Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 follows Oedipa Maas on her journey as she tries to execute her ex-boyfriend’s, Pierce Inverarity, will and discover the conspiracy of the secret society, Tristero. Oedipa communicates and interacts with many characters in hopes of gaining information that will help her solve the conspiracy, but her efforts are ineffective and she is left distraught and without answers to the existence of Tristero or Pierce’s legacy. Pynchon tries to express in his novel that today’s and future’s interactions and communication processes are dysfunctional. Within their interactions and communication Oedipa and other characters share and withhold information and interpret messages differently that ultimately causes chaos.
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One name that we did not find out the true meaning of was Oedipa’s. Oedipa’s name is a reference to the Greek myth Oedipus who according to Encyclopaedia Britannica tried to find his identity after he was abandoned at birth and ended up killing his father and marrying his mother (Encyclopaedia). We can see from the commonality in their names that Pynchon purposely used the name Oedipa; she had to search for answers to the mysteries of the Tristero as Oedipus had to search for his parents. I also believe that Oedipa had to search for her true identity. Oedipa assumes many roles and identities throughout the course of the novel to try and fit into society. By doing this she is limiting herself and her interactions with the other characters because she cannot express herself in ways that she may need to in order to receive some help in the solving the conspiracy. Oedipa’s roles included a housewife at the Tupperware parties, a student when she meets with Emory Bortz, a stockholder when she interacts with Stanley Koteks, and a patient and a therapist when she visits Dr. Hilarious (Pynchon). Each role that Oedipa acquires is significant to her journey but they ultimately limit her ability to interact in the necessary ways to receive the information she needs. Oedipa …show more content…
Many people in our society may not be pleased with their actions and decisions in the real world but in the online world it is like starting over so they create a fake profile. These profiles are then used to communicate and interact with “friend”. Once these individuals with fake profiles begin communicate and interact they give these people fake information and the person on the other side of the computer screen or smart phone never gets to truly know who you are. These fake profiles people create can be difficult. Unfortunately I have had a personal experience with fake profiles. I did not create the fake profile, but a former friend of my sisters did. I hate to write this but it shows how something like this can get into your head and ultimately affect your life as it did for Oedipa. My sister had just moved to Atlanta, GA for a new job. One of her coworkers at her new job had offered my sister a room at her apartment, she moved in for the time bring until my sister could get her own place. My sister and her friend became best friends and lived together for 2 years. My sister and her friend ended up having issues that eventually led to a disagreement and my sister decided to no longer be friends with this girl and moved out. For months my sister’s friend reached out to her and apologized for what had happened, but my sister no longer wanted
One name that we did not find out the true meaning of was Oedipa’s. Oedipa’s name is a reference to the Greek myth Oedipus who according to Encyclopaedia Britannica tried to find his identity after he was abandoned at birth and ended up killing his father and marrying his mother (Encyclopaedia). We can see from the commonality in their names that Pynchon purposely used the name Oedipa; she had to search for answers to the mysteries of the Tristero as Oedipus had to search for his parents. I also believe that Oedipa had to search for her true identity. Oedipa assumes many roles and identities throughout the course of the novel to try and fit into society. By doing this she is limiting herself and her interactions with the other characters because she cannot express herself in ways that she may need to in order to receive some help in the solving the conspiracy. Oedipa’s roles included a housewife at the Tupperware parties, a student when she meets with Emory Bortz, a stockholder when she interacts with Stanley Koteks, and a patient and a therapist when she visits Dr. Hilarious (Pynchon). Each role that Oedipa acquires is significant to her journey but they ultimately limit her ability to interact in the necessary ways to receive the information she needs. Oedipa …show more content…
Many people in our society may not be pleased with their actions and decisions in the real world but in the online world it is like starting over so they create a fake profile. These profiles are then used to communicate and interact with “friend”. Once these individuals with fake profiles begin communicate and interact they give these people fake information and the person on the other side of the computer screen or smart phone never gets to truly know who you are. These fake profiles people create can be difficult. Unfortunately I have had a personal experience with fake profiles. I did not create the fake profile, but a former friend of my sisters did. I hate to write this but it shows how something like this can get into your head and ultimately affect your life as it did for Oedipa. My sister had just moved to Atlanta, GA for a new job. One of her coworkers at her new job had offered my sister a room at her apartment, she moved in for the time bring until my sister could get her own place. My sister and her friend became best friends and lived together for 2 years. My sister and her friend ended up having issues that eventually led to a disagreement and my sister decided to no longer be friends with this girl and moved out. For months my sister’s friend reached out to her and apologized for what had happened, but my sister no longer wanted