We’ve got an unexpected picture this week (Ira.42).  Next week we’ll be pretty sure who’s in the picture . . . for now, let’s look at the pictures provided by the Table of Harrier Days.  I can’t help but notice the reference to Catch 22 (F&J.13) the plot which appears to be Harry’s predicament this week.  Can it be that Harry is headed into his own personal Catch 22?  Is Harry the comic hero who is trapped in a situation he can’t get out of?

We all know the answers to these questions by now – even though we’ll have to wait until next week to read the climax in the Table of Harrier Days – so what is the point of bringing us to this text?  It must be to emphasize that Harry is no modern hero.  He is a hero from another era . . . watch for what type of hero he is – again, next week.

Suffice it to say that the writer of the Table wants to underline the fact that this is no Catch 22.

We also read of Harry’s betrayal by Lucky (Ned.44 thru gg to Wil.72.4).  What a bastard.  But, it seems that even this is an eventuality Harry is prepared for (Wil.70.1-4 & Wil.71.21-22) . . . Next week, we shall see just how well prepared . . .

With all this anticipation, we are certainly being asked to look forward to the upcoming weeks – namely to Rioday.  This sends us scurrying through the ICR looking for more information; a) what evidence was used in the trial?; b) where is the best restaurant in Philadelphia (we know it’s Italian, Wil.70.8 to Ned.41.4)?; c) What motivated Lucky to rat out Harry?; d) How was Harry way ahead of them all?; e) What is the real point of Consolation?; f) Is Consolation simply required for what it is reported to be required for – not thinking?; g) Who didn’t leave the motor running, Vin.68.4 from Wil.72.14, all of the followers?; and many others.

What about the white stuff?  We’re guided by the ICR to Ira.41.8-12 from Wil.72.11 and from Ira.41.10 to Vin.67.4-8 which via Vin.67.4 to j. Wil.70.18-26; Ned.42.1-7; Ira.41.10.  Every one of the gospels seems to be reporting the same incident.  All the ICR’s simply point back and forth from Wil.7X to Ned.4X with rare references to Ira. and Vin.
Just a note.  After Harry and the Angel speak, Harry lays the rocks on the followers.  Had they never had the rocks before?  Is this the first time?  It seems unlikely, but maybe it is to set the hook firmly before his departure.  Maybe it is the final humiliation of those who will soon turn on their benefactor.  Just in case . . .

Harry as Candide as Voltaire as L'Arouet
An unusual ICR reference to Harry presents Harry as Candide (published 1759) this week from Wil.73.4 to Wil.64.7-9 to Ira.37.1-9, particularly Ira.37.9 which points at d. Pnot.34.1-5.  In the end, Candide declares that one should stop philosophizing (after his discussions with Dr. Pangloss and Martin) and cultivate his own garden as a defense against boredom and dissatisfaction.  Has Harry had enough?  Is he going to his garden?  With all the supposed deaths in Candide, can we trust the reports of deaths of people near and dear to Harry?

For those who haven’t read Candide, see http://www.bookrags.com/notes/can/-SUM.htm and http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/candide/.

Francois Marie Arouet (b. 11/21/1694) was imprisoned himself on account of a piece of writing attacking the government in which he selected his pen name, Voltaire.  Voltaire attacked the church and the state with equal fervor and traveled among the rich and powerful.  In this we can easily perceive a connection from Harry to Candide to the author Voltaire, a man who had to move, and move, and move again because of his attacks on the established powers of his day.  Could this be the true condition of Harry’s seemingly charmed life?  And, is this a week in his "year" in which it has again become time to move on?  To cultivate his garden?  To cause trouble elsewhere?  Both?

It should be noted in passing that Candide does kill many of those who need killing.  Something that should be kept in mind during the next few weeks.  Candide also has a tremendous amount of cash which he uses to purchase a bunch of people’s freedom, provide for their needs, and move beyond the reach of his enemies.  El Dorado.

As Harry goes to prison we are shown, via the Table, Psom.66, The Ballad of Reading Gaol by Oscar Wilde:

   25   Dear Christ! the very prison walls
   26       Suddenly seemed to reel,
   27   And the sky above my head became
   28       Like a casque of scorching steel;
   29   And, though I was a soul in pain,
   30       My pain I could not feel.

Harry here is a soul in pain, for sure.  But the ICR begs us to fill in Psom.66.2, “There is a something shame,” which corresponds to the original line of text, “There is a pit of shame.” which the ICR identifies, via c. Vin.36.2 to r. Ned.23.2, as Philadelphia, “an awful, miserable, ugly city in the east.”  In Psom.66.4 , “Something something flame,” corresponds to “Eaten by teeth of flame,” which leads, via Ed.12.21, to 'Ka-Boom' and 'Flush.'  Finally, Psom.66.5 “For each man kills the thing he loves,” grants a bit of comic relief with its ICR reference to “And, I Love Oscar,” in Ed.66.7.  Overall, we can read Harry's pain as both personal and universal, comprising his individual circumstances, the people he loves, and at a broader level the city of his birth.  All pain him here.

Thus, the big heart of Harry is broken.  Why?  Certainly, the picture he holds in his hand is a major contributor – but is it also broken by the (non)betrayals of his followers?  Did he think that just maybe they would finally begin to grow at the eleventh hour?  As I mentioned, Harry is obviously prepared for their human failures, but was he secretly hoping for more than "par"?  Perhaps not. In Oscar's words: "For each man kills the thing he loves."

The readings in the Psongs this week also suggest that things are not as they seem.  The Table seems us to be hinting that this arrest is a way to avoid a greater plight, the Italians and their machine guns - see Psong.58.  We must trust that despite the dastardly behavior of Lucky, Harry is nevertheless accomplishing his purposes.  However, the picture suggests that he can't save everyone, and not all consequences can be foreseen (beautiful traitorous women (Psong.57.3?) - Do Harry's ears ring with the sound of Oscar Wilde's refrain? Or is it ours that should?
 

So there.