotton.

'''Library at Alexandria, circa 390 A.D.''' 
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was probably the largest, and certainly the most famous, of the libraries of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and existed, and functioned as a major center of scholarship, at least until the time of Rome's conquest of Egypt, and probably for many centuries thereafter. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_alexandria WIKI]

==Page 425==
'''Oh Ruddier than the Cherry''' 
"Aria from Handel's Acis and Galatea of c 1720" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

I believe that the words were written by John Gay (1688–1732) and that Handel set them to music. In this operatic scene, "the giant Polyphemus [a love-stricken cyclops], more used to wreaking terror and devastation than feelings of love, attempts to woo Galatea (O ruddier than the cherry) but Galatea flees in terror" ([http://www.bamptonopera.org/repertory/mozhanacisdetail.htm Bampton Classic Opera]). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Wikipedia] for more on the tale.

Listen to it, hear: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbyxE9QWPfc&mode=related&search= YouTube]

Read along while you listen:
:O RUDDIER than the cherry!
:O sweeter than the berry!
::O nymph more bright
:Than moonshine night,
:Like kidlings blithe and merry!
:Ripe as the melting cluster!
:No lily has such lustre;
::Yet hard to tame
::As raging flame,
:And fierce as storms that bluster!

:Ripe as the melting cluster,
:no lily has such luster;
:yet hard to tame as raging flame
:and fierce as storms that bluster.

:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O nymph more bright
:than moonshine night
:like kidlings blithe and merry.

'''It flies through the Air, in a curious, as it seems ''directed'', Arc, hits the Tub with a solid ''bong'', flattening its Point''' 
Cf. p. 5, opening line to novel: "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings"

'''Hungarian Vampirism''' 
Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vampir (вампир) in Serbia and Bulgaria, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire WIKI]

'''[[V#voam|Professor Voam]] , Philosophical Operator''' 
"Voam appeared a hundred pages [p. 321] back as the 'camp naturalist' that Dixon consulted about Emerson's watch. That incident must have been a 'flash forward.'" -- [http://osdir.com/ml/culture.literature.thomas-pynchon/2002-03/msg00114.html from MDMD Dinn's notes on Ch. 41]

In addition to Voam's striking job titles ("camp naturalist" and "Philosophical Operator"), note that in Pennsylvania and New Jersey there is an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. — and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter.

==Page 426==
'''Torpedo''' 
Electric eel, here - though this is incorrect as a "torpedo," when speaking of electric naval life, is an electric ray, order Torpediniformes (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_ray Wikipedia]). Also, see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_23:_228-237#Page_234 234]. The professor himself acknowledges the erroneousness of the term on page 431.

'''Ferric Prodigy''' 
Ferric refers to iron-containing materials or compounds. In chemistry the term is reserved for iron with an oxidation number of +3, also denoted iron(III) or Fe3+. On the other hand, ferrous refers to iron with oxidation number of +2, denoted iron(II) or Fe2+. Iron(III) is usually the most stable form of iron in air, as illustrated by the pervasiveness of rust, an insoluble iron(III)-containing material. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferric WIKI]

'''"You'd be flatter'n a Griddle-Cake" [...] "Excuse me,-- to what End? Gazing at it, as it fries? saying Oh you're so Circular...your Airr-Bubbles, they're so intriguing,--"''' 
" "*Than*, *than*" Took me a few parse errors before I realizes that Voam's intended 'flatter than' is read by Mason as 'flattering'." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 427==
'''Dixon, emerging coprophagously a-grin''' 
coprophagous -- "Feeding on excrement" ([http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coprophagous Wiktionary]); i.e., a sh*t eating grin

'''''exeunt''''' 
Latin for "they leave." Used as a stage direction in theater scripts, though the term is now obsolete. (See [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exeunt Wiktionary])

'''the Slave who spoke to Dixon earlier''' 
"earlier being [page] 419.25 where he meets the 'pretty Bondmaiden' and it is Austra from the Cape. cf also [page] 431.5." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''Love-Jobbers''' 
Pynchon having more playful fun with the job title of "Jobbers"--"Love," of course, being used euphemistically. Cf. [[B|Body Jobbers]], [[L|Land Jobbers]]

'''Fly-Whisks''' 
A fly-whisk is a tool to swat or disturb flies. It is used as a regalia in some cultures. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_whisk WIKI]

'''in payment of a Debt forever unexplain'd to me''' 
"Perhaps Austra incurred this debt by failing to lure Charles into fathering a child by her. Oh Complicity! Oh Complexity!" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''Novitiate''' 
novitiate (per [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/novitiate Wiktionary]):
#the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
#the place where a novice lives and studies
#a novice

'''Rapprochement''' 
"The establishment of or state of having cordial relations; an agreement, accord, or reconciliation." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rapprochement Wiktionary]

'''Dutch Rifle... with a Five-pointed Star... inverted.''' 
Here it is again. See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10:_94-104#Page_101 101].

Dutch rifle wheellock, circa 1630: The jaw is normally tightened with the same spanner used to cock the lock. This being a "Dutch" lock.

==Page 428==
'''A Polaris of Evil''' 
At the time of Mason & Dixon, Polaris only literally meant the North Star: "Polaris" comes from Stella Polaris, the Latin form of its common name "Pole Star". The rarely used Greek name Cynosura (Κυνόσουρα) means "tail of the dog". 

Polaris was the name of a famous guided missile system in the 20th Century. 

Here, North as the place from which death and destruction comes in Pynchon's world is clearly alluded to and what is another negative allusion to "man's best friend" may be implied. There is Pugnax the dog in ATD. Arguably, dogs are symbols of the bourgeoisie in Pynchon, complicit in mankind's war-making History in TRP's vision.

'''Patch-Box''' 
"Another change that was made to the old Jaeger ["brought to the colonies by German gunsmiths in the early 1700’s"] that most scholars consider unique to the American longrifle was the addition of a brass patch box. The Jaegers and the early longrifles had storage compartments in the butt of the gun with sliding carved wood covers. The argument is that these covers were easily lost and something a little more practical was required for the longhunter. Hence, the hinged brass patch box." -- [http://www.americanlongrifles.com/american-longrifle-kentucky-rifle-story.htm The Story of the American Longrifle] (an excellent read, incidentally)

'''Piercings''' 
Pierce-work -- "Metalwork, woodwork, etc., incorporating perforations made for decorative or functional effect." -- OED

==Page 429==
'''a Forest Weapon, match'd to a single Prey, heavier than a Squirrel, not quite so heavy as a Deer....''' 
"about the weight of a man, say? Is that maybe why, in which case, evil polarises around this rifle?" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''inverted Star,- in Lancaster Town''' 
Referring to page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342].

