Catholics, homosexuals, and others were murdered in concentration camps. In August 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, leading to Japan's surrender shortly thereafter. Postwar Europe was marked by growing tensions between the capitalist and communist victors. Territories occupied by the Soviets became communist states, while those occupied by the Allies became capitalist. Germany was divided into eastern (pro-Soviet) and western (pro-Allied) regions, and Berlin, situated entirely in the eastern sector, was also split into capitalist and communist sections, later separated by a massive concrete wall.

Fact and Fiction

Pynchon's novel is rich with historical and cultural references from around the globe, many of which are based on accurate historical details. Characters like Walter Rathenau, various World War II events, and corporate mentions of Shell, General Electric, and the German chemical company IG Farben, along with tales from colonial Germany, Holland, and Russia, are grounded in thorough historical research. However, Pynchon frequently blends these factual elements with fiction, making it challenging to distinguish between what is invented and what is derived from historical accounts.

Pynchon's historical references offer an interpretation of the events while situating his thematic and philosophical ideas within a historical framework. His ambitious assertions about the nature of reality and the critical questions he poses about postwar culture are rooted in layered references to historical truths, some of which are anachronistic or subtly modified. Pynchon uses this mix of historical accuracy and fiction to challenge the reader's perceptions of history, reality, and Western culture. The outcome is a complex tapestry of endless references and implications that render Gravity's Rainbow both a compelling and demanding historical and cultural document.

Fragmentation

Gravity's Rainbow is renowned for its formidable complexity. The plot is extremely difficult to follow, with key characters disappearing for hundreds of pages, and the novel lacks in-depth character studies (even Slothrop vanishes toward the end). The narrative perspective is often highly ambiguous, and the characters (including Slothrop) seem unable to find their true roles in the intricate postwar world. Perhaps most significantly, the reader is left uncertain of what is real and what is imagined: at various points, evidence suggests that even central events, such as Slothrop's romantic encounters, Dr. Laszlo Jamf, and the Schwarzkommando's quest to construct Rocket 00001, might be mere fantasies. This pervasive confusion and fragmentation are essential components of Pynchon's stylistic approach, creating an overwhelming and challenging world where certainties are elusive.

Symbolism is more abundant in Gravity's Rainbow than in Pynchon's other novels, all centering around the image of the V-2 rocket. This German weapon, against which there was no defense, parallels the American apocalyptic threat of the atomic bomb. The novel's themes, characters, and episodes all converge around this terrifying missile, symbolizing both the triumph of science and technology and the total abandonment of reason, given that its sole purpose is mass destruction. By the end of the book, Pynchon intensifies this effect by not only providing a questing protagonist for readers to identify with but also placing readers within the story as part of an audience in a theater, awaiting the rocket's inevitable descent upon them.

Beyond the central symbol of the V-2, the novel is structured around various symbolic systems, including the zodiac, the Christian calendar of holy days and feasts, the Tarot, Talmudic and Cabalistic traditions, and an array of mythologies, most notably Egyptian, Greek, and Norse.

In his previous novels, Pynchon employed techniques and depicted actions that were both vulgar and obscene, but in Gravity's Rainbow, this element is amplified. On a single page, one might find a reference to Teutonic legend, a poorly made Hollywood cowboy movie, a song sung by one of the characters (with interpolated lyrics, a familiar feature in Pynchon's work since V., appearing more frequently in Gravity's Rainbow), and a Leon Schlesinger cartoon, all within a chase scene reminiscent of an Abbott and Costello film. Pynchon's inclusion of low comic and popular culture elements is not intended as relief from or ironic commentary on the more serious action. To Pynchon, all action is simultaneously serious and comic, tragic and bathetic, high and low, reflecting the complexities of human life. His mind resembles an encyclopedia tossed into a Los Angeles trashcan, then washed through a sewer and spun around in a cyclotron. Pynchon spares the reader nothing, including a coprophagic scene and a detailed description of a castration (mistakenly performed on the wrong individual), which echoes the nose job in V. These episodes are likely the parts of the novel that cost Pynchon the Pulitzer Prize.

The Pulitzer Prize was also withheld due to "unreadability." Beyond the overwhelming detail, Gravity's Rainbow is considered unreadable by some due to another of Pynchon's techniques, which first appears in V. and becomes a major organizing principle in Gravity's Rainbow. An episode starts with clear characters, settings, and points of view, but digressions lead to more digressions until these tangents evolve into a new episode with different characters and settings, and an uncertain point of view. Often, the reader must conclude that the perspective is Pynchon's own, realizing they are no longer "reading a novel" with conventional expectations, but are directly engaging with the mind, ideas, and fantasies of Thomas Pynchon.

