Showers '08 Calculates Thomas Pynchon?s Against the Day for Honors Project

Stefen Showers ’08 says his 95 page senior Honors project, “The Mathematics of Thomas Pynchon’s Against the Day,” is “semi publishable worthy.” He submitted his abstract through a blind submission and was invited to the annual Thomas Pynchon convention in Munich Germany in early June. This was just two days after he walked across the stage at Knox's commencement and received his diploma. “That convention is one scholarly event where the audience is fierce, even if it is small, and I am privileged to go,” he says.

He describes getting the invitation as surreal, and Showers recognizes that for an undergraduate, the invitation is rare. “There is an interest in the mathematics and science that goes on in Pynchon’s novels, and I think that my experience in the mathematics realm kind of helps me potentially explain it to people who are restricted to the literary realm.”

Known for his enigmatic writing and mysteriously reclusive lifestyle, Thomas Pynchon has puzzled readers and critics for years. There are varying opinions about the symbols and themes found in his books.

Showers says he believes that Pynchon has had a large impact on American culture. “He is such an important author. Maybe the most important American writer that is alive. It is sad that he is not more widely known.”

A math and creative writing major, Showers quantified Pynchon’s latest novel, Against the Day with guidance from his Honors Chair Rob Smith, associate professor of English at Knox.

Against the Day was released November 21, 2006. The action takes place between the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893 and the time immediately following World War I. "With a worldwide disaster looming just a few years ahead," Pynchon wrote, "it is a time of unrestrained corporate greed, false religiosity, moronic fecklessness, and evil intent in high places. No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred."

Mostly composed of a series of interwoven parodies of popular fiction genres from the era in which it is set, the novel received mixed reaction, though many critics acknowledge that it is, at least, sharp-witted.

Showers applies Pynchon’s pure math theory to pure fiction, a term he says he adopted for the paper. “Fiction is untruth ultimately, so it is useless to the real world. That is the best quality of it. You can do whatever you want without it being a moral obligation.”

He was drawn to the project because of his interest in math. “I wanted to explain how Pynchon uses mathematics as a big, overarching metaphor. Pure math is the utmost moral science because come war time it can not be used to kill innocent people. It defines that moral high ground based solely in the fact that it is abstract. It is a book about what fiction is and what fiction should be,” Showers sums.

Going into a honors project with his eyes wide open, Showers says he heard his share of horror stories about Honors projects. “I tried to brace myself for that. But, the experience really pays off; because it is something you are doing for yourself. It is a lot of work, but don’t get me wrong - I definitely lost my mind a little bit.”

The reward of being in the driver’s seat was equaled only by knowing he came up with the research idea on his own. “There is a lot of recognition at this college for our Honors projects. I came up with the idea on my own. None of it was suggested to me. It is a badge of honor.”

Add it all up and Showers says he has changed since coming to Knox. “I came to Knox because of the student body and the vibe. I wanted to get to know people as individuals. The campus has made me grow in my own individual way instead of being caught up in some political deal. I feel like I have more substance to me. I can express myself better.”

Showers was awarded the David R. Arnold Award for independent research that supports or enhances the research of a faculty member. It was established by David R. Arnold '37; and the Charles and Arvilla Timme Fellowship Award for his project as part of the Ford Fellowship program. It was established by the estate of Colonel Charles Timme.

In August, he leaves for a one year English teaching assignment in Moscow. “I’m really excited about that. After my one year in Moscow, maybe I’ll teach English someplace else, but eventually I want to go to graduate school.”

Just two days following commencement ceremonies Stefen Showers '08 traveled to Germany to present his Senior Honor's project to the annual Thomas Pynchon conference. The trip was supported by the Fellows Fund in Knox's English department.