'''form of a Daisy''' 
Possibly an allusion to Daisy brand "Outdoor Products" which would later become famous for their selling of BB Guns to youth etc: Daisy was started in 1882 as Plymouth Iron Windmill Company in Plymouth, Michigan. In 1886 the company started to give BB guns with purchases of windmills. The gun was so popular the company started to sell guns instead of windmills. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Outdoor_Products WIKI]

==Page 430==
'''the Sharper''' 
A sharper is an older term, common since the seventeenth-century, for thieves who use trickery to part an owner with his or her money possessions. Sharpers vary from what we now call con-men by virtue of the simplicity of their cons, which often were impromptu, rather than carefully orchestrated, though those certainly happened as well. The 1737 Dictionary of Thieving Slang defines a sharper as "A Cheat, One who lives by his wits." In the nineteenth-century, and into today, the term is more closely associated with gambling.

Sharpers were romantic figures in the eighteenth-century, valued as imaginative figures for their perceived social independence and ability to create new social networks of gangs. The appeal of an independent society, operating outside the law, has been imaginative evocative for centuries, but in eighteenth-century London philosophical thought, influenced by Thomas Hobbes and Rousseau's new formulations of social contract, the romanticization of thievery reached new levels. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Henry Fielding's novel Jonathan Wild are only two examples of sharpers as heroes, in these cases, to provide satirical ammunition against the British Prime Minister Horace Walpole. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharper WIKI]

'''Mr LeSpark, as he will come to tell the Tale, declines back into the Couch''' 
Tell the tale *now* (as in to Tenebrae, Ives, Ethelmer, DePugh, etc.) or tell the tale *then* as in rat out M&D's tub theft to Lord Lepton? (This idea was sparked by comments in [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes].)

==Page 431==
'''Mr. Linnaeus''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_32:_315-326#Page_321 321] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_35:_349-361#Page_360 360].

'''''Gymnotus''''' 
Gymnotus is the among the most species-rich group of electric knifefishes (Gymnotiformes) found in the Amazon. Some Gymnotus species live in the leaf litter and root tangles of river banks. Other species are specialized to live on floodplains within the rootmats of floating meadows. Several species are broadly adapted to live in both of these habitats. Gymnotus are nocturnal predators feeding on insects, crustaceans, and other fish. They generate weak electric fields used in locating objects, and also for communication in which the males court females using stereotyped electrical "songs". From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnotus WIKI]

'''''Sí, sí, Cariño''''' 
Literally, Spanish for "Yes, yes, Affection," but cariño can also mean (figuratively) "caress," which is what the Professor is doing to the eel as he's speaking. Perhaps Pynchon offers a clue later on the page in translating the eel's other name, "El Peligroso," as "The Dangerous One." Literally, this translates as "The Danger"; this logic would equate "Cariño" with "Affectionate One."

'''let a Nonelectrickal provide the Thrills for a change''' 
The eel's identity is so wrapped up in being electrical that anything that cannot provide a spark is called "a Nonelectrickal"?!?

==Page 432==
'''El P.''' 
Or LP, long-playing record; certainly a "Cyclickal Creature" with a repetitive life.

'''''una Criatura Ci'clica, asi eres''''' 
"a cyclical creature, so you are" -- [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/mason-dixon/alpha/s.html HyperArts]

'''worrying about Coach schedules''' 
Perhaps busy travelers in the 18th Century concerned themselves with tight transfers on Coach lines--or perhaps this is more of Pynchon's riffing on Coaches as modern airliners?

<div id="counted-joke"></div>
'''"believe me, he'd be one unhappy Torpedo. How do I know? I counted.''' 
The same joke is used in [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#counted-joke" ''Inherent Vice'', p. 18].

'''far off E-do''' 
"Edo is the old name for Tokyo, in use in the 1760s." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 433==
'''surcease''' 
"The cessation of something or someone." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/surcease Wiktionary]

'''Rubicon''' 
Rubicon is a 29 km long river in northern Italy... "Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. This phrase is often used by journalists in newspapers. It refers to Caesar's 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubicon WIKI]

'''Antillean Cigar''' 
Cuban cigar

==Page 435==
'''Squire Haligast''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_38:_382-390#Page_389 389], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_37:_371-381#Page_373 373], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_366 366], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#Page_391 391] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_48:_466-475#Page_470 470].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Chapter 42: 422-435

2011-12-15T04:43:40Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 432 */

==Page 422==
'''Weather-gage''' 
"Sh OED lists 'have or keep the weather gauge of' as be windward of, fig get the better of. On a side note, Pynchon also uses gage in GR for marijuana (in the Red Malcolm scene) and I always presumed this was a corruption of ganja or ganga, but no, it is listed under gage, LME, var of gauge, 1 A quart pot, long rare or obs LME, 2 A pipe; a pipeful (orig. of tobacco, now chiefly of marijuana), hence, marijuana, slang L17. That's L17 slang, foax! and no doubt the contents of the pipe
changed some time before GW started growing and selling his crop in
the M18." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

See also: [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22449&sort=author More Discussion on Dinn's notes]

'''Dromonds''' 
The dromons (from Greek δρόμων, dromon, i.e. "runner") were the most important warships of the Byzantine navy from the 6th to 12th centuries AD. They were indirectly developed from the ancient trireme and were usually propelled by both oar and sail, a configuration that had been used by navies in the Mediterranean Sea for centuries. - from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dromon Wikipedia]

'''Spielers''' 
"Anglicized plural of German 'player' (as in Mabuse, Der...)" ([http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']). Possibly spelled as an "anglicized plural" in order to pun off spoilers, spies...?

==Page 423==
'''hey? right out of G. Rex's Purse it came''' 
"G Rex being King George" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes''], see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_367 367].

'''The Tub!''' 
Cf. ''[[T#tub|A Tale of a Tub]]'', a satire by Jonathon Swift? Read it in [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikisource], or read about it in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_a_Tub Wikipedia], which describes it in such a Pynchonian light:
:"the book is constructed like a layer cake, with Digression and Tale alternating. However, the digressions overwhelm the narrative, both in terms of the forcefulness and imaginativeness of writing and in terms of volume [...] Many critics have followed Swift's biographer Irvin Ehrenpreis in arguing that there is no single, consistent narrator in the work [...] The digressions individually frustrate readers who expect a clear purpose [...] Some, such as the discussion of ears or of wisdom being like a nut, a cream sherry, a cackling hen, etc., are outlandish and require a militantly aware and thoughtful reader."

Wikipedia also notes that satire targeted "indexers, note-makers." I found myself squirming as I read this paragraph while working on this wiki:
:"Swift's targets in the Tale included indexers, note-makers, and, above all, people who saw 'dark matter' in books. Attacking criticism generally, he appears delighted that one of his enemies, William Wotton, offered to explain the Tale in an 'answer' to the book and that one of the men he had explicitly attacked, Curll, offered to explain the book to the public. In the fifth edition of the book in 1705, Swift provided an apparatus to the work that incorporated Wotton's explanations and Swift's narrator's own notes as well. The notes appear to occasionally provide genuine information and just as often to mislead, and William Wotton's name, a defender of the Moderns, was appended to a number of notes. This allows Swift to make the commentary part of the satire itself, as well as to elevate his narrator to the level of self-critic."

On the other hand, I delighted in the Pynchonian names: Curll and William Wotton.

