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Chapter 4: The Best Way to Carnegie Hall
By: Brett Coster
Also: David Brin, John Garcia, J.D. Giorgis, Gord Sellar, and Bob Zimmerman
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Introduction:
Gord Sellar wrote:
>I think it'd be much
>more beneficial to explore the clear and obvious debt to broadway musicals
>that TPE self-inscribes in its use of certain specific punneries. Someone
>claimed that Coylia=potato, did they not?
>
>"You say Tatir, I say Coylia,
>Let's call the whole thing off . . ."
>
>*quickly dodges the stones of many sinners*
Title:
The chapter title is the start of an old joke told in many variations.
Basically, a musician is late for a performance. He (or she) is lost and
asks a passerby "What's the best way to get to Carnegie Hall?". The
passerby takes in the musician's dress, notices his (or her) instrument and
replies "Practice!". -John Garcia
Actually, the punch line to the joke is usually: "Practice, Practice,
Practice!" May Henny Youngman and an entire generation of Borscht Belt
comedians role over in their graves. Henny Youngman was the "King of the
One Liners". Large man with a violin who would come out on stage and
just keep firing jokes at the audience. One of the comedians that used to
show up on Ed Sullivan every week. His most famous joke "Take my wife,
please". The anti-Henny was Myron Cohen who could stretch one joke out
for ten minutes. They were part of a group of predominantly Jewish
comedians who worked the Catskil mountain resorts (the
Borscht Belt because most of the clientel was also jewish, The Concord,
Grossingers, the Neville, Browns (home of Jerry Lewis). etc. -Bob Zimmerman
Analysis:
Dennis arrives at Zuslik, the Coylian capital and city, and encounters
Baron Kremer and his goons. He also gets attacked by one of the dragons
Tomosh mentioned - until he recognises it as an aircraft.
Dennis' arrival at Zuslik shows the sense of wonder at new things--the
docks, the milling crowds, the wedding cake houses. The highly advanced
technology that also has weird anachronisms like ships, rakish and fast,
powered by sail, carts running on self-lubricating poles and drawn by
animals, no sign of the wheel. Tatir is both weird and similar.
And seeing as Gord's given the perfect straight line that follows from the
punning...
A very common component in David's books is the use of songs to carry the
story. In ch 4 it is the Ah-wee-hum of the dock workers and the dream sequence
song. In Startide there is Tom and his ET song, in Infinity's Shore Emerson
and the Policeman's Song, and so on.
I can't think at the moment of any other scifi writers who do this. Even in
the Pern books, especially those about Menolly the Harper etc, the songs are
more often described, not transcribed. Yet Brin often uses songs. Of
course, the
trinary in Startide, Ifni's Shore and Heavens Reach also falls into this.
-I would also add my favorite scene from the _Jijo_ Trilogy, where the crew
of a raft perform a "Jijo Song" with one member from each species
contributing a part. -John D. Giorgis
Another common device is the use of dreams to elucidate what's going on.
Almost all of David's characters find some significance in events through
dreams or trances. Robert Oneagle has a similar dream sequence in Uplift
War, a journey into his psyche with Athaclenna. This brings up the
multi-personality/persona theories that appear in all of David's books -
Jacob Demwa in Startide being a prime case.
Now, in ch 4 we have one of the most obvious of these dream sequences.
Dennis has been captured and imprisoned, and the practice effect has bubbled
out of his subconscious - where it had been nagging him as a part grasped
but not understood effect - and become recognised. Along with a concussion
obtained during his capture, this brings on a collapse as he wanders around
the gaol. And then we get both a dream and a song: the chimp, Mr Pers Peter
Mobile and his beanie hat. This where Dennis finally resolves the practice
effect. That if you don't like the rules in this part of the universe, then
just fly awaaaayyy.
When Dennis enters Zuslik, he drops into his scientist personality by
studying, to the exclusion of all else, the self-lubricating transport the
coylians use. This of course has an immediately detrimental effect, and
makes his entrance into Zuslik anything but low key. Multi-personas are
fairly common in recent scifi, even though outside America the theory seems
less than accepted. It certainly lets you play around with the character's
psyche and probably lets you make some fairly significant changes in
personality - not quite the same as character growth though.
But here, it is a fairly minor matter - more that of tunnel vision - but it
does keep getting Dennis into trouble.
Notes:
-It's nice to know that in the future, young boys are still going to Boy
Scout Camp and watching classic Disney Movies like Dumbo. Think he saw the
original or a remake? :) -John D. Giorgis
-Any ideas on the origin of the word "Bleckers" (pg 55) as a term for
outside raiders? -John D. Giorgis
-Some terms are caltech inside jokes. Blacker, Lloyd, Fleming, Dabney,
Ruddock, Rickets and Page were all student houses. Some of the characters
were named after guys I knew at the time, so don't sweat it if every
syllable doesn't pop out at you! -David Brin
-Any ideas on the word "negentropic" (pg. 75)? -John D. Giorgis
-neg(ates) + entropy + ic (makes adjective)?
Certainly fits with the violation of thermodynamics. -Gord Sellar
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"The point of living in a Republic after all, is that we do not live by
majority rule. We live by laws and a variety of isntitutions designed
to check each other." -Andrew Sullivan 01/29/01
