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Gravity's Rainbow notes p. 457-468, 468-472, 473-482

Wiki 457-468

Max Weber's Charisma: Comes from political structure. 

Gesellschaft: generally translated as "community and society", are categories which were used by the German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies in order to categorize social relationships into two types. The Gesellschaft is associated with modern society and rational self-interest, which weakens the traditional bonds of family and local community that typify the Gemeinschaft. Max Weber, a founding figure in sociology, also wrote extensively about the relationship between Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. Weber wrote in direct response to Tönnies.

Good Ship Lollipop (YouTube) by Shirley Temple.

There are so many articles about Pynchon, but I found this one: “A Suspension Forever at the Hinge of Doubt”: The Reader-trap Of Bianca In Gravity’s Rainbow by Bernard Duyfhuizen (source).

"The reader must engage the play of differance encoded in GR‘s textual signs to avoid falling into traps of premature narrative closure."

""différance" is a concept introduced by Jacques Derrida to describe the fundamental nature of meaning and language. It emphasizes that meaning is not inherent in signs but arises from their differences and relationships with other signs, and that meaning is always deferred, never fully present." (Google)



Wiki 468-472

More clarifications from Google:

"The term "mucus indifference" likely refers to a lack of concern or awareness about the importance of mucus. While mucus is often seen as a nuisance, it plays a vital role in protecting the body from infection and maintaining the moisture of various tissues."

"Alpdrucken" is a German word that translates to "nightmare" in English. It literally means "elf-pressure" or "elf-oppression". This concept originates from folklore, where nightmares were believed to be caused by an alp, a creature similar to an elf, sitting on someone's chest during sleep. The weight of the alp would cause the sleeper to feel oppressed and awaken in terror. 


Wiki 473-482

"Kurhaus" is a German word that translates to "spa house" or "health resort" in English.


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