Benny Profane

E309697

Benny Profane is a hapless, drifting ex-sailor and antihero in Thomas Pynchon's fiction, emblematic of postwar aimlessness and absurdity.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Benny Profane canonical 3

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (43)

Predicate Object
instanceOf antihero
fictional character
literary character
appearsIn V!
short story "Low-lands"
appearsInGenre black comedy
postmodern novel
satire
associatedWith the Whole Sick Crew
surface form: Whole Sick Crew
associatedWithAuthor Thomas Pynchon
characterType drifter
schlemihl
conflictParticipatedIn World War II
createdIn United States of America
surface form: United States
creator Thomas Pynchon
describedAs yo-yo
firstAppearance novel "V!"
gender male
hasLiteraryStatus cult character
languageOfWork English
literaryMovement postmodernism
literaryPeriod postmodern literature
medium novel
militaryBranch United States Navy
narrativeRole antihero
protagonist
nationality American
occupation ex-sailor
sailor
personalityTrait aimless
hapless
passive
self-deprecating
settingAssociatedWith Mediterranean Sea
New York City
Norfolk, Virginia
symbolizes failure to find stable identity
postwar disillusionment
themeEmbodies absurdity
alienation
dislocation
postwar aimlessness
yearOfFirstPublication 1963

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

V. hasMainCharacter Benny Profane
subject surface form: V. (novel)
the Whole Sick Crew hasMember Benny Profane