Inherent Vice, Bleeding Edge, and Thomas Pynchon's Hardboiled

IF 0.4 4区文学 0 LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM

Partial Answers-Journal of Literature and the History of Ideas Pub Date : 2019-12-27 DOI:10.1353/pan.2020.0006

Eric Sandberg

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract:The critics have noted that Thomas Pynchon's work tends to center around attempts to unravel mysteries, yet, these would-be etective plots have generally been associated with epistemological or ontological quest narratives rather than with crime fiction. However, Pynchon's two most recent novels, Inherent Vice (2009) and Bleeding Edge (2013), engage directly and openly with the conventions of the hardboiled. This paper explores Pynchon's use of the form, examining contributions that it has made to his recent work—a strong narrative framework, access to a set of powerful yet flexible generic tropes, and an anti-authoritarian interest in systematic corporate and governmental corruption. Pynchon's hardboiled, I conclude, is an elegiac yet radical fictional mode highly suitable for his critical analysis of American history.

查看原文本刊更多论文

《本性之恶》，《血刃》，以及托马斯·品钦的《冷血杀手》

摘要:批评家们注意到托马斯·品钦的作品倾向于试图解开谜团，然而，这些可能有效的情节通常与认识论或本体论的探索叙事联系在一起，而不是与犯罪小说联系在一起。然而，品钦最近的两部小说，《本性之恶》(2009)和《血刃》(2013)，直接而公开地触及了老派小说的传统。本文探讨了品钦对这种形式的使用，考察了它对他最近的作品的贡献——一个强有力的叙事框架，一套强大而灵活的通用比喻，以及对系统性企业和政府腐败的反专制兴趣。我总结道，品钦的硬派小说是一种悲叹而又激进的小说模式，非常适合他对美国历史的批判性分析。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Partial Answers-Journal of Literature and the History of Ideas LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM-

CiteScore

0.30

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Partial Answers is an international, peer reviewed, interdisciplinary journal that focuses on the study of literature and the history of ideas. This interdisciplinary component is responsible for combining analysis of literary works with discussions of historical and theoretical issues. The journal publishes articles on various national literatures including Anglophone, Hebrew, Yiddish, German, Russian, and, predominately, English literature. Partial Answers would appeal to literature scholars, teachers, and students in addition to scholars in philosophy, cultural studies, and intellectual history.