Monday 2 September 2019

San Quentin And The Lofotens

Murder Bound.

Waller has been in San Quentin. (viii, p. 70) I have heard of it, of course. See At San Quentin.

Hugo Heiss's criminal activities "...did ramify widely." (viii, p. 71)

Ramify: neat verb. I think that I have only encountered the noun before.

Torvald is from the Lofotens. Yamamura has read Johan Bojer whose "'...dialect is beautiful.'" (ix, p. 78) Torvald says that Norwegians will "'...end all speaking the same Oslomal.'" (ix, p. 79) (?) See Norwegian language. He refers to:

"'The Gokstad and Oseberg craft in the museum...'" (ibid.)

It was obviously much more difficult to appreciate such a text fully before the Internet.

Torvald suddenly refers to "'...the handicapped...'" (ibid.) and insists, against Yamamura, that mental problems are environmental, not hereditary, in origin. Where did this argument come from? I might have to reread Anderson's account of their previous confrontation.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I assume what Torvald meant by "Oslomal" is the form of Norwegian spoken in the capital of Oslo. And he expects that to eventually lead to a standardization of Norwegian using that version of the language.

And I know too little about mental problems to decide which is more decisive in causing them, heredity or environmental.

Sean

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,
But it is probably both, in whatever combination. Torvald insists on only environmental causes. Human organisms are complex and sensitive so something can go wrong within them.
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I am willing to think mental health problems are caused by varying combinations of both hereditary and environmental factors. Perhaps with some input from the choices made by the affected persons.

Sean