'''Library at Alexandria, circa 390 A.D.''' 
The Royal Library of Alexandria, or Ancient Library of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt, was probably the largest, and certainly the most famous, of the libraries of the ancient world. It flourished under the patronage of the Ptolemaic dynasty and existed, and functioned as a major center of scholarship, at least until the time of Rome's conquest of Egypt, and probably for many centuries thereafter. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_alexandria WIKI]

==Page 425==
'''Oh Ruddier than the Cherry''' 
"Aria from Handel's Acis and Galatea of c 1720" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author ''Dinn's Notes'']

I believe that the words were written by John Gay (1688–1732) and that Handel set them to music. In this operatic scene, "the giant Polyphemus [a love-stricken cyclops], more used to wreaking terror and devastation than feelings of love, attempts to woo Galatea (O ruddier than the cherry) but Galatea flees in terror" ([http://www.bamptonopera.org/repertory/mozhanacisdetail.htm Bampton Classic Opera]). See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphemus Wikipedia] for more on the tale.

Listen to it, hear: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbyxE9QWPfc&mode=related&search= YouTube]

Read along while you listen:
:O RUDDIER than the cherry!
:O sweeter than the berry!
::O nymph more bright
:Than moonshine night,
:Like kidlings blithe and merry!
:Ripe as the melting cluster!
:No lily has such lustre;
::Yet hard to tame
::As raging flame,
:And fierce as storms that bluster!

:Ripe as the melting cluster,
:no lily has such luster;
:yet hard to tame as raging flame
:and fierce as storms that bluster.

:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O ruddier than the cherry,
:O sweeter than the berry,
:O nymph more bright
:than moonshine night
:like kidlings blithe and merry.

'''It flies through the Air, in a curious, as it seems ''directed'', Arc, hits the Tub with a solid ''bong'', flattening its Point''' 
Cf. p. 5, opening line to novel: "Snow-Balls have flown their Arcs, starr'd the Sides of Outbuildings"

'''Hungarian Vampirism''' 
Although vampiric entities have been recorded in many cultures, the term vampire was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe, although local variants were also known by different names, such as vampir (вампир) in Serbia and Bulgaria, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire WIKI]

'''[[V#voam|Professor Voam]] , Philosophical Operator''' 
"Voam appeared a hundred pages [p. 321] back as the 'camp naturalist' that Dixon consulted about Emerson's watch. That incident must have been a 'flash forward.'" -- [http://osdir.com/ml/culture.literature.thomas-pynchon/2002-03/msg00114.html from MDMD Dinn's notes on Ch. 41]

In addition to Voam's striking job titles ("camp naturalist" and "Philosophical Operator"), note that in Pennsylvania and New Jersey there is an organization called VOAM Electric Cooperative Inc. — and VOM is the abbreviation for Volt-Ohm Meter.

==Page 426==
'''Torpedo''' 
Electric eel, here - though this is incorrect as a "torpedo," when speaking of electric naval life, is an electric ray, order Torpediniformes (see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_ray Wikipedia]). Also, see page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_23:_228-237#Page_234 234]. The professor himself acknowledges the erroneousness of the term on page 431.

'''Ferric Prodigy''' 
Ferric refers to iron-containing materials or compounds. In chemistry the term is reserved for iron with an oxidation number of +3, also denoted iron(III) or Fe3+. On the other hand, ferrous refers to iron with oxidation number of +2, denoted iron(II) or Fe2+. Iron(III) is usually the most stable form of iron in air, as illustrated by the pervasiveness of rust, an insoluble iron(III)-containing material. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferric WIKI]

'''"You'd be flatter'n a Griddle-Cake" [...] "Excuse me,-- to what End? Gazing at it, as it fries? saying Oh you're so Circular...your Airr-Bubbles, they're so intriguing,--"''' 
" "*Than*, *than*" Took me a few parse errors before I realizes that Voam's intended 'flatter than' is read by Mason as 'flattering'." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 427==
'''Dixon, emerging coprophagously a-grin''' 
coprophagous -- "Feeding on excrement" ([http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coprophagous Wiktionary]); i.e., a sh*t eating grin

'''''exeunt''''' 
Latin for "they leave." Used as a stage direction in theater scripts, though the term is now obsolete. (See [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exeunt Wiktionary])

'''the Slave who spoke to Dixon earlier''' 
"earlier being [page] 419.25 where he meets the 'pretty Bondmaiden' and it is Austra from the Cape. cf also [page] 431.5." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''Love-Jobbers''' 
Pynchon having more playful fun with the job title of "Jobbers"--"Love," of course, being used euphemistically. Cf. [[B|Body Jobbers]], [[L|Land Jobbers]]

'''Fly-Whisks''' 
A fly-whisk is a tool to swat or disturb flies. It is used as a regalia in some cultures. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fly_whisk WIKI]

'''in payment of a Debt forever unexplain'd to me''' 
"Perhaps Austra incurred this debt by failing to lure Charles into fathering a child by her. Oh Complicity! Oh Complexity!" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''Novitiate''' 
novitiate (per [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/novitiate Wiktionary]):
#the period during which a novice of a religious order undergoes training
#the place where a novice lives and studies
#a novice

'''Rapprochement''' 
"The establishment of or state of having cordial relations; an agreement, accord, or reconciliation." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rapprochement Wiktionary]

'''Dutch Rifle... with a Five-pointed Star... inverted.''' 
Here it is again. See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_10:_94-104#Page_101 101].

Dutch rifle wheellock, circa 1630: The jaw is normally tightened with the same spanner used to cock the lock. This being a "Dutch" lock.

==Page 428==
'''A Polaris of Evil''' 
At the time of Mason & Dixon, Polaris only literally meant the North Star: "Polaris" comes from Stella Polaris, the Latin form of its common name "Pole Star". The rarely used Greek name Cynosura (Κυνόσουρα) means "tail of the dog". 

Polaris was the name of a famous guided missile system in the 20th Century. 

Here, North as the place from which death and destruction comes in Pynchon's world is clearly alluded to and what is another negative allusion to "man's best friend" may be implied. There is Pugnax the dog in ATD. Arguably, dogs are symbols of the bourgeoisie in Pynchon, complicit in mankind's war-making History in TRP's vision.

'''Patch-Box''' 
"Another change that was made to the old Jaeger ["brought to the colonies by German gunsmiths in the early 1700’s"] that most scholars consider unique to the American longrifle was the addition of a brass patch box. The Jaegers and the early longrifles had storage compartments in the butt of the gun with sliding carved wood covers. The argument is that these covers were easily lost and something a little more practical was required for the longhunter. Hence, the hinged brass patch box." -- [http://www.americanlongrifles.com/american-longrifle-kentucky-rifle-story.htm The Story of the American Longrifle] (an excellent read, incidentally)

'''Piercings''' 
Pierce-work -- "Metalwork, woodwork, etc., incorporating perforations made for decorative or functional effect." -- OED

==Page 429==
'''a Forest Weapon, match'd to a single Prey, heavier than a Squirrel, not quite so heavy as a Deer....''' 
"about the weight of a man, say? Is that maybe why, in which case, evil polarises around this rifle?" -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

'''inverted Star,- in Lancaster Town''' 
Referring to page [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_34:_341-348#Page_342 342].