Once readers understand this, the experience becomes frightening, unsettling, titillating, exhilarating, and humorous—similar to watching a horror movie like King Kong, one of Pynchon's favorites. Traditional imaginative literature often aims to refine the reader's sense of reality by allowing them to observe a fantasy; Pynchon, however, alters the reader's reality by overwhelming them and drawing them into a direct confrontation with genius.

Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow intricately weaves together diverse settings to create a narrative that spans both geographical and allegorical dimensions. Through the landscapes of London, "The Zone," and Los Angeles, the novel delves into themes of power, paranoia, and the elusive quest for knowledge. These settings are not mere backdrops but active components in Slothrop's journey, intertwining the personal with the political.

London: The Theatre of War

The novel opens in the war-ravaged city of London during the final days of World War II in Europe. Despite the imminent defeat of Nazi Germany, the city's skies remain perilous, bombarded by V-2 rockets. These silent yet deadly missiles instill profound psychological terror, underscoring the menacing reality behind the military's euphemistic term "theater" for war zones. Here, amidst the chaos and destruction, the novel's protagonist, Slothrop, experiences the intersection of terror and destiny, as he becomes inexplicably linked to the rockets' trajectories.

The Zone: A Chaotic Quest

As the war concludes, Slothrop embarks on a journey through "The Zone," a vast expanse of Western Europe recently liberated from German control. The region is in a state of flux, with national boundaries blurred and the victors negotiating the post-war order. In this liminal space, Slothrop's quest for understanding the V-2 rockets becomes a desperate search for personal meaning. His paranormal ability to predict rocket strikes has drawn the interest of intelligence operatives, making his pursuit perilous.

In "The Zone," Slothrop navigates a world where everyone is in pursuit of something—be it power, revenge, redemption, or information. His travels lead him to varied locales: the opulent Casino Hermann Göring, cafés and apartments in Geneva and Berlin teeming with espionage and vice, and the underground rocket factory at Nordhausen. He encounters diverse vessels like a hijacked U-boat and a speedboat caught in a vodka-fueled chaos. Even in this apparent disorder, there exists a grim order—a "rocket-state" that keeps Slothrop under constant surveillance and manipulation.

Los Angeles: Echoes of a New Era

Decades later, the narrative arc extends to Los Angeles, a city emblematic of both cinematic fantasies and clandestine military projects. In the 1970s, a specially engineered rocket, linked to Slothrop's past inquiries, descends upon this city. This rocket, potentially bearing a nuclear payload, symbolizes the dawn of a new era of global conflict, suggesting the possible ignition of World War III. Here, Los Angeles serves as a nexus of past and future, where the technological advancements born from war continue to cast long, ominous shadows.

The Arc of Gravity's Rainbow

The title "Gravity's Rainbow" alludes to the parabolic flight path of a rocket, bridging the tangible and the abstract. The novel encapsulates spaces defined by mathematical precision and the tangible devastation of war, all while exploring allegorical themes. Through these settings, Pynchon's narrative addresses the intricate dance between destiny and free will, as well as the ceaseless pursuit of understanding amidst the chaos of the modern world.

Pynchon sets this sprawling novel against the chaotic backdrop of World War II, the most glaringly insane event of the twentieth century. Unlike most authors who use this setting, his purpose is less straightforward. From a rationalist standpoint, war results from a collapse of reason, and World War II, being the deadliest conflict in history, serves as the worst example of such a failure and a cautionary tale for future generations. From a moralist's view, World War II can be seen as a victory of good over evil, with democratic nations championing individual dignity and freedom (with the notable exception of the Soviet Union) triumphing over the oppressive fascist regime.

To Pynchon, these interpretations of the war are naive. He portrays World War II not as a failure or a victory, but as the bloodiest chapter in a centuries-old struggle for resources and power. His earlier novels echo this ongoing conflict. To challenge the rationalist argument, Pynchon presents villainous scientists on both sides of the war: the Allies harbor social scientist rogues, while the Axis has natural scientist fiends. Both groups seek the same goal—domination over the earth and its people, a control demonstrated through their capacity for destruction. To counter the moralists, Pynchon begins Gravity's Rainbow near the war's end, when its outcome was already certain, and barely mentions major events like the Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, the race for Berlin, and the atomic bomb. By omitting these dramatic moments, he removes the sense of a triumphant victory from the novel.

