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Colonies are the outhouses of the European soul, where a fellow can let his pants down and relax, enjoy the smell of his own shit. Where he can fall on his slender prey roaring as loud as he feels like, and guzzle her blood with open joy. Eh? Where he can just wallow and rut and let himself go in a softness, a receptive darkness of limbs, of hair as woolly as the hair on his own forbidden genitals.

Thomas Pynchon#23

EthicsMetaphorLanguageColonialism

About this quote

What does it mean?
The quote uses vulgar metaphor to describe colonies as a place for indulgence and primal release.
In plain terms
Colonies are portrayed as a space for raw, unrestrained behavior.
What can you take from it?
Recognize how language can dehumanize and sensationalize subjects.

Where it applies

  • academic debate
  • historical analysis
  • media critique

Putting it to work

  • avoid sensationalist language
  • focus on human impact

Questions to consider

  • What are the effects of using crude metaphors in discourse?
  • How can we discuss colonialism responsibly?

Another view

The explicit imagery may be off‑putting and limit usefulness.

More from Thomas Pynchon

  1. The night room heaves a sigh, yes Heaves, a Sigh--old-fashioned comical room, oh me I'm hopeless, born a joker never change, flirting away through the mirrorfr…

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  2. Out and down in the colonies, life can be indulged, life and sensuality in all its forms, with no harm done to the Metropolis, nothing to soil those cathedrals…

    Permalink to quote #24
  3. Flotsam from his childhood are rising through his attention. He's remembering the skin of an apple, bursting with nebulae, a look into curved reddening space.

    Permalink to quote #21

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