'''form of a Daisy''' 
Possibly an allusion to Daisy brand "Outdoor Products" which would later become famous for their selling of BB Guns to youth etc: Daisy was started in 1882 as Plymouth Iron Windmill Company in Plymouth, Michigan. In 1886 the company started to give BB guns with purchases of windmills. The gun was so popular the company started to sell guns instead of windmills. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Outdoor_Products WIKI]

==Page 430==
'''the Sharper''' 
A sharper is an older term, common since the seventeenth-century, for thieves who use trickery to part an owner with his or her money possessions. Sharpers vary from what we now call con-men by virtue of the simplicity of their cons, which often were impromptu, rather than carefully orchestrated, though those certainly happened as well. The 1737 Dictionary of Thieving Slang defines a sharper as "A Cheat, One who lives by his wits." In the nineteenth-century, and into today, the term is more closely associated with gambling.

Sharpers were romantic figures in the eighteenth-century, valued as imaginative figures for their perceived social independence and ability to create new social networks of gangs. The appeal of an independent society, operating outside the law, has been imaginative evocative for centuries, but in eighteenth-century London philosophical thought, influenced by Thomas Hobbes and Rousseau's new formulations of social contract, the romanticization of thievery reached new levels. John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Henry Fielding's novel Jonathan Wild are only two examples of sharpers as heroes, in these cases, to provide satirical ammunition against the British Prime Minister Horace Walpole. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharper WIKI]

'''Mr LeSpark, as he will come to tell the Tale, declines back into the Couch''' 
Tell the tale *now* (as in to Tenebrae, Ives, Ethelmer, DePugh, etc.) or tell the tale *then* as in rat out M&D's tub theft to Lord Lepton? (This idea was sparked by comments in [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes].)

==Page 431==
'''Mr. Linnaeus''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_32:_315-326#Page_321 321] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_35:_349-361#Page_360 360].

'''''Gymnotus''''' 
Gymnotus is the among the most species-rich group of electric knifefishes (Gymnotiformes) found in the Amazon. Some Gymnotus species live in the leaf litter and root tangles of river banks. Other species are specialized to live on floodplains within the rootmats of floating meadows. Several species are broadly adapted to live in both of these habitats. Gymnotus are nocturnal predators feeding on insects, crustaceans, and other fish. They generate weak electric fields used in locating objects, and also for communication in which the males court females using stereotyped electrical "songs". From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnotus WIKI]

'''''Sí, sí, Cariño''''' 
Literally, Spanish for "Yes, yes, Affection," but cariño can also mean (figuratively) "caress," which is what the Professor is doing to the eel as he's speaking. Perhaps Pynchon offers a clue later on the page in translating the eel's other name, "El Peligroso," as "The Dangerous One." Literally, this translates as "The Danger"; this logic would equate "Cariño" with "Affectionate One."

'''let a Nonelectrickal provide the Thrills for a change''' 
The eel's identity is so wrapped up in being electrical that anything that cannot provide a spark is called "a Nonelectrickal"?!?

==Page 432==
'''El P.''' 
Or LP, long-playing record; certainly a "Cyclickal Creature" with a repetitive life.

'''''una Criatura Ci'clica, asi eres''''' 
"a cyclical creature, so you are" -- [http://www.hyperarts.com/pynchon/mason-dixon/alpha/s.html HyperArts]

'''worrying about Coach schedules''' 
Perhaps busy travelers in the 18th Century concerned themselves with tight transfers on Coach lines--or perhaps this is more of Pynchon's riffing on Coaches as modern airliners?

<a name="counted-joke"></a>
'''"believe me, he'd be one unhappy Torpedo. How do I know? I counted.''' 
The same joke is used in [http://inherent-vice.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_1#counted-joke" ''Inherent Vice'', p. 18].

'''far off E-do''' 
"Edo is the old name for Tokyo, in use in the 1760s." -- [http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=9712&msg=22312&sort=author Dinn's Notes]

==Page 433==
'''surcease''' 
"The cessation of something or someone." -- [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/surcease Wiktionary]

'''Rubicon''' 
Rubicon is a 29 km long river in northern Italy... "Crossing the Rubicon" is a popular idiom meaning to pass a point of no return. This phrase is often used by journalists in newspapers. It refers to Caesar's 49 BC crossing of the river, which was considered an act of war. From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubicon WIKI]

'''Antillean Cigar''' 
Cuban cigar

==Page 435==
'''Squire Haligast''' 
See pages [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_38:_382-390#Page_389 389], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_37:_371-381#Page_373 373], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_36:_362-370#Page_366 366], [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_39:_391-398#Page_391 391] & [http://masondixon.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Chapter_48:_466-475#Page_470 470].

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Main Page

2011-06-30T16:21:53Z

WikiAdmin:

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This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [[Mason & Dixon covers|''Mason & Dixon'' covers]] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://reconstruction.eserver.org/021/Haunting.htm Haunting and Hunting: Bodily Resurrection and the Occupation of History in Thomas Pynchon's ''Mason & Dixon''] - Justin Scott Coe
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_m%26d.html The Modern Word page on Mason & Dixon]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
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* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/ The Modern Word Pynchon page]
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* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]
* [http://www.waste.org/pynchon-l/ Pynchon-L]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/levy_mason_and_dixon.pdf Toby Levy's ''Mason & Dixon 3 Pages a Day'' Project]
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

===Historical Resources===
* [http://www.udel.edu/johnmack/mason_dixon/ A Brief History of the Mason-Dixon Survey]

==Featured Article==
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==Gallery==
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Chapter 35: 349-361

2009-08-27T12:09:59Z

WikiAdmin: add links - cleanup

==Page 349==
'''quidnunc''' 
A gossip or busybody; an ever-curious questioner; newsmonger

==Page 350==
'''certain Egyptian Deity''' 
???

==Page 351==
'''Bedlam ... Salpêtriére''' 
Two early mental asylums, both quite horrific. The suggestion, of course, is that readers of novels like ''Mason & Dixon'' will drive themselves crazy by indulging in such fantasies.

==Page 352==
'''Invisible Snake Trick''' 
Is there really something called the Invisible Snake Trick, or is this pure joshing (à la ''Get Smart'': "the old Invisible Snake Trick, eh?")? Curiously, [[Aunt Euphrenia]], hoisting an oboe, follows this witty braggadocio by playing “a sinuous Air full of exotick sharps and flats” – perhaps this “sinuous Air” is, itself, the Invisible Snake. And the Trick? Note that once she starts playing, “The Company redeploy themselves in the direction of Comfort” – it’s as if she’s charmed her challengers into wandering away from her and the dispute.

Note that the novel frequently mentions [[I#invisible|invisible]] forces.

