Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

Thomas Pynchon’s novel the Crying of Lot 49 is full of ambiguity. Pynchon creates this ambiguity in the novel by mixing Oepida’s search for meaning with other elements such as his humorous portrayal of American society in the 60s in the story that seem to have little meaning to Oepida’s journey. Another feature of the novel that creates this ambiguity is the fact that very piece of information or evidence Pynchon presents about the tristero and WASTE does not fit perfectly with other information. The reader, therefore, never gets a complete or clear picture of WASTE or the tristero and their purpose. This ambiguity in the novel contributes to the ambiguity that Oedipa discovers at the end of her journey.

The novel is about Oedipa, who seeks to escape her world in search of a deeper meaning to life. At first, Oedipa imagines herself being rescued by Pierce but she later realizes that Pierce cannot help her escape from the confines of her tower; “Pierce had taken her away from nothing, there’d been no escape.” In order to escape her world, Oedipa goes on a journey to discovery the truth behind WASTE and the tristero. Oedipa hoped that by discovering the truth behind WASTE and the tristero, she will discover reality and her relation to this reality. Instead, Oedipa only finds isolation and ambiguity. Oedipa feels herself becoming isolated from all the men in her life. Hilarius, Mucho, Metzger, Driblette, and Fallopian were unable to help her. Oedipa appeals to Arnold Snarb last, “So you are the only one I have.” However, she looses Snarb also, leaving her in complete isolation. “She stood between the public booth and the rented car, in the night, her isolation complete, and tried to face the sea.”

Though Oedipa also searches for reality, the information she finds cannot be verified. Is all the things and people Oedipa encounters during her journey a coincidence or did they have a connection. Oedipa is not even sure if her search for the truth behind the tristero and WASTE was not a conspiracy invented by Pierce to fool her. In the end, Oedipa chooses to continue searching for truth; she shows up to the auction to find out who the mystery bidder was in hopes that he will lead her to the truth. Oedipa knew that she must either accept that her search for truth was just a joke or that she is paranoid. Oedipa thinks to herself, “It must have meaning beyond just a practical joke. Or you are fantasying some such plot, in which case you are a nut, Oedipa, out of your skull.”

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