There are 21 episodes in Beyond the Zero and I am going to write a quick summary of the events of each episode, but for now summaries for episodes 1-5 are below:
Episode 1:
The novel begins with the sound of a rocket going through the sky and Pirate's dream. In this first episode we are introduced to some of the more prevalent characters including: Pirate and Bloat. We are also immediate aware that we reading about military men. There is a short funny vignette about a banana breakfast that still puzzles me as to it's purpose except for it's absurdity. The rockets and our European location are also introduced in this episode.
Episode 2:
This episode begins to pit England and Germany against each other and appears to take place in December of 1944. This immediately tells us as readers that we are in the time period of World War II. The military men begin to wake from a night of drinking as the scene unfolds. This is the episode which also first introduces to a few structural and writing conventions featured in the text including the inclusion of French, songs, colors, sounds, and a use of temporality that goes back and forth before the war and in the present day. We are taken back to a memory of Pirate's from 1935 with a Adenoid (a "lymphatic monster") (Pynchon, 2005, 15).
Episode 3:
This episode features a depiction of Teddy Bloat's lunch hour eating a banana sandwich and his obsession with Slothrop's star map. This is the first episode where we are introduced to the key character Slothrop. In this scene we learn that Slothrop's map of sexual conquests matches up exactly with the map that features where the rockets hit. We are also introduced to the character of Tantivy in this episode who at first is used as a foil for Slothrop.
Episode 4:
In this episode, we finally actually meet our key character Slothrop, who is notorious for his charismatic ways with women, and smoking. Slothrop works fr ACHTUNG looking at rocket bomb disasters much like the Blitz which occured in London during the war. It is explained to us that the color of the stars on the map depict how Slothrop feels that day and range from blue to gold. His memory of the women themselves seems to fade over time, but the color and the stars are ever present. Slothrop has a desire to have a rocket with his name painted on it, and seems somehow to be chasing death by chasing rocket disasters. There is a short vignette about Slothrop's relatives' tombstones and their inscriptions; all of which seem to be very tongue in cheek and make a comment or sneer about death itself.
Episode 5:
The fifth episode features Jessica and Roger who attend a seance together. This chapter points out another dichotomy of the secular and the spiritual in the text. We are also introduced to "The White Visitation" which is a house for the PISCES unit. The PISCES unit, yes named metaphorically after the astrological sign stands for: Psychological Intelligence Schemes for Expediting Surrender. We are also taken back to Pirate's youth when he fell in love with a young woman who married and the relationship's end. It is clear from this episode that Roger and Jessica's relationship is to unfold much like this relationship did for Pirate in 1936.
Episode 1:
The novel begins with the sound of a rocket going through the sky and Pirate's dream. In this first episode we are introduced to some of the more prevalent characters including: Pirate and Bloat. We are also immediate aware that we reading about military men. There is a short funny vignette about a banana breakfast that still puzzles me as to it's purpose except for it's absurdity. The rockets and our European location are also introduced in this episode.
Episode 2:
This episode begins to pit England and Germany against each other and appears to take place in December of 1944. This immediately tells us as readers that we are in the time period of World War II. The military men begin to wake from a night of drinking as the scene unfolds. This is the episode which also first introduces to a few structural and writing conventions featured in the text including the inclusion of French, songs, colors, sounds, and a use of temporality that goes back and forth before the war and in the present day. We are taken back to a memory of Pirate's from 1935 with a Adenoid (a "lymphatic monster") (Pynchon, 2005, 15).
Episode 3:
This episode features a depiction of Teddy Bloat's lunch hour eating a banana sandwich and his obsession with Slothrop's star map. This is the first episode where we are introduced to the key character Slothrop. In this scene we learn that Slothrop's map of sexual conquests matches up exactly with the map that features where the rockets hit. We are also introduced to the character of Tantivy in this episode who at first is used as a foil for Slothrop.
Episode 4:
In this episode, we finally actually meet our key character Slothrop, who is notorious for his charismatic ways with women, and smoking. Slothrop works fr ACHTUNG looking at rocket bomb disasters much like the Blitz which occured in London during the war. It is explained to us that the color of the stars on the map depict how Slothrop feels that day and range from blue to gold. His memory of the women themselves seems to fade over time, but the color and the stars are ever present. Slothrop has a desire to have a rocket with his name painted on it, and seems somehow to be chasing death by chasing rocket disasters. There is a short vignette about Slothrop's relatives' tombstones and their inscriptions; all of which seem to be very tongue in cheek and make a comment or sneer about death itself.
Episode 5:
The fifth episode features Jessica and Roger who attend a seance together. This chapter points out another dichotomy of the secular and the spiritual in the text. We are also introduced to "The White Visitation" which is a house for the PISCES unit. The PISCES unit, yes named metaphorically after the astrological sign stands for: Psychological Intelligence Schemes for Expediting Surrender. We are also taken back to Pirate's youth when he fell in love with a young woman who married and the relationship's end. It is clear from this episode that Roger and Jessica's relationship is to unfold much like this relationship did for Pirate in 1936.
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