V. (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas Pynchon
- First Published: 1963
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Time of Work: 1898-1956; primarily times of worldwide political crisis
- Setting: Italy, France, Egypt, German Southwest Africa, Malta, Virginia, and New York
- Genres: Long fiction, Historical fiction, Satire
- Subjects: Virginia, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Africa or Africans, France or French people, Twentieth century, Alienation, Mysteries, Egypt or Egyptians, Espionage or spies, Italy or Italians
- Locales: Virginia, Africa, New York, NY, France, Egypt, Italy, Malta
Characters Discussed
Benny Profane, a former Navy man and self-styled “schlemiel” who wanders purposelessly the streets of New York, Norfolk, and Malta. His chief activity is “yo-yoing” up and down the East Coast between New York and Norfolk. He has no goals and no value system and is incapable of loving or receiving love. Society around him is decaying, and his wandering simply keeps him continuously in motion to minimize the possibility of reaching a point of equilibrium. His last name, Sfacimento, means destruction or decay in Italian.
Herbert Stencil, the son...
[The entire page is 2175 words long]
Navigate
- V. (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
- V. (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
- V. (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
- V. (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
See Also:
Thomas Pynchon (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Thomas Pynchon (Short Fiction)Thomas Pynchon (Long Fiction)Thomas Pynchon (Identities and Issues)
See Also:
- - V. summary and study guide in the quickNotes.
- Add V. to your favorites