Entropy

Entropy, by Thomas Pynchon is a very busy story. There is a lot going on throughout the entire story making it difficult to understand. Meatball through a breaking the lease part and several people came. The author said, "the kitchen floor, amid a litter of empty champagne fifths" makes the story very relatable. Everyone has been to that party where they either drank too,uh or watched someone else make a fool of themselves. The story made you feel as if you were living during the time. It made you feel as if you were sitting on the floor playing the music ourself or walking into the bathroom where the girl is pasted out in the sink. 

Callisto seems like a very insightful, knowledgeable, and interesting individual. Although, I wasn't clear of his exact message, he seems like a very organized man, and he is much more orderly than meatball. 

Entropy, is a story that makes you feel as if you are living in then scene. Did you feel the same way? I really enjoyed this author.

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Death is Pervasive

I found the title of this story quite funny since currently we are testing over Entropy, Thermodynamics, and Energy (ATP) in my biology course so somethings others might not pick up on like a law of thermodynamics being that energy can not be created or destroyed of entropy in essences being the measure of chaos in a system most likely in molecular biology. Hence when atoms or molecules split and are less ordered and more chaotic entropy goes up, just some fun fact. But this connection was important to me as the connection between both readings, this story was complex. I had to reread portions because the sheer genius of Pynchon is a lot to take in especially for someone who's never read anything by him before (but plans to read more). "He was aware of the dangers of the reductive fallacy and, he hoped, strong enough not to drift into the graceful decadence of an enervated fatalism" (3026). That's one of those I had to reread to fully understand. But this complex line is exactly what this story and Gorey's children's alphabet book are about...DEATH. The uncontrollable, ever impending idea of death. Entropy is always increasing in our cosmos, because things are constantly falling apart including ourselves. This concept must be accepted, it's something Gorey expressed to children and it's something Callisto is and has accepted for himself. 

This story is incredibly deep and there is so much more to it, the music for instance. There is a clear difference between upstairs and downstairs music and how it relates to what's happening to the, a level of education and the idea of what's happening outside of themselves. Never once do the people downstairs have a thought for their neighbors and how they must be disrupting them and yet the noise intrusion isn't something the upstairs neighbors can easily ignore. I enjoyed this story and it's depth but this is definitely something I will need to reread a few times to fully absorb and this author is most certainly someone that I would enjoy looking into for more of their work. 

ps. I loved that their was a Navy Boatswain mate in this story since that's what my husband does for a living and most people can't even pronounce his job much less spell it correctly and understand what it is. Just a cool little blurb I thought neat. 

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Entropy

Pynchon is one of my favorite authors for a reason. The man is absolutely genius, and Entropy is a fantastic read. Pynchon was my first real read into postmodernism (after I had learned of the movement), and he definitely fits the criteria. Certain aspects of Entropy that demonstrate this are plentiful in this story. One such thing Pynchon has a certain way with is his use of a mixture of languages. In this story specifically he uses some Italian and French. He always subtly rolls little bits of foreign language through a deal of his works. One such aspect, which I feel might confuse or frustrate many readers, is Pynchon's way of switching between the scenes of the party and Callisto in his apartment with the bird. Pynchon does this in an almost stream of consciousness way, with no warning when the story will change. Many might call this switching of scenes lazy, as it just sort of happens. This story, as many other of Pynchon's, uses many symbols, including music, physics, communication theory. Pynchon always uses an array of symbols. For those who did not enjoy it, I urge you to read it again. And if still nothing, try reading V. or Crying of Lot 49. I promise, Pynchon is amazing. Also, entropy is discussed in V. as well. Pynchon draws a lot of the ideas in this story out throughout his body of work. 

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Entropy: Arbitrarily Random Nature of the World

Is transition requisite to perpetrate the change of velocity per unit of time(dictionary.com)? Does one have to necessitate the rudiment drumming to forebode the introduction of the ensemble? Life does not require a prelude. Pynchon renders life in its rawest form: ever flowing. Humans do not stop beat by beat to interpret every moment of continuous manifestation of growth. Entropy is bluntly named to entail the arbitrarily random nature of the world. “‘Never the less,’ continued Callisto, “he found in entropy or the measure of disorganization for a closed system an adequate metaphor to apply to certain phenomena in his own world”(Pynchon3026). Chaos defines the reality of human nature. Phenomena is not simply a nonpareil happening, but rather a casualty within an unconfined, rhythmic journey. Pynchon’s lack of transition defines the distinction between reality and fallacy in which all is an existence of regularity. 

As Aubade “tore away the drapes and smashed out the glass with two exquisite hands which came away bleeding and glistening with splinters; and turned to face the man on the bed and wait with him until the moment of equilibrium was reached when 37 degrees Fahrenheit should prevail both outside and inside, and forever, and the hovering curious dominant of their separate lives should resolve into a tonic of darkness and the final absence of all motion”(Pynchon3032). The fate of the universe unfolds. All matter becomes homogeneous; temperature defines the fate of humanity(dictionary.com). Parallel worlds collide resulting in a doomed fate of darkness. Pynchon concludes “Entropy” in depicting the providence of mankind’s assured collapse. The congruency of the nature world simply defines the end of free thought. Are we doomed if humanity continues to fight the entropies within our own lives? Are transitions necessary to define our thought and existence?        

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Entropy

Entropy was definitely not one of my favorite stories of the semester, as I was waiting for it to pick up but it never did.  Out of Meatball, Saul, and Callisto, I don't know who I side with most because I side with each of them a little.  I like Saul's passion, Callisto's drive for knowledge, even though I believe he is crazy, or at least a little nutty, and I like Meatball's dry humor.  That being said, all of them have their major flaws as well.  I don't think this story was based on good characterization because we never get to know any of the characters in my opinion.  We get to see a little piece of a short time frame where they all happen to be near.  Never do we get to fully understand the real Meatball, Saul, or Callisto.  We are able to judge and make our assumptions of them, but I don't even know if that is what was meant.  When Meatball says the people who got their tongues ripped out was because of a "Language barrier", that was the closest I felt to any of them, not for the grotesque way he joked, but because I see he is an easy going guy.  The way the story transitioned from Meatball's apartment to Callisto's was strange to me for such a short story, because in order to transition like that I feel we need more time or information on the characters or at least a better picture of the setting to get a little more comfortable.  Is it just me, or did this story need more substance?

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