A Narcissistic Target

As I read chapter 2, many of my previously formed conclusions were corrected. I believed that this book would turn out to be very hard to read. The first paragraph did not include periods and time was clearly not important for the author. It was a completely non-linear story that seemed weird and interesting. This second chapter was very different. Not only were there fewer stories, but everything seemed to fall into place. Pynchon had a drastic change in attitude when she wrote each chapter. Everything seemed clear and I did not have to reread anything. I have the impression that by changing the way she writes every chapter the reader is constantly interested and suspicious of what is to come.

After I ended this second section I noticed an aspect of the book that had previously eluded me. Pynchon, in her attempt to create satire, changes the names of several known places in order to give the reader a certain background: “San Narcisco lay further south, near L.A. like many named places in California it was less an identifiable city than a grouping of concepts…” (13). The concept of “San Narcisco” is great. The reader can associate it with Narcissus and it immediately changes the way you look at San Francisco. After this allusion I did not only realize his way of explaining but about his target. If there is a reference to narcissism, his readers must be educated. Most people can read the book, but if you do not have a certain education you will not get most of the jokes. I am impressed with all of the changes that I have discovered from one chapter to the next and look forward to discovering more.