Some thoughts on Gravity's Rainbow

[u/thepainetrain]

*Plot spoilers obviously*

Finished a 2nd read of GR and have a couple random thoughts/theories on the plot that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere:

The 00000/S-Gerat/Blicero/Gottfried

It's ambiguous but I think the 00000 rocket was put into orbit.

Perhaps Gottfried has some control over it, choosing when and where it will reenter the atmosphere and land. Perhaps not, but its presence looming represents the threat of WW3/nuclear armageddon that a ballistic missile strike would trigger.

Likewise, in orbit, Gottfried becomes everywhere and nowhere, mirroring the dissolution of Slothrop in the Zone. Both sent on journeys outside their control, but Slothrop's diffuse presence brings irreverence, creativity, vulgarity (basically Life however meager) to the Zone, the 00000 in orbit is a new "first star" in the sky, but its presence is the spectre of death.

Also, interpreted as in orbit, the 00000 rocket is present for all the rocket strikes in the book, past and future. It is the star Slothrop puts on his map, triggered someway by the Imipolex S-Gerat as it passes overhead over and over.

Enzian/00001/Schwarzkommando

The debate between Enzian and the Empty Ones is how to maintain their sovereignty. Their nation is doomed, it is just a matter of how they choose to die. The Rocket in this case represents (nuclear?) armament.

In the 20th century and beyond (once the Zone has settled into a new world order), the only way long-term to ensure that your state is sovereign is to have a nuclear weapon. The Empty Ones do not wish to pursue that goal, rather decide they will allow their nationality to go extinct naturally. Building the Rocket is also suicidal, in that the only future outcome is mutually assured destruction. It's a short-term deterrent but the choice to actually use it is suicidal. In either case, Rocket or "racial suicide" the remaining Zone-Herero are still taking their fate into their own hands.

[u/Gold_Ice_4620]

Gottfried is launched in the rocket and dies lol

It’s like the conclusion to the Hansel & Gretel game, but instead of being roasted in an oven he’s put in a rocket and launched. He’s not melting away and becoming some metaphysical celestial influence

[u/anotherlevl]

The V2 rocket didn't have intercontinental reach, and was a long way from being able to launch a person into orbit. OTOH, it didn't have the ability to launch in Europe in 1945 and come down in California in the 1970s, so while I doubt your interpretation is what the author intended, I can't dismiss it altogether.