It also has to do with Pynchon's preoccupation with Germanic history-in German, all nouns are capitalized. Here, actually beginning on the first page, appears Pynchon's lifelong stylistic use of capitalization-for a certain kind of emphasis?, for a kind of reification?, and for much, much more certainly. Lyrics to a sea shanty: 'What shall we DO WITH a DRUNKEN SAILOR?' Introduction to Slow Learner, p.14, by Thomas Pynchon.

'One year of those times was much like another.there was a lot of aimlessness going around'. ġ0/2 - like a yo-yo.maybe a year and a half The Packard had a high reputation for quality, for value that would last and Packards are highly-prized by collectors today.Ī seaman apprentice. There was even an eight-passenger model.1958 was the last year of The Packard Patrician was an automobile built by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of Detroit, Michigan, from model years 1951 through the 1956 model.

wikipediaġ954 Packard Patrician9/1 - 54 Packard Patrician It is designed to be burned directly from its can. Sterno Canned Heat is a fuel made from denatured and jellied alcohol. The informal usage of 'tin can' refers to a naval destroyer, notorious for relatively light armor. In the 1970s included the demolition of many prominent city buildings, and large swaths of urban fabric including the East Main Street district (where the current civic complex is located), and where Benny starts yo-yoing. Norfolk is home to the Norfolk Naval Base, the world's largest naval base. The city has a long history as a strategic military and transportation point. Pynchon worked on aspects of NORAD when he was at Boeing. The first time that the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) received a call concerning Santa's whereabouts. Benny is 'profane' compared to the almost mystical world of historical fiction Stencil (see below) moves through. Latin root: pro 'in front of/before' fanum 'temple', i.e.

'The division of the world into two domains, one containing all that is sacred and the other all that is profane-such is the distinctive trait of religious thought.'-Durkheim (p. Profane: Since 1912, as defined in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life by the sociologist Emile Durkheim, 'profane' has had the social meaning of 'everything that is not sacred'. Also, bene = 'well-intentioned', observes Molly Hite. Benny: Benny is slang for benzedrine, a trademarked amphetamine often prescribed for anxiety.

Benny profane v