Burroughs

[Anonymous No.2511822]

i did it.
i finished Naked Lunch.
i didn't quite understand some of it but i interpreted it as some sort of literary surrealism.

What ways did you interpret it?

[Anonymous No.2511825]

One man's vision of America viewed through his drug fantasies.

[Anonymous No.2511829]

It's a lot simpler when you read it again. He's playing around with pulp style(gangsters, scifi, drug sensationalism) and infusing it with his personal experiences while being graphic. I think it is by far the best Beat work, actually. Still has it's issues though.

[Anonymous No.2511839]

i wrote my h.s. ''junior exit'' essay on this book. it only really clicked when i was able to load up on methamphetamines and read it all in one sitting. what i came up with was that it could not be read rationally; it was actually a sort of psychological technology rather than a novel, i personally do not believe it fits into the confines of any literary genre, it is more accurately grouped in with biometric devices like the scientologist e-meter or even the rorshach test. when you read ''naked lunch'' whether or not you are aware of it, or if you consent to it, you are engaging in a psychological test of sorts.

[Anonymous No.2511846]

I thought he was writing a satire on power.
Throughout the book he brings up different ways people usurp power, the ways people use power and showcases a world where too much power turns the world into a facist like state.

The political parties present in the book are all people that are already in power ,but want more power and is showcased in the orgies/rape they commit.

Another subject of power, and my favorite, Dr. Benway the sadistic surgeon. He is the most playful character in the book. He takes his power and plays with his patients. He stages ballets when he is operating, he uses a plunger on bodies and he controls people with drugs so he can have sex with them.

Was a really fun book. The ending was really unexpected ,but then again what was?

[Anonymous No.2511865]

>>2511846
have you seen this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgpfmehW7iE
?

[Anonymous No.2511883]

>>2511865

[Anonymous No.2511887]

I just read each chapter as a separate sort story set in the same nightmare world , and it actually came across as quite entertaining.

[Anonymous No.2511907]

>>2511865
Yeah, I really did show really outrageous he is, thanks for reminding me of that video

[Anonymous No.2511914]

>>2511907
Man, this is the second time....
*it really shows how outrageous he truly is.

[Anonymous No.2512024]

This is the best Burroughs doco to date if you're interested
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYQhh5Cn7fo

[Anonymous No.2512036]

I fapped to the scene where women pegged boys as they were being strangled.

[Anonymous No.2512047]

>>2512024
I really enjoyed that documentary. It really put Burroughs in a more understanding perspective. I wish there was a bit more one on one interviews with Burroughs ,but oh welll, that is what the Youtube is for.

[Anonymous No.2512049]

>>2511846
yeah the entire overarching theme Burroughs was writing about was power and more specifically control. with his heroin addiction he became exposed to pure control (eg. you must have the kick or suffer) and his writing has had themes of control throughout them ever since

[Anonymous No.2512065]

>>2512049
I was going to start reading Soft Machine and since you seem to have some grasp on Burroughs work I might as well ask, Does Soft Machine keep the overall feeling of Naked Lunch? If not does it stand on its own ground?

[Anonymous No.2512109]

>>2512065
Yeah the Soft Machine could be seen as a continuation of Naked Lunch I suppose, but still stands strong as an individual book. Still primarily talking about the systems of control (mainly his heroin addiction). If you want something in the Naked Lunch style I'd give that a read, but if you want maybe some sort of context and background insight into Burroughs himself and all you might want to give queer or junky a read if you haven't already

[Anonymous No.2512120]

>>2512109
I'll keep that in mind. Burroughs has become a recent favorite of mine since Naked Lunch. Thanks

[Anonymous No.2512148]

It was just random non-sense written by a junkie.

And you guys actually delve deep into it lol

[Anonymous No.2512159]

>>2512148
Written by a random writer/junky who was in the deep of a heroin withdrawal. What came out were his interpretations of American life around him as he was suffering under the control of heroin. Makes for pretty good raw material I should think

[Anonymous No.2512161]

God none of you folks get it. Naked Lunch was Burroughs creating literary psychological technology based on his theory of the language virus. You identify certain themes but you have failed to grasp what the book actually is. Also whoever said it was ''random'' does not know the meaning of the word random and also Burroughs was not a junky he just wrote that book for cash he used drugs, but he was not a junky good job falling for a myth he created himself (kind of like hunter s. thompson did)

[Anonymous No.2512165]

>>2512161
>Wrote an entire book about his experiences as a junkie
Explain?

[Anonymous No.2512166]

>>2512161
and if troll, well played sir

[Anonymous No.2512171]

>>2512165
This book was his ''pulp'' book, like i said he wrote it for cash. He used drugs, and knew drug users, but Junkie should not be seen as a memoir.

[Anonymous No.2512197]

>>2512171
And what of his enrollment in various methadone maintenance clinics? Just for the fun times?

[Anonymous No.2512203]

>>2512166
I am really not trolling. Burroughs was on to some next level shit. Look up what he said about cut-ups as anti-brainwashing techniques..he was developing literary technologies..he was influenced by L. Ron Hubbard and even found ways of re-creating what scientology does without having to join their organization which prompted L. Ron to (supposedly) put a hit out on his head. Also, consider his theories on language as a virus and his development of a ''dream machine''..his work points to very advanced psychological concepts which are at the same time very d.i.y and therefore anti-authoritarian..reading burroughs is like going down the rabbit hole

[Anonymous No.2512213]

>>2512197
Facts about burroughs' life are not easy to verify I don't know that he was a regular at the methadone clinic, maybe it is true..does not mean his reputation as a 'junky' isn't overblown by himself first of all..

[Anonymous No.2512218]

I just can't help but feel as the the entire Beat movement is a complete load of horse shit?

You've got nothing on the Frenchies, boys. Celine and Genet actually do it good.

Kind of like how Bely always gets ignored, but Faulkner, Joyce and other authors who utilise stream-of-consciousness and other 'complex' literary techniques are praised beyond belief here. Even though Bely came before them and is at least a shitload better than Faulkner. Yet to read much Joyce so hard to comment.

[Anonymous No.2512235]

>>2512218
Why did you write such a long metaphor for? You are saying that you dislike the Beat movement ,but you are not explaining the reason why.

[Anonymous No.2512238]

>>2512235
I see nothing of value in the prose nor the content matter

Making a comparison to the Frenchies because they did it better

[Anonymous No.2512250]

why are we even discussing the beats in a burroughs thread? he was only socially connected to that crowd of boyscouts. and there is not a french writer who can compare to burroughs.

[Anonymous No.2512521]

>>2512238
Besides the fact that it completely revolutionized our entire culture, let alone literature and began the love revolution of the sixties?