==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 354==
'''a Conveyance, wherein the inside is quite noticeably larger than the outside''' 
I wonder if this a reference to Dr. Who: "The TARDIS is a time machine and spacecraft in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. The name is an acronym of Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space. A product of Time Lord technology, a properly maintained and piloted TARDIS can transport its occupants to any point in time and space. The interior of a TARDIS is much larger than its exterior, which can blend in with its surroundings through the ship's chameleon circuit" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TARDIS Wikipedia]). [[Chapter_41:_410-421#Page_412|See also p. 412]]

Note to, the ''OED'' definition of tardis, which includes usage samples dating back to 1969:

:* Etymology: [< TARDIS (acronym < Time And Relative Dimensions In Space), the name in the science-fiction BBC television series Doctor Who (first broadcast in 1963) of a time machine outwardly resembling a police telephone box, yet inwardly much larger.]
:* Definition: In allusive use. Something resembling or likened to Doctor Who's TARDIS; spec.: (a) a thing which has a larger capacity than its outward appearance suggests; a building, etc., that is larger on the inside than it appears from the outside; (b) a thing seemingly from another time (past or future).

Note, too, that this is one in a series of supposed "paradoxes" that [[Reverend Wicks Cherrycoke]] presents to his audience, including the Möbius smoke ring ([[Chapter 34: 341-348#Page_345|ch. 34, p. 345]]). This same joke (?) is presented again regarding a cabin ([[Chapter 41: 410-421#Page_412|ch. 41, p. 412]]). Watch to see the audiences' reaction to these paradoxes. Are they growing progressively more tolerant of Wick's tall-tales?

'''game of All-Fours''' 
Card game, somewhat related to Whist; also known as “seven-up” or “old-sledge.” At the time of ''Mason & Dixon'', played for money. See this humorous article by Mark Twain: [http://www.twainquotes.com/Galaxy/187010d.html Science vs. Luck].

'''Cisalleghenic''' 
The other side of the Allegheny river

==Page 355==
'''cap of white Lawn''' 
White lawn is a fabric. It can still be purchased by the yard.

'''introduce himself in a mucilaginous voice''' 
mucilaginous - I think the meaning here is "slimy" with the [[Reverend Wicks Cherrycoke]] implying that [[E#Edgewise|Mr. Edgewise]] is a slime ball, hitting on these young, defenseless ladies--right in front of his wife, the cad... Is Wicks' portrayal of Mr. Edgewise tainted his gambling losses to Edgewise? Wicks' contrasting portraits of a sinful Edgewise vs. a saintly pair of [[R#Redzinger|Redzinger]]s provides some humor in this chapter.

==Page 356==
'''''net''''' 
Dutch for "exactly." Seems to be a verbal tick on the part of [[R#Redzinger|Frau Luise Redzinger]].

'''Pietists''' 
followers of Pietism, "a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late-17th century to the mid-18th century. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to begin the Brethren movement. The Pietist movement combined the Lutheran emphasis on Biblical doctrine with the Reformed, and especially Puritan, emphasis on individual piety, and a vigorous Christian life" -- [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietism Wikipedia]

'''being between preferments''' 
I believe that preferments, here, refers to claims (to, for example, a monetary payment or land holding). See also, '''interprebendary''' later on this page.

'''interprebendary''' 
“Not in the dictionary, prebendary is described as someone who receives a stipend from a cathedral or collegiate church in England. Perhaps Wicks used this word because he was receiving stipends from more than one church” – Toby Levy’s [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/levy_mason_and_dixon.pdf ''Mason & Dixon Three Pages a Day'']

Note that "inter" could also mean "between" (rather than "among" or "in the midst of"), in which case this term would suggest that Wicks is inbetween payments.

What does this mean: "... after promising a Certain Deity that I would refrain" [from using the term "interprebendary"]?

'''the Gambler''' 
Pot calling the kettle black?

'''Puzting''' 
Checking out the neighbors' putz--Moravian/Pennsylvanian Dutch Nativity scenes, often quite elaborate. Described well by the [http://www.easthillsmc.org/putz.html East Hills Moravian Church].

==Page 357==
'''Jehu son of Nimshi''' 
Reference to [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=12&chapter=9&verse=19&end_verse=21&version=50&context=context 2 Kings 9:20], wherein Jehu--a king of Israel--drives a chariot to battle with fury: "So the watchman reported, saying, 'He went up to them and is not coming back; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi, for he drives furiously!'" A couple of on-line dictionaries categorize this as a colloquial phrase.

==Page 359==
'''Tales of the Pit''' 
Funny phrase; is it a reference to something specific outside the text?

==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.

Again (following up on comments from page 354, above), I wonder, too, if there is some sly reference ("only the machine, fading as we stand") to Dr. Who, in which the time machine/spacecraft TARDIS "can blend in with its surroundings through the ship's chameleon circuit" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TARDIS Wikipedia]).

==Annotation Index==

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2009-08-04T08:26:32Z

WikiAdmin: add IV wiki

* navigation
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2009-04-11T15:06:29Z

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[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

To become a contributor/editor, [http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Create an account.''']

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This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [[Mason & Dixon covers|''Mason & Dixon'' covers]] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.thomaspynchon.com/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://reconstruction.eserver.org/021/Haunting.htm Haunting and Hunting: Bodily Resurrection and the Occupation of History in Thomas Pynchon's ''Mason & Dixon''] - Justin Scott Coe
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_m%26d.html The Modern Word page on Mason & Dixon]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
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* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/ The Modern Word Pynchon page]
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* [http://pynchonoid.blogspot.com/ Pynchonoid Blog]
* [http://www.waste.org/pynchon-l/ Pynchon-L]

===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/levy_mason_and_dixon.pdf Toby Levy's ''Mason & Dixon 3 Pages a Day'' Project]
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

===Historical Resources===
* [http://www.udel.edu/johnmack/mason_dixon/ A Brief History of the Mason-Dixon Survey]

==Featured Article==
Stay tuned...

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==Gallery==
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Thanks, and enjoy...

Chapter 20: 199-206

2009-02-21T18:58:02Z

WikiAdmin: /* Page 201 */ add pic of chronometer

==Page 199==
'''pongee gown''' 
Embroidered white silk pongee gown with sweetheart neckline, trimmed at neckline with tulle ruffle matching the deep tulle flounce of the skirt

'''Sally Lunn''' 
Sally Lunn's is the oldest house in Bath.It's famous for the Sally Lunn bun (served here since 1680).Sally Lunn. Lunn, Sally (supp. fl. 1680x1800), supposed baker.

==Page 201==
[[Image:Harrisons-chronometer.jpg|thumb|caption|Harrison's H5 Chronometer|right|175px]]
'''Mr. Harrison's Watch''' 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison John Harrison] (March 24, 1693–March 24, 1776) was an English clockmaker who revolutionized and extended the possibility of safe long distance sea travel in the Age of Sail by inventing a long-sought and critically-needed key piece in the problem of accurately establishing the East-West position, or longitude, of a ship at sea. The problem was so intractable that the English Parliament offered a huge fortune for the day (£20,000, roughly £6 million in 2007 terms),[1] for a solution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison

==Annotation Index==

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File:Harrisons-chronometer.jpg

2009-02-21T18:55:34Z

WikiAdmin: '''John Harrison's H5 Chronometer'''

'''John Harrison's H5 Chronometer'''

The Nation - John Leonard

2008-11-29T15:11:25Z

WikiAdmin: New page: ====''Mason & Dixon'' Review by John Leonard==== ''The Nation'' - 12 May 1997: 65-58 More than 700 pages later, when this splendid eighteenth-century beast of a book seems to have hunkere...

