Thursday, April 15, 2021

Chapter 1: Page 9: Line 50

 "The Tower!"

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Line 50 Vulgarized:
"The Tower of London!" was the non-attributed response to Cherrycoke but almost certainly screamed, in unison, by the two young serial killers who look exactly alike.

Subtext:
The subtext probably has something to do with the meaning of The Tower in a deck of Tarot cards but who has time to learn about Tarot cards? I suppose I could walk down to Hawthorne Boulevard and talk to one of the psychics entertaining people with their hoodoo but they'd probably charge me twenty dollars. If I didn't research the Tarot while reading Gravity's Rainbow, why would I research it now?! It was explicit in Gravity's Rainbow (I think? Maybe more possibly explicit?!). In this book, it's just some nasty kids screaming "The Tower!", excited by the possibility of all the gruesome tortures within that might now be described in the story.
    The last time I did any real research on Tarot cards was when I was playing Wizardy III: The Legacy of Llylgamyn in junior high. One of the riddles in the dungeon relied on the player knowing Tarot cards which was stupid because wasn't Wizardry taking place in a fantasy world with no real relation to our own?! Stupid breaking the fourth wall riddle. And just to be clear when I say I researched it: I had to go to the fucking library! There was no Internet back then!

Okay fine. I looked up the meaning of The Tower: "The Tower is commonly interpreted as meaning danger, crisis, destruction, and liberation. It is associated with sudden unforeseen change." Liberation! That's what happened to Cherrycoke! Also danger since he was supposedly hanged. And destruction because it was to the death. Also unforeseen change because his life took a dramatic turn from posting Whistleblower flyers all over the countryside to exploring the wilds of America with a group of crazy characters.

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