Issue:

№17 2024

УДК / UDK: 821.161.1
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-7894-2024-17-67-89  

EDN:

https://elibrary.ru/ALTRQR

Author: Radoje V. Šoškić
About the author:

Radoje V. Šoškić, Associate Professor, University of Priština in Kosovska Mitrovica, Filipa Višnjića St., 38220 Kosovska Mitrovica, Serbia.

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7690-2145

E-mail: radoje. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Funding Sources:

This study was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovations of the Republic of Serbia (Contract No. 451-03-66/2024-01/200184).

Abstract:

This paper explores Thomas Pynchon’s novel Inherent Vice through the lens of Menippean satire, elucidating in particular its intricate interplay of capitalism, counterculture, and spatial dynamics. Drawing upon Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of Menippean satire, which highlights the carnivalesque inversion of societal norms and the critique of established power structures, the analysis delves into the manifold manipulations of human and spatial identities within the context of consumer culture. Examining the novel’s portrayal of spatial conflicts, akin to Pynchon’s earlier work V., the paper contends that the streets and locales in Inherent Vice serve as metonymic battlegrounds, emblematic of broader social struggles between hegemonic powers and countercultural resistance. Through a juxtaposition of the forces of capitalism, represented by governmental and corporate entities, and the carnivalistic ethos of the hippie counterculture, the narrative underscores the tensions inherent in the shaping of American space and identity in the early 1970s. Central to the analysis is the characterization of Gordita Beach, a fictitious Californian town, as a dialectical space where divergent social forces converge and clash. Here, the imposition of capitalist ideals by figures like Mickey Wolfmann intersects with the countercultural resistance, creating a liminal terrain where socio-economic boundaries blur and alternate identities proliferate.

 

Keywords: Thomas Pynchon, Mikhail Bakhtin, Postmodernism, Menippean satire, space, identity, capitalism, counterculture, Inherent Vice.
For citation:

Šoškić, Radoje. “Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice as a Menippean Satire.” Literature of the Americas, no. 17 (2024): 67–89. https://doi.org/10.22455/2541-7894-2024-17-67-89 

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