====''Mason & Dixon'' Review by John Leonard====
''The Nation'' - 12 May 1997: 65-58

More than 700 pages later, when this splendid eighteenth-century beast of a book seems to have hunkered down for a dying fall of grace notesafter the melancholy Gothic-depressive Charles Mason and the sporty manic danger-junkie Jeremiah Dixon have sailed rough seas to Cape Town, St. Helena and Delaware Bay; after an excess of salt, pitch, pipe smoke, bag pipes, sheep fat, caffeine abuse, darkling beetles, Apparitions and Mirages; after slave colonies, opium dens, spirit villages, Stonehenge and the gallows; after Hottentots, Malays, Presbyterians, Dutch Calvinists, Jesuit priests, Mohawk Indians, Jenkins's Ear and Rebekah's ghost; after Ben Franklin, George Washington, Tom Jefferson, Captain Volcanoe, a French chef, a Chinese geomancer, a Viking spy, a giant cheese, a giant beet, a giant worm, talking dogs, electric eels, mechanical ducks and an American Golem; after a Transit of Venus, a Vector of Desire, a Purity of Azimuth, Realms of Velocity and Spleen, many Enigmata of the Invisible World and an Epsilonicks of Damnationour stargazing heroes are reunited back in England, some-the-wiser and gone fishing. Mason tells Dixon about Ulster, where there were faery lights in the infernal bog and coffins disguised as claviers. Dixon tells Mason about the Arctic, from which aliens abducted him.

Well, more like elves, trolls or gnomes. Go with the floe. Under the North Pole's ice cap, inside Earth as we think we know it, is another, hollow world a Terra Concava where the lakes are ceilings, secured by centrifugal whirl; in whose inner void the Little People hang upside down like bats. They have been sending messages by magnetic compass and other Telluric mediations. They are curious: How can Dixon bear to live topside, so exposed to terrible Lights and Outer Darkness? Hasn't he noticed that in his convexity he is always leaning away from everybody else, while these insiders are forever, in fellowship, pointed toward one another? But they are also fearful, especially of Masons and Dixons: "Once the solar parallax is known ... once the necessary Degrees are measur'd, and the size and weight and shape of the Earth are calculated inescapably at last, all this will vanish. We will have to seek another Space."

This is the Pynchon who just can't stop himself, who ups antes and lowers booms. Like his mechanical duck, if he keeps flying we won't see and can't catch him. I should be telling you that ''Mason & Dixon'' is shapely and coherent. That you will care about a baffled astronomer and a horny surveyor in the grip of forces they can't even locate, much less modify. That for the first time in Pynchon we get extended families (difficult fathers and lonely children), magnanimity instead of mockery, closure instead of dissolution. But already, to prove myself worthy of a masterwork, I'm haring down absurdist wormholes.

Underground! In ''V.'' there were channels, tunnels, sewers, trollfolk, a besieged Malta and a Borgesian Vheissu, hiding out at the other Pole. In ''The Crying of Lot 49'', as if in the mid-sixties he'd already imagined e-mail and Microsofties, there was Tristero, that subterranean signal-system of the dispossessed in a "separate, silent, unsuspected world." In ''Gravity's Rainbow'' there was Dora, the prison camp and underground Mittelwerke city of rockets and salt; and white lunar latitudes where "there is always the danger of falling"; and "the invisible kingdom" of crematoria on "the other side" of Pokler's vacuums and labyrinths; and Schwarzkommandos who believed the souls of their dead waited in the Arctic; and the last V-2, launched with its Aryan payload at that very same Pole. In ''Vineland'', there were Thanatoids and the dolphin-like woge, who hid beneath the ocean to see what we did with their worldas well as Frenesi's dream of a Flood and phantom divers who would bring back up for us whatever had been taken, whatever had been lost.

"Signs and symptoms," said Pointsman the Pavlovian in ''Gravity'': "Could Outside and Inside be part of the same field?" Follow the bouncing ball...

From historical odds and ends and the Field Journal they left behind, Pynchon re-imagines Mason and Dixon before, during and after the four-plus years, 1763 to 1767, they took to draw their 244-mile-long line through the American wilderness, dividing the proprietorships of the Penns of Pennsylvania and the Calverts of Maryland, ordaining our North and South. From his omnivorous reading, with his diabolical genius for mimicry, he also re-creates their tumultuous eraan Age of Reason crazy with divine kingship, chartered monopolies and the trading in human flesh; French Encyclopedists, Royal Society astronomers, genocidal colonizers, seething religious sects; pornography and revolution. And from the depths of a jaunty disenchantment, he calls into brilliant question the very ways we measure, map and misconstrue history, landscape, time, space, stars and selfas if by pin, needle, pencil, lens, plummet, clock, pendulum and compass, we will ever settle on an Angle of genuine Repose, or achieve orbit, or abstract anything important about women and comets, or see the sailing shapes of love and death and wind and light.

"Geometry and slaughter!" says Squire Haligast in ''Mason & Dixon'', on being advised of the Prussian victory in 1757 at the Battle of Leuthen: "The future of war, yet ancient as the mindless Exactitudes of Alexander's Phalanx."

To do all this, Pynchon has written his own eighteenth-century novel, as though by a Jonathan Swift gone elsewhere than Lilliput and Brobdingnag, or a Dr. Johnson improving greatly on Rasselas by shifting it from Abyssinia. (Sam will even show up at the end of ''Mason & Dixon'' to call Mason a lunatic.) There is a Henry Fielding stream-of-consciousness and, unless I'm mistaken, also some borrowings from the Noble Savage woo-woo of Chateaubriand's Atala. (You'll recall the heavy-breathing Vicomte had a hard time finding a Northwest Passage because nobody'd told him there were Rocky Mountains.) The Mary Wollstonecrafts, mother and daughter, seem to have been consulted, along with their husband and father, William Godwin, and his Adventures of Caleb Williams. Nor would a familiarity with Cotton Mather come as a surprise. Or the John Williams who wrote The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion, the Joel Barlow who wrote The Hasty-Pudding and the Charles Brockden Brown who wrote Wieland, Ormond and a terrific essay on somnambulism (and who, like Dixon, was a radical Quaker). And this is not to mention everything Pynchon had to know about Aristarchus, Laplace, Kepler, Newton and Celestial Mechanics; Clive of India, Baron Munchausen and Danse Macabre; Matteo Ricci (Jesuits in China), Anton Mesmer (using Ben Franklin's glass harmonica to stupefy the ladies), Hyperthrenia (an "excess of mourning"), comparative religions (including Mithraic cults), revolutionary politics (Franco-American), Dutch sado-masochism (with its odd emphasis on the Black Hole of Calcutta), baking bread (Mason's father), mining coal (Dixon's father), class, race, Freemasons, Illuminati, Feng Shui and the Kabbala, astrolabes and spices, Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed, balloons, automata and sorcery.

