Beyond the Zero
Title
The phrase Beyond the Zero is thought to be framed within two contexts. The first is from the text of Ivan Pavlov's Conditioned Reflexes from the chapter entitled 'Extinction':
'We cannot therefore judge the degree of extinction only by the magnitude of the reflex or its absence, since there can still be a silent extinction beyond the zero. This statement rests upon the fact that a continued repetition of an extinguished stimulus beyond the zero of the positive reflex deepens the extinction still further.'1
The first sentence of this is quoted verbatim at Beyond the Zero: Episode 122 with additional italics. The second reading of this phrase can be linked to the Tarot deck. For more on this see Structure.
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Epigraph
Ascribed to Wernher von Braun (see also Operation Paperclip) the epigraph can be read in several contexts. The first is in reference to von Braun's integration into NASA despite his Nazi past; his own 'existence after death'3. The second is in relation to the Pavlovian themes of this part's title and its 'extinction'3 which further the reading that even though von Braun appears to have "turned good" he may still have Nazi tendencies lurking in the hidden realm 'Beyond the Zero'. Finally, and most literally, the epigraph has resonances with the supernatural and life after death.
Joseph Tabbi4, and as confirmed by Steven Weisenburger5, reports the source of the epigraph as William Nichol, Third Book of Words to Live By, (1962), from the section entitled "Words to Live By". The full context of the homily is about ethics in science, which confirms the irony of von Braun using these words, his V-2 building force consisting largely of slave labourers.
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Structure
Beyond the Zero is composed of 21 episodes which corresponds to the number of cards in a Tarot deck if one omits the "Zero" card, The Fool.
The events of this part take place over 9 days, the events of the novel spanning nine months.
See also:
Monday December 18, 1944
Monday December 19, 1944
Monday December 20, 1944
Monday December 21, 1944
Monday December 22, 1944
Monday December 23, 1944
Monday December 24, 1944
Monday December 25, 1944
Monday December 26, 1944
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References
- ^Pavlov, I. P. (Translated and Edited by G.V. Anrep), Conditioned Reflexes: An Investigation of the Physiological Activity of the Cerebral Cortex (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1927), p. 57
- ^Pynchon, Thomas, Gravity's Rainbow (London: Vintage, 2000), p. 84
- ^ [1][2] Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow, p. 2
- ^Tabbi, Joseph, Postmodern Sublime: Technology and American Writing from Mailer to Cyberpunk (New York: Cornell University Press, 1995), p. 5
- ^Weisenburger, Steven, A Gravity's Rainbow Companion: Sources and Contexts for Pynchon's Novel (Second Edition) (Athens and London: University of Georgia Press, 2006), p. 15
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