'Vineland' online reading group, Chapter 13

 

By OZ FRITZ

Special guest blogger

"Problems and their symbolic fields stand in a relationship with signs."  . . . "To learn to swim is to conjugate the particular points of our bodies with the singular points of the objective Idea in order to form a problematic field. This conjugation determines for us a threshold of consciousness in which our real acts are adjusted to our perceptions of the real relations, thereby providing a solution to the problem. Moreover, problematic Ideas are precisely the ultimate elements of nature and the subliminal objects of little perceptions. As a result 'learning' always takes place in and through the unconscious, thereby establishing the bond of a profound complicity between nature and mind." – 

– Deleuze, Difference & Repetition p. 164 - 165

The problem solving model of critical thinking has been around since at least the Ancient Greeks. Deleuze develops his model of the problematic field in relation to the concept of learning. A problem doesn't always mean a terrible thing. You could have the problem of finding the best way of expressing your love and gratitude to someone close. You might try to read their signs to get an indication for a solution. In Vineland, all the major characters have problems to solve right from the get go. Zoyd wakes up one fine summer morning only to remember that he has to pull off a stunt and get it televised to keep collecting his benefits; he's out of smokes and the dog ate all his breakfast cereal. Before too long, he has the Feds after him and can't even go home. Prairie desperately wants to learn about her mother. Takeshi has the problem of dying at any time from the Vibrating Palm technique DL did to him mistakenly and this also becomes her problem. Frenesi and Brock Vond have a serious problem with each other they never seem to try and stop solving. On a broader scale, we have the conflict between the union busters and the anarchists; fascism vs freedom. Unfortunately, the latter problem currently appears in full effect in the world outside.

A problematic field seems a multiplicity, i.e. many "problems" within the field. The fascism vs freedom issue, well articulated in Vineland, where the fascists appear to be winning, directly affects my daily life. I can no longer watch shows on the Tube the authorities censor because they don't like what someone said. This is happening now, in America. I'm also aware that this relatively small blow to my freedom appears next to nothing compared to other acts of fascist violence and terrorism around the world, but it seems a sign for what might get worse.

I have heard the tautology that in Engineering a solution to a problem presents itself in the way the problem gets stated. Clearly laying out a problem results in suggestions for its solution. The problem of freedom vs fascism could be looked at as social engineering. A solution or solutions to this problem, what Deleuze calls "lines of flight," might be in the signs Pynchon constantly provides – the puns, paradoxes, jokes, qabalah, T.V. associations, etc, etc, i.e  his lexicon. Some of these jokes and signs seem blatantly obvious, others deeply obscure. The fascism/freedom problem seems to go deeper and further than the events on the social level. The same problem shows up on the personal, individual level in the fascism of negative habits and patterns from the four lower neuro-circuits vs the freedom of action in the higher circuits. It could be called a problem of Hedonic Engineering.

A teacher in a so-called Mystery School will often create problems and challenges for the student. A good teacher knows exactly how much to push the student such that the problem forces learning but doesn't overwhelm them to the point where they can't deal with it. This is called brinksmanship. When Prairie goes to the Ninjette school she's given the problem of feeding a large crowd with not many ingredients to work with. Her solution consists of the Spinach Casserole with its UBI and giant slabs of baloney on a spit. 

The Deleuze quote gives the example of learning to swim. This applies just as well to learning to swim or surf higher consciousness. One of his idiosyncratic phrases may seem a little perplexing: "the singular points of the objective Idea." You can substitute "Problem" for "Idea" so in this case the objective Problem or Idea is 'to swim." The singular points are the swimming pool or body of water, a swim suit, etc. all the objective things necessary to swim. In terms of learning to swim in the higher dimensions the singular points might include a joint, a maritial arts class, an uplifting piece of music, etc. I would submit that Pynchon's convoluted writing style, the twists and turns, going off on tangents, plot elements that never resolve, all the jokes, paradoxes, puns, allusions, symbolism, Cabala, cultural associations and historical and other obscure references has the effect of inputting information into the reader's unconscious mind thus fulfilling Deleuze's requirement of learning. It's like listening to a dense piece of music, or maybe any piece of good music – too much information to take in on one listening. Some of it necessarily enters below our awareness into the unconscious mind. We play this music again and hear something completely different despite having heard it already. A great piece of music can yield new discoveries after hundreds of listens. I'm on my fourth time through Vineland with no shortage of fresh insights, surprises and getting jokes for the first time. Even if one never rereads this book, I suspect a portion of it remains in the unconscious going forward. 

To give an example of Pynchon's convoluted subliminal associations: we find a mention of Leonard Nimoy on p. 220. Nimoy most famously played Spock on the original Star Trek T.V. series but here he's mentioned in a show, "In Search Of" where he appeared as himself as the host. He 's mentioned in the same sentence as Jack Palance and his show, "Believe It Or Not." Both shows explored mysterious phenomena. At this point in the story Zoyd is wanted for a music gig, but he's missing in action: "nobody had seen Zoyd around for most of the week." 68 pages later on p. 288 Spock is mentioned, but not the Vulcan, rather Dr. Spock the pediatrician famous for his revolutionary ideas on child-rearing. Just before this name comes up, Zoyd once again appears to be missing: 

"'Where's 'at Zoyd at?' 

'He clocked out as soon as the kid was born, probably off on one of the lesser-known planets by now'"

The extraterrestrial comment provides an allusion with the Star Trek Spock. 

