engleski

The Underworld and its Forces: Croatia, the Uskoks and their Fight for Autonomy in Against the Day

This essay tries to capture and explain the complex relationship of underworld forces (both human and supernatural) represented in Against the Day with the Croatian struggle for freedom in the context of Pynchon’s novel, leaning on a historical and mythological framework. It addresses this question: how do underground forces that are present in all of Pynchon’s novels function in this particular context of narration and how do they support a mythological structure tied to the stereotypical beliefs that justify violence and unceasing struggles? The analysis includes the investigation of Pynchon’s narrative framework that mostly hinges on mythology and Western thought about more remote Eastern places, tolerating elisions and imposed disfigurations, yet with a dose of criticism. But both the structure and his arguments are more convincing because he interjects the re-writing of ideological views and the demeaning stereotypes about the Balkans, as well as stressing Western, external domination and control, while trying to illustrate the Easterners’ perception of imperialist powers and their notion of self- determination.

Pynchon, Uskoks, underworld, Croatia

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