Anyway, as in the Peregrinations of Dr Diocletian Blobb, a text he imagined for ''The Crying of Lot 49'' (along with a seventeenth-century Jacobean revenge play in which characters perished of "every mode of violent death available to Renaissance man, including a lye pit, land mines [and] a trained falcon with envenom'd talons"), ''Mason & Dixon'' is "full of words ending in e's, s's that looked like f's, capitalized nouns, y's where i's should've been" and many, many comma/dash/space splices,as, for instance,

:Does Britannia, when she sleeps, dream? Is America her dream?in which all that cannot pass in the metropolitan Wakefulness is allow'd Expression away in the restless Slumber of these Provinces, and on West-ward, wherever 'tis not yet mapp'd, nor written down, nor ever, by the majority of Mankind, seen,serving as a very Rubbish-tip for subjunctive Hopes, for all that may yet be true,Earthly Paradise, Fountain of Youth, Realms of Prester John, Christ's Kingdom, ever behind the sunset, safe till the next Territory to the West be seen and recorded, measur'd and tied in, back into the NetWork of Points already known, that slowly triangulates its Way into the Continent, changing all from subjunctive to declarative, reducing Possibilities to Simplicities that serve the ends of Governments,winning away from the realm of the Sacred, its Borderlands one by one, and assuming them unto the bare mortal World that is our home, and our Despair. ([[Chapter_34:_341-348#Page 346|p. 346]])

But Pynchon is also very much a modern, who not only knows from narratology, but who has always obliged with blind trails for pomo burrowers into the palimpsests. Thus, on a snowy Philadelphia Christmas in 1786, after Mason and Dixon are both dead, their story is told Joseph Conrad-style, by the Rev. Wicks Cherrycoke, who was with them in Cape Town and then again on the Mall they made of America, though he skipped St. Helena. (There's a Cherrycoke in ''Gravity'' too. Does it matter? Not as much as several appearances by "Fender-Belly" Bodine in ''M & D'': the template of Pig.) While Cherrycoke was seen to take lots of notes, his young listeners are aware that some of this stuff he couldn't possibly know. These lines get further tangled when a character from a popular 1786 pulp serial, on the lam from a Jesuit brothel in Quebec, shows up and stays put in the Ur-Novel twenty years before her fictitious time. (If Pynchon has his fun with The Ghastly Fop, he even more enjoys playing Timothy Tox, the Rudyard Kipling of colonial PA, a producer of doggerel by the pound. Besides the usual dogs, there are also the usual punse.g., "Dutch Ado about nothing.")

If I stop to explain the Jesuit brothel in Quebec; or what Mason did during the eleven days the Gregorians stole from the Julians in England in 1752; or how Dixon happened to learn to fly at The Cudgel and Throck; or the difference between "The Daughters of the End of the World" and the Girls on call in the Black Hole of Calcutta at the Cape Town Slave Lodge; or how come George Washington has a black Jewish slave who makes kasha varnishkies and sings "Havah Nagilah"; or why Zsuzsa Szabo wears the dress uniform of the Nadasdy Hussars; or whether it is possible for anybody else to read Aristotle on Comedy, Shakespeare's Tragedy of Hypatia and "all the good bits that Thomas left out of the Infancy Gospel"; or whatever possessed Jacques de Vaucanson's Mechanickal Duck to flap away to a New World of "savage Women, giant Vegetables [and] Buffalo-Herds the size of Paris"; or how to date The Third Sex, who are Dead; or the Surinam Torpedo, the first British pizza, runic Ogham and Dark Hepsie, the Pythoness of the Pointthere won't be space left over to answer the question Mason on his deathbed asks Ben Franklin ("What Phantom Shape, implicit in the Figures?"), nor to explain why M and D, at the conclusion of their Iliadic Wandervogel "into Futurity," should wind up feeling like "a Pepper-corn in the Stuffata, stirr'd and push'd about by any Fool who walks by with a Spoon."

Somebody else is pulling their strings, that's why. Certainly the Royal Society, to which neither will ever be elected because of their lower class origins, has an investment of prestige in stargazing and "lunar Obs" to devise "a reliable way to find the true Longitude at Sea." (This problem, eventually solved instead by John Harrison's chronometer, has been the excuse for two recent books, Dava Sobel's nifty cultural history Longitude and Umberto Eco's self-indulgent novel The Island of the Day Before.) But for whom is the fixing of marine longitudes such an urgent issue? The British Navy, for one. The British East India Company, for another. The whole colonial enterprise, for a third. Which means the French, Dutch and even the Levantines are suspicious. To whom we must add a conspiracy of what Ben Franklin calls "the two most powerful sources of Brain-Power on Earth,

:the one as closely harness'd to its Disciplin'd Rage for Jesus, as the other to that Escape into the Void, which is the very Asian Mystery. Together, they make up a small Army of Dark Engineers who could run the World. The Sino-Jesuit conjunction may prove a greater threat to Christendom than ever the Mongols or the Moors. ([[Chapter_28:_275-288#Page 288|p. 288]])

Such puppet masters jerk and scatter our hapless hirelings, who are more like Hansel and Gretel than Addison and Steele, in "an Herodotic Web" of Enigmatic Tangentsto Cape Town, where they'll set up "Snouts" to track the eclipse of a Transit of Venus; to St. Helena, where they traffic with convicts, madmen, slaves and chartered company "Perpetuals," while also enduring "the spookish fug of Maskelyne's Sermons upon the Unknown"; and to America, "when the World was yet feudal," to hew by ax a "Visto" through the heart of darkness, eight yards wide and due west, in a Decameron of misfits who might as well have time-traveled to enlist after the last V-2 obliterated VheissuChildren of the Rainbow as mad and motley as the midgets, clairvoyants, telekinetics, lobotomizers, Behaviorists and vaudevilleans in the White Visitation, pioneer Slothrops on a lonesome and perilous range. If ''V.'' was Henry Adams and Ludwig Wittgenstein shooting alligators in New York City sewers, and ''Gravity'' a conjoining of Spengler, Freud, Rilke, Celine and S.J. Perelman, and ''Vineland'' a lysergic-acid Icelandic saga, ''Mason & Dixon'' is a "Westward Ho!" to the Culture of Death, with Joseph de Maistre, Frantz Fanon and their Merry Pranksters in a DayGlo Conestoga Wagon. "Was there a mistake in the Plan of the Day?" Mason wonders. "Did we get a piece of someone else's History?"

