"A-and"?

DiscussionsPynchon Pandæmonium

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"A-and"?

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1bardsfingertips
Avr 28, 2008, 7:17 pm

Okay, silly question here: what is it about Pynchon's use of the word "a-and"?

I've not found any other references for that spelling of the word "and".

That is all.

2ateolf
Mai 6, 2008, 2:39 am

i believe it's just a dialectal effect...like typing "aaaaaaaaand" or something similar...

3bardsfingertips
Mai 6, 2008, 9:02 pm

Ah, that makes sense. When I usually see the hyphen in that manner, I think of a stutter.

4ateolf
Mai 12, 2008, 10:08 pm

that's my initial reaction too, but by the context the long drawn-out 'a' always made more sense...i usually end up doing something of a double-take whenever i read it in his books...

5yarb
Sep 4, 2008, 4:31 pm

I read it as a drawn-out "and", giving the sense not just of addition but of compounding. XY rather than X+Y.

7doogiewray
Août 7, 2009, 8:22 pm

I had a big grin on my face when I saw the first "A-and" in Inherent Vice yesterday (page 32 near the bottom). I'm now on page 124 and I haven't seen any others yet, but, still, it was great to see TRP's "signature" once again.

For the record though, I've always read it as a sort of hesitation/stutter when the speaker isn't quite sure whether he should be verbalizing what's coming out of his (or her) mouth (i.e., I have never thought of it as "aaaaaaaaand").

Either interpretation works, though ... the important thing is to just enjoy it and smile!

Douglas

"In the end, only kindness matters."