/lit/ - Literature

CHAPTER I:
>Snow-balls have flown their arcs. . .
Someone told me this has something to reference the cold war, but I'm not very sure of that. According to the wiki, "Pynchon's first image is again the image of a projectile, flying in a parabolic trajectory -- only this time, it is a snowball thrown by a child. This sets the tone of the whole novel"

>suet:
the hard white fat on the kidneys and loins of cattle, sheep, and other animals, used to make foods including puddings, pastry, and mincemeat--maybe you knew this but this was new to me. Anyone know how common this is? Is this an American thing?

>Upon the Wall, banish'd to this Den of Parlor Apes. . .
Any insight to this?

>"Mischianza"
From Wikipedia:

The Mischianza (Italian for a medley or mixture), or Meschianza, was an elaborate fête given in honor of British General Sir William Howe in Philadelphia on May 18, 1778. Howe, the commander-in-chief of the British forces in America during the early years of the Revolution, had resigned his post and was about to return to England. The ball was thrown by his corps of officers, who put up a sum of 3,312 guineas to pay for it. The events, which were planned by Captain John André and John Montresor, included a regatta along the Delaware River, accompanied by three musical bands and a 17-gun salute by British warships, a procession, a tournament of jousting knights, and a ball and banquet with fireworks display. The site was Walnut Grove, the rural seat of Joseph Wharton of the great Philadelphia Whartons.

The crowd of over 400 guests included Admiral of the Fleet Richard Lord Howe, the general's brother; General Henry Clinton, commandant at New York and Howe's replacement; Peggy Shippen, future wife of Benedict Arnold; Peggy Chew, daughter of Benjamin Chew; Rebecca Franks, daughter of loyalist David Franks; Lord Cathcart; Banastre Tarleton; and Wilhelm von Knyphausen, Hessian general.

>and the Nation bickering itself into fragments
refers to the National Convention of Franklin to revise the Articles of Confederation

>Nerve-Lines
1. A line or place at which two things are joined

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Pic is a depiction of the Mischianza in Walnut Grove