The Crying of Lot 49
In a story as confusing and ambiguous as Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, it is difficult to connect any aspect of the book to a piece of modern culture. However, Oedipa’s quest, her search for the truth, and the paranoia therein, are inherent in the plots of today’s most-watched television and movies. Though many themes from the story can be tied to modern culture, perhaps the most prominent is the theme of a quest for truth. Oedipa’s quest is best represented via a popular FOX television show called The X-Files.
At first sight, the comparison is almost too obvious. Agent Fox Mulder, played by David Duchovny, seeks the truth behind the apparent mystery of alien abduction and the supernatural, a quest that he dubs “the X-Files”. Oedipa, too, is looking for the truth underneath her mystery: WASTE. Both characters yearn for the truth behind events, a truth that may or may not exist, in mysteries that fold plots upon themselves endlessly. Beyond the obvious similarities, however, lie more, almost uncanny, parallels.
Though both Mulder and Oedipa claim to seek the truth, what they both seek is resolution to the questions within themselves. For example, it is understood by fans of The X-Files that Mulder began his search for extraterrestrial life with the supposed alien abduction of his sister. The quest for the truth, then, is personalized for Agent Mulder, as he himself claims that he would not work as an FBI agent if his sister had not been [supposedly] abducted. Oedipa is on a personal quest as well. No other character in the story seeks the “truth” behind WASTE, the muted courier’s horn, the play The Courier’s Tragedy, Pierce Inverarity’s stamps, and a secret postal service. In fact, no one else has ever before made such a [possibly ridiculous] connection! So, as both characters seek their personal truths, they slowly begin to fear that no answer exists.
The motives of these two seekers are important, and indeed similar. There seems to be an obsession to find a truth in symbols (be they horns or crop circles), a truth that both characters come to realize may not even exist. By definition, obsession is “a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling”. Therefore, the moment that their questions are absolved, the moment that their hypotheses are proved, the quest and its subsequent paranoia, frustration, and pain are removed.
The battle of fact versus coincidence has been around since long before any of us were born. Believers argue that everything in life has brought them to their present situation while skeptics may be more reluctant to give into the notion of a predetermined fate. However, everyone questions whether or not fate might actually be true at least once in their life. At the beginning of Oedipus the King, Oedipus did not believe in fate. He thought he could escape his destiny by running away from Corinth after he discovered it was his fate to kill his father and marry his mother. Mike Church, the private detective in the movie Dead Again, is called to a catholic orphanage to assist in finding an amnesiac's family. Unknown to Oedipus and Mike, this would be the start of what both men were destined to do. Stories like Oedipus the King and Dead Again both illustrate the irony of mans struggle with predetermined fate through the eyes of a skeptic.
between the two authors, they share similarities towards the message they try to send out.
Black Boy by Richard Wright and Separate Pasts: Growing up White in the Segregated South by Melton McLaurin are autobiographies based on segregation in the south in the early twentieth century. They are set in different times and different perspectives. Black Boy begins when the main character, Richard Wright, is four years old in the 1910’s. He grows up in Jackson Mississippi and moves north later in his life. In Separate Pasts the author is white and grows up in Wade, North Carolina in the 1950’s. Black Boy revolves around the experiences of Richard Wright as he grows in an extremely segregated city. Both blacks and whites accept the way things are. The more Wright grows up, the more he despises the way life is for Blacks in the south. When
In the novel “Black Boy” by Richard Wright, Richard’s different character traits are revealed through multiple different instances of indirect characterization. Indirect characterization is a literary element commonly used in the novel. It is when the author reveals information about a character through that character's thoughts, words, actions, and how other characters respond to that character; such as what they think and say about him. Richard is put into many circumstances where the way he acts, the things he says and thinks, and the way others respond to him clearly show his character. Richard shows his pride when he refuses to fight Harrison for white men’s entertainment, principles when he doesn’t take advantage of Bess even though he has the opportunity, and ignorance when he sells KKK papers.