And what do they find in their perpetual motion of departure and return, at the margins? On the one hand, everywhere: commerce, covetousness and imperialism's greedy profit-taking"Something richer than many a Nation," explains mad Maskelyne, "yet with no Boundaries,which, tho' never part of any Coalition, yet maintains its own great Army and Navy,able to pay for the last War, as the next, with no more bother than finding a Key to a certain iron Box." On another hand, also everywhere, depressing Mason and enraging Dixon: slavery, oppression and a geometry of violence "more permissive than Euclid" markets in half-breed babies; nightmares of reprisal; smallpoxed Indians. As Maskelyne also explains: "for Commerce without Slavery is unthinkable, whilst Slavery must ever include, as an essential Term, the Gallows,Slavery without the Gallows being as hollow and Waste a Proceeding, as a Crusade without the Cross." On the third hand, all over the globe: lunacyin great winds, blown sands, seas of blood and unsealed coffins; a Jenkins's Ear hearing confessions and a Wolf of Jesus in a hot-air balloon; "Suicide-Banks," "Madness-Pools" and magic pearls from the brains of cobras.

Finally, these four hands count ghosts: shadowland shapes of the shamefully martyred, silently repressed and nameless dead; borders transgressed, cries unheard. Against such a spectral teemInvisible Hands of another kind of Market, Dream-bodies, Ghost-fish, Guardians, Black Dogs, Indian Glow, Werewolves and Gnostic remnants; Prophecies, Fetches and Deep Creatures with a Stare; hallucinatory passages down forbidden trails through darkness primeval into burial mounds and Radiance; the capital, dividends, trust funds and charged terrain of Magicall the profane states of Europe with their "Machines, Powders, Rays, Elixirs," their leagues of philosophers and their crazy reasonings, must quail in fear. "Invisible yet possessing Mass, and Velocity, able not only to rattle Chains but to break them as well," Mason thinks in Cape Town. And, after returning from an America that should have been innocent:

:Mason has seen in the Glass, unexpectedly, something beyond simple reflection,outside of the world,a procession of luminous Phantoms, carrying bowls, bones, incense, drums, their Attention directed to nothing he may imagine, belonging to unknown purposes, flowing by thick as Eels, pauselessly, for how long before or after his interception, he could never know. ([[Chapter_78:_758-773#Page 770|p. 770]])

Imaginary space! Sacred borderlands! Rapture and Vertigo! So, in the eighteenth-century world according to Pynchon, instead of waiting for Godot, Vladimir and Estragon hit the road. And Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves in ''Gulliver's Travels'' instead of Stoppard's ''Hamlet''. Yet bless Tom, for he has Magick'd. Haunted by the ghost of his dead wife, Mason starts a second family and bequeaths his own sons to the New World, though it was Dixon who had wanted to stay in America. And Dixon, "the unwaverring Larrk of the Sanguine," gone nymphing by moonlight for sea trout in a stream of English consciousness, will see through his pride into the minds of the secret sharers of the Earth. What a pity that he dies before Romantic poetry or grand opera or psychoanalysis or Hollywood movies. In Wagner, he might have been a bassoon. The pair of them, pointing toward each other in their Terra Concava, are even better at buddy-bonding than Gilgamesh and Enkidu. And ''Mason & Dixon''  like Huckleberry Finn, like ''Ulysses''  is one of the great novels about male friendship in anybody's literature.

Mason & Dixon Reviews

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WikiAdmin: add Leonard review

Main Page

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WikiAdmin: /* External Links */ update TP.com link

[[Image:MD_cover_sm.jpg|300px|right]]<big>'''Welcome to the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki'''</big>

To become a contributor/editor, [http://pynchonwiki.com/mycaptcha/captcha-page.php '''Create an account.''']

:[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312423209/sr=1-1/qid=1156005821/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&tag2=hyperartspynchon'''Order ''Mason & Dixon''''']

This is the Wiki for [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''Mason & Dixon''.

Besides using the Alphabetical Index and the page-by-page annotation, you can take a look at [[Mason & Dixon covers|''Mason & Dixon'' covers]] or read the [[Mason & Dixon Reviews|reviews]].

==How to Use this Wiki==

There are two major ways to use this wiki. The first is the '''''Mason & Dixon'' 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!

==Alphabetical Index==
Information on the characters, events, and everything else in ''Mason & Dixon'', organized alphabetically:{{MD_Alpha_Nav}}

==Page by Page Annotations==
{{MD PbP}}

== Pynchon Wiki Help and Contributor Guidelines==

[[Help:Contents|'''Click here for help with editing and creating pages.''']]

We have a few conventions we ask that you follow:

* When creating a new page, first check to make sure a page/article about what you want to write about hasn't already been created, by '''[[Special:Allpages|checking the list of all Wiki pages on Pynchon Wiki]]'''. If a page already exists, please modify that one.

* 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 ''Gravity's Rainbow'', should use the syntax <code><nowiki>[[Category:GR]]</nowiki></code>.

* To open a discussion on an individual listing of the Alpha Index, create one using the [[A|entry on Peter Tait]] as an example. Basically, give it a name that identifies the alpha listing (eg <nowiki>[[Name Discussion|DISCUSSION]]</nowiki>) and notice that the visible name will be "DISCUSSION" in full caps, so it stands out a bit.

* [[Help:Contents|More help for this wiki available here.]]

==External Links==

* [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=YqwtZmpFo8MC&dq=%22thomas+pynchon%22&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=6Mu9bzoXl-&sig=csHyXTpgXGKdfW7KSn0j2lHudHM&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=12&ct=result '''Search the contents of ''Mason & Dixon''''' (Google)]
* [http://www.hyperarts.com/thomas-pynchon/ ThomasPynchon.com]
* [http://reconstruction.eserver.org/021/Haunting.htm Haunting and Hunting: Bodily Resurrection and the Occupation of History in Thomas Pynchon's ''Mason & Dixon''] - Justin Scott Coe
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_m%26d.html The Modern Word page on Mason & Dixon]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_%26_Dixon Wikipedia ''Mason & Dixon'' page]
* [http://www.vheissu.info/mdmd/toc.php Extended ToC for ''Mason & Dixon'']

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===Reading Notes/Guides===
* [http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/levy_mason_and_dixon.pdf Toby Levy's ''Mason & Dixon 3 Pages a Day'' Project]
* [http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html Peter Schmidt’s ''Mason & Dixon'' Reading Notes]
* [[Dinn's Notes|"Dinn's Notes" from the Pynchon-L Group Read]]

===Historical Resources===
* [http://www.udel.edu/johnmack/mason_dixon/ A Brief History of the Mason-Dixon Survey]

==Featured Article==
Stay tuned...

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==Gallery==
Below are some of the images you will find on the ''Mason & Dixon'' Wiki. {{Special:Newimages}}

Thanks, and enjoy...

Chapter 60: 585-596

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==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 [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Judges%2011&version=9; ''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.

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

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WikiAdmin:

==Page 511==
'''a Life that was like a flirtation with the Day in all its humorless dignity''' 
Another reference to "the Day" as developed further in ATD; here straightforward unironic dignified life, one would gloss.

==Page 512==
'''the dark and wild men''' 
In a gloss on the play within The Crying of Lot 49, three men in black on
horseback come to assassinate. 
There are some recurring stealthy black horses in visions/events within ATD.

==Page 527==
'''largely Paper Vengeance, he not only traverses...''' 
Writing injustice largely on paper with that Pynchon word.....what reminds
thee of?

==Annotation Index==

{{MD PbP}}

Chapter 53: 511-524

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