(urth) Like a good Neighbor
James Wynn
crushtv at gmail.com
Mon Nov 21 08:42:59 PST 2011
> David Stockhoff wrote (21-11-2011 15:25):
>> Why do you think a death here harms the story?
>
> António Pedro Marques wrote:
> I think the problem with Horn dying at this point is the consequence
I absolutely see that. But I think we need go where the text is taking
us. As I said, Horn dying and being resurrected is a mystery that we
should discuss. WHETHER he dies and resurrects is pretty
straightforward. Nothing is more undermining of Wolfe criticism than
taking one of his stories and saying, "This is such-and-such kind of
story." Wolfe is about subverting those expectations.
> - that either there is no more Horn or Horn resurrects. The first
> makes the whole story a sham (not so much for us as for the characters),
No more a sham than discovering at the end of Long Sun that the whole
thing was written by Horn and Nettle.
It doesn't require rejecting what the narrator says, only reinterpreting
it. After all, the whole book the narrator is saying "I am Horn" as the
all the other characters condescendingly smile and say "No, you aren't.
You're just a little mad."
But there IS a Horn. His memories persist...or at least the memory of
his memories.
> the second introduces an element that not only seems to be otherwise
> absent from LS/SS, but is applied to Horn in particular with no
> justification.
Well, there IS an awful lot of justification for resurrection in the
Long Sun/Short Sun. I don't prefer the theory, but there is foundation
laid for that.
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