Gravity's Rainbow - Part 1 - Chapter 13: Science, Magic, or Paranoia

Analysis of Gravity's Rainbow, Part 1 - Chapter 13: Dr. Jamf's Experiments

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Jamf and IG Farben have an inherent connection, both explicit and metaphorical: if you do not conform to their system, you are subject to their whatever punishment they can devise.

As we have become so used to their presence, we no longer know they are even there, affecting us below the surface.

He, and they, have collected data on every last aspect of your existence — everything that no one could know without becoming a part of your consciousness, which, as you know, They have.

— (a translation of) Neil Nosepicker’s Book of 50,000 Insults . . . &c.

Here is the reveal: Jamf’s experiment, which we have heard a little about, has been inducing erections on infant Tyrone Slothrop using “the famous “Mystery Stimulus”” (84). The experiment is analogous to Pointsman’s and Pavlov’s experiments on their dogs — where the child produces an erection whenever presented with the stimulus. Seeing that Jamf is already being equated with larger forces such as IG Farben and Slothrop with America and the American, this passage can be viewed as the military industrial machine using its power to brainwash and control the average citizen. But how, with what, and to what end?

First off, we see that, independent of what the stimulus may be, when presented with it, Slothrop, or whomsoever is being brainwashed and controlled, becomes sexually aroused — or, less specifically, begins to associate said stimulus with something either pleasurable, desired, or sought after. And though most experiments of this sort end with a deconditioning, in this case, Slothrop’s reflex reduces “beyond the zero” (85). It has been so engrained in his psyche that while deconditioning may appear to be successful, that reflex will stay with him throughout his life, lying dormant to be one day resurrected, or, if not revived, at least remaining as a part of one’s subconsious, always aware that whatever that stimulus once was brought pleasure and desire; so why could that still not be the case?

It makes even more sense when we figure out that the stimulus is the rocket itself (though, the presented stimulus at birth was almost certainly not an entire rocket, it was some unknown part of the rocket) and we now see Slothrop reacting and responding to the rocket’s inevitable fall. The map near his desk, with the stars of his numerous sexual conquests, maps perfectly over the same Poisson distribution of that of the rocket strikes. There are numerous theories throughout The White Visitation to how this coincidence is possible, for “A star always comes before its corresponding rocket strike” (86). It is not solely a sexual desire for where the rocket landed, but a predictive capability — Slothrop’s erections occur before the strike. Do they predict it via some mystical property? Do they call it into existence? Does some essence precede the rocket itself, stimulating him? And how do we even know which order the stimulus is going now if things have moved beyond the zero? If things have fully reversed, could it be possible that the rocket is now the response?

Pointsman and Mexico move through similar musings as the questions above. They ponder control, stimulus, response, the nature of Slothrop’s condition. The Book, the one shared between Pointsman and the other scientists including Spectro, contains Pavlov’s and Professor Janet’s letters which discuss various topics from what we’ve mentioned above, to paranoia involving these stimuli, to the inseparability of opposites. Pointsman refuses to believe that the link between Slothrop and the rocket is anything but scientific cause-and-effect, yet Mexico believes we need to leave behind that scientific obsession and look for something beyond these typical antipodes — else, we will never discover the truth behind what has been done to him. Yet, Pointsman believes this all ties back to paranoia. He believes that if an answer cannot immediately be answered by science, it will evoke the feeling that there is something more, but that if enough time were to pass and enough people were given grants to work out the minutiae of the world, an answer really would be found. It is why Gravity’s Rainbow is not truly about paranoia, like so many people may say, but about how the paranoid is really the one seeking the truth and who knows that their fear exists, and those who are calling out naivete and fear are the ones who are actually scared of the truth.

Even with this, Pointsman has one last theory: the ultraparadoxical phase, where the stimulus no longer produces a response but produces pure fear and displeasure. Now, the absence of the stimulus sets one searching for it. Perhaps Slothrop has gone ultraparadoxical and lives in utter fear, seeking out each spot on which the rocket will drop, finds it, releases himself from his response, and leaves to seek it again. Or perhaps not. All we know is that in either case, we must travel beyond the zero and the one to find any hope of an answer, for, scientific or not, Slothrop’s condition is our own condition, and it is something that, without being willing to delve into some serious muck, is inexplicable.

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Hi all! If you didn’t see my email, I’m sorry about the delay this week. Last weekend and this past week were insanely busy, so I decided to push my post to Sunday so I could actually give it my time. I’ll most likely start posting on Sundays in the future since that will motivate me to not procrastinate writing until it’s a Tuesday after work and I’m exhausted… so start looking for them on Sunday afternoon/evening!

I hope this analysis did the chapter justice! It’s a tough one, and I left out some thoughts on the last few paragraphs because I really do think they were just so perfectly written that there is not much to say. They induce incredible feelings of dread and, you guessed it, paranoia, and I think that’s really the point.

Anyone can feel free to correct me on any Pavlovian theories because it’s certainly not my strong suit.

And with that, look out for next week’s post on, well… God help me: the Katje, Blicero, Gottfried intro. I will likely be breaking this one up into two weeks, but we will see. I’ll try to keep you updated for those reading along with my posts!

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Up Next: Part 1, Chapter 14.1 (only the first half, ending on page 102).