Much of the story unfolds after Hitler's defeat but before Japan's surrender, set in "the Zone" (occupied Germany, whose surrender is not even described). The schemes and plots that seemed tied to the war effort in the first part of the book persist unabated, suggesting that the war was merely a violent outbreak of a continuous, underlying struggle, which ominously, still goes on.

• 1940s: The United States deploys a significant number of soldiers to participate in World War II alongside the Allies.
  1970s: The United States engages in the Vietnam War, a conflict that heightens Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union.
  Today: As of 2005, the United States Army continues its operations in Iraq, following an invasion justified by the erroneous claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
• 1940s: World War II helps the United States emerge from the Great Depression (1929–39), and returning soldiers contribute to a baby boom.
  1970s: The Vietnam War concludes, President Richard Nixon resigns, and the United States faces economic challenges due to energy crises and rising industrial competition from Asia.
  Today: Despite the economic setbacks following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States economy remains robust.
• 1940s: Friction begins to surface between Western capitalist nations, including Britain, France, and the United States, and communist nations, such as the Soviet Union and China.
  1970s: The Cold War reaches its peak, with strained relations between the Soviet Union and the United States, although President Richard Nixon initiates diplomatic ties with Communist China.
  Today: The Cold War has ended, Russia has transitioned to capitalism, and the United States stands as the world's sole superpower.

As mentioned, Gravity's Rainbow draws inspiration from comic books, cartoons, and low-budget movies, in addition to literature. However, the novel's true brilliance is evident in its frequent comparison to James Joyce's Ulysses (1922), another seminal work of twentieth-century literature. Both novels are renowned for their intricate details, symbolic depth, and philosophical richness. The dark atmosphere and symbolic layers of Gravity's Rainbow have also been likened to the works of T. S. Eliot.

Critics often compare Pynchon's writing to that of Herman Melville, particularly Moby-Dick (1851). Slothrop's quest for rocket 00000 is seen as an ironic parallel to Ahab's pursuit of the white whale. Additionally, the various disguises Slothrop adopts echo the main character in Melville's The Confidence Man: His Masquerade (1857). Melville's pessimistic philosophical outlook combined with a vivid imagination also mirrors Pynchon's style.

Sources

Eddins, Dwight. "Orphic Contra Gnostic Religious Conflict in Gravity's Rainbow." Modern Language Quarterly, Vol. 45, No. 2, June 1984, pp. 163-90.

Lynd, Margaret. "Science, Narrative, and Agency in Gravity's Rainbow." Critique, Vol. 46, No. 1, Fall 2004, pp. 63-80.

Poirier, Richard. "Rocket Power." In Thomas Pynchon's 'Gravity's Rainbow': Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom, Chelsea House Publishers, pp. 11-20. Originally published in Saturday Review of the Arts, Vol. 1, No. 3, March 3, 1973.

Pynchon, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow. Viking Penguin, 1973.

Stark, John. "Thomas Pynchon." In Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 2: American Novelists Since World War II, First Series, edited by Jeffrey Helterman, Gale Research, pp. 411-17.

Tanner, Tony. "Gravity's Rainbow: An Experience in Modern Reading." In Thomas Pynchon's 'Gravity's Rainbow': Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom, Chelsea House Publishers, pp. 69-83. Originally published in Thomas Pynchon, Methuen, 1982.

Further Reading

Hawthorne, Mark D. "Pynchon's Early Labyrinths." Critique, Vol. 25, No. 2, Spring 1998, pp. 78-93.

Hawthorne's essay examines how labyrinths are constructed and depicted in Pynchon's works, with a special emphasis on Gravity's Rainbow.

Hume, Katherine. Pynchon's Mythography: An Approach to 'Gravity's Rainbow.' Southern Illinois University Press, 1987.

Hume explores Pynchon's use of the Orpheus myth in Gravity's Rainbow. Orpheus, a legendary musician, is allowed to retrieve his wife from the underworld but loses her forever by breaking the condition not to look back at her.

Newman, Robert D. Understanding Thomas Pynchon. University of South Carolina Press, 1986.

This comprehensive overview of Pynchon's works is straightforward, engaging, and easy to understand.

Weisenburger, Steven. A 'Gravity's Rainbow' Companion: Sources and Contexts for Pynchon's Novel. University of Georgia Press, 1988.

Weisenburger's guide to Pynchon's novel is an essential resource for both new and returning readers. It includes plot summaries and meticulously researched notes on significant or perplexing details and references.