While we're on Star Trek . . . I found the scene where Rex gives his Porsche 911 to Pynchon's version of the Black Panthers (p. 230 -231) very interesting. Rex knew and loved his car, which he named Bruno, in every possible way. The Panthers,  called BAAD in the book, changed the car's name to UHURU which stands for Ultra Hi-speed Urban Reconnaissance Unit. The acronym seems to deliberately leave out the S for speed so that it has the same name as a well-known book on black culture, Uhuru: A Novel of Africa Today by Robert Ruark. Uhuru translates to "freedom" from Swahili. When actor Nichelle Nichols was tasked by Gene Roddenberry to come up with a name for her character on the fledging Tube series Star Trek she chose Nyota Uhura, the last name inspired by Ruark's novel. She was given the rank of Lieutenant and made the head Communications Officer. Nichols was one of the first black woman to have a lead role on a T.V. Series. After the first year she was ready to quit to take a job on Broadway. Roddenberry told her to take some time to think it over. That night she attended a N.A.A.C.P. event and was told a fan would like to meet her. That fan was Martin Luther King Jr. who told her she played an important role model and should continue. MLK's advice changed her mind and she stayed on.

So we have a Porsche 911 called Bruno donated to a revolutionary cause whose name changes to UHURU which suggests Lieutenant Uhura, Star Trek's Communication Officer. A car with a male name has this name transformed to a name associated with a well-known woman from the Tube. In the United States 911 is the number you dial for an emergency. I believe it's different in the U.K. and Europe. One could infer that Pynchon intends to communicate an emergency. The P in Porsche corresponds with the card known as the Blasted Tower or just the Tower in the Tarot. On 9/11/2001 two commercial airliners flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. I don't suggest that Pynchon consciously predicted the 9/11 tragedy, but when invoking the muse in the process of writing, you never know what will come through. Robert Anton Wilson has mentioned writing about events in Illuminatus! that later manifested in the world. Finnegans Wake also has some apparent time and event anomalies.

* * * * * * 

Chapter 13 brings us intimately into the world of Brock Vond for the first time along with the methods to his madness – his vision of law enforcement. A distinguishing characteristic of Nietzsche was his examination and consideration of the genealogy, or history, of different subjects; one of his masterpieces is "On the Genealogy of Morals." Michel Foucault is known for this approach as well, no doubt inspired by Nietzsche. Earlier, Pynchon provided some genealogy behind the anarchism Sasha and Hub practiced. The genealogy of Prairie seems very important in this book especially at the end. The genealogy of Vond's mission here gets connected with the so-called "father of criminology" Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909) and his concept of misoneism – fear of the new. Misoneism seems the same as what Wilson means by neophobe. Lombroso is a real historical figure but, as far as I can tell, had nothing to do with misoneism. This may be Pynchon commenting on Lombroso theories, which I did not research, or commenting on Vond and Fascism in general. 

Like another bad guy, Captain Ahab, we discover depth to Brock Vond; he no longer appears a one-dimensional character. Page 274 - 275 has an interesting bardo dream sequence regarding his feminine side. Toward the end of this sequence Pynchon chooses the archaic word "counterpane" which I learned from reading Moby Dick means "bedspread." At another point Vond, scared shitless, directly confronts death in the battlefield and gets lead to safety by a Guide who observes some kind of grace protecting him.

P. 273 Brock Vond fantasizes about sex and his gun which implies a connection between unbalanced male sexual energy and violence.

The second part of this chapter concerns the events leading up to Prairie's nativity and what follows. Although subtly presented in the subtext, we see an intention to expose Prairie to some kind of cosmic influence at her birth. It reminds me a little of the plot of Aleister Crowley's novel Moonchild. To begin, the midwife's name is Leonard (p. 285). Most midwives are woman. Once again, and at a crucial point comes the male/female blending theme which appears crucial for getting into cosmic spaces. Leonard recalls Leonard Nimoy = Spock. Also, the name of the doctor in Star Trek is Leonard, Leonard McCoy.  Zoyd micro-doses some acid for the occasion "on the chance of glimpsing something cosmic that might tell him he wouldn't die." Among other things, he notices "the paisley patterns on Leonard's Nehru shirt" showing us Nimoy's initials which affirms the Spock connection. This paragraph of Prairie's birth ends with an explicit Star Trek reference. 

Not to mention the whole surf thing. Frenesi tells Sasha she wanted her baby to hear the surf when coming into the world. Sasha connects that with "positive vibrations" which invokes "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys, the ultimate surfer band. We had the College of the Surf and for some unexplained reason, Zoyd's band "the Corvairs [were] billing themselves as the Surfadelics" at the joint where he and Frenesi first crossed paths. The general metaphor mentioned earlier: to surf = to ride the wave of higher consciousness rings true.

Surf = 60+6+200+80 = 346 in traditional Kabbalah. 346 = "Good pleasure; the Will power" this reminds me of Hedonic Engineering.

Surf = 60+6+200+6 = 272 in Crowley's Qabalah. 272 = "Earth," quite a suitable correspondence for someone named Prairie. The four Princesses in the Thoth Tarot correspond with Earth.

Assigning a Tarot card to each letter: S = Art; U = The Hierophant; R = The Sun; F = the Tower.

This holds relevance in my subconscious theater since I worked for years at a recording studio in Sonoma County named Prairie Sun.

We see the paradox of Frenesi in the mother archetype when she rejects her own baby at first. Near the end of the chapter she laments the loss of precious time with her own mother. 

A reason for the form of this chapter, starting with Brock Vond then changing to Prairie's birth with Frenesi as the through line, presents itself at the end of this adventure, but I won't give it away.

There's a shout-out  in this chapter to one of my favorite musician/composer/sound engineers, Frank Zappa.  

Next week: please read Chapter 14, pages 294-322