In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, there is a deception where readers think one thing, but are presented with a different point of view. They are profoundly similar for various reasons regarding structure and theme. They are complementary in establishing the primary conflict of drama during the storyline; however, Oedipus Rex encompasses foreshadowing that divulges drama from past experiences. Additionally, the authors incorporate violence as a key component in the conflict presented. However, the drama differs in plot, as well as symbolism, in which the reader understands it before or amid the story through gradual discovery. The themes and presentation of these dramatic plots are initially compelling, distinctive,
In Richard Wright’s novel, Black Boy, Richard is struggling to survive in a racist environment in the South. In his youth, Richard is vaguely aware of the differences between blacks and whites. He scarcely notices if a person is black or white, and views all people equally. As Richard grows older, he becomes more and more aware of how whites treat blacks, the social differences between the races, and how he is expected to act when in the presence of white people. Richard, with a rebellious nature, finds that he is torn between his need to be treated respectfully, with dignity and as an individual with value and his need to conform to the white rules of society for survival and acceptance.
Oedipa Mass is the protagonist of Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, who looks into her ex-boyfriend Pierce Inverarity’s life and legacy after she is named executor of his estate upon his death. As she examines Pierce’s life, she begins to discover details about herself that she was never sure existed before. The only th...
...ck reaction of Oedipus proves that he is curious of what the Oracle says about the murderer of Laius. His constant pestering and relentless pursuit of the truth leads to the answer that he is the killer.
There are two levels of participation within The Crying of Lot 49: that of the characters, such as Oedipa Maas, whose world is limited to the text, and that of the reader, who looks at the world from outside it but who is also affected the world created by the text.3 Both the reader and the characters have the same problems observing the chaos around them. The protagonist in The Crying of Lot 49, Oedipa Mass, like the reader, is forced to either involve herself in the deciphering of clues or not participate at all.4
Racism in Black Boy Black Boy is a denunciation of racism and his conservative, austere family. As a child growing up in the South, Richard Wright faced constant pressure to submit to white authority, as well as to his family’s violence. However, even from an early age, Richard had a spirit of rebellion. His refusal to punish earned him harder beatings.
Somewhere along the way, as the story becomes even more convoluted, Oedipa becomes more confused, and so does the reader. Just what is the purpose of all these odd characters and the story plot? Does it even make sense? Oedipa says, “There was the true continuity, San Narciso ...
Oedipus was in pursuit of the truth to find out what really happened with his birth and life. Oedipus was searching for the truth and needed to know all the facts in order to convict the murderer. "Ah! All of it was destined to be true!" (Literature, Oedipus the King, Ln.
Oedipus’ quest is revealed to him early on in the play, though it undergoes a number of transformations before he is actually examining his own life and heritage. He begins with the reasonable search for the motive behind the wave of death and destruction that has overcome Thebes. This leads into his search for the man who murdered Laius, and finally to Oedipus questioning his own innocence and origin. The final stage of his search is where he becomes most fervent, regretfully not considering the magnitude of the effect his discovery will have on him. In order to assess Oedipus’ search for truth, one must first look at each transformation separately before tying them together.
Oedipus, when Jocasta re-tells the details of how Laios was murdered, begins his approach to denial. At first, he searches for more and more information that might prove he didn’t really kill his father. This shows the reader that Oedipus seems to know subconsciously that he is the slayer of his father. Everyman, in the first scene, quarrels with Death about going on the long journey. He pleads for even a few more days before making him take this voyage. Both characters argue “Not me…it can’t be!…'; Both also look for a person or reason to displace their burden in order to avoid facing their strife.
In The Crying of Lot 49, by Thomas Pynchon, Oedipa Mass leaves her uniform world to execute the estate of her ex-boyfriend in San Narsicso. While executing the estate she finds herself thrust into a complex search for the estate, which becomes a search for meaning. During the search for meaning, the myth of Narcissus and Echo is used as a stylistic tool through out the novel to show the self-evaluative journey that Oedipa embarks on and exposes her true self-identity in modern American culture. This tool can be seen clearly in the love scene between Oedipa and Metzger, the motel Echo Courts, and the gender roles that are prevail throughout the novel. The myth of Narcissus and Echo in this novel points out a point that is stressed by Marshall