The Cry Of Lot 49 Ethos Pynchon Analysis
Imposing Meaning upon Chaos—The Crying Lot of 49
The Crying of Lot 49 explores cultural chaos and communication seen through the eyes of a young woman, Oedipa Maas, who finds herself caught in the tides of a suggested hallucinogenic world that appears to be disintegrating around her. Pynchon demonstrates, through characters and specific elements, the futility and frustration of attaching meaning to language and communication. One of the most effective ways in which Pynchon achieves the chaos and confusion is through Oedipa’s quest for knowledge and sense. The journey itself is a metaphor for human existence—the suggestion that our place as humans on earth is purely by chance, and we seek to find things to take as “signs” in order …show more content…
Hilarius to attempt to translating order and meaning out of random things, not ever entirely sure whether or not they are hallucinating. Oedipa, in the end does not even attempt to deny that she is committed to attach meaning to things that may not coincide with what she believes—“Nothing…could touch her. Nothing did. The repetition of symbols was to be enough…she tested it, shivering: ‘I am meant to remember. Each clue that comes is supposed to have its own clarity, its fine chances for permanence’ ” (Pynchon 95). Dr. Hilarius, in a sense, is used to help Oedipa temporarily see communication as potentially workable—Dr. Hilarius gets to finish his sentences and convey his opinions to her, raving or otherwise. By telling her to “cherish it,” it adds to the theme of attaching meaning to chaos where possible, “to hold it dear, for when you lose it, you go over by that much to the others. You begin to cease to be” (Pynchon 113). Although Oedipa still begins to lose herself through isolation resulting from being unable to make sense of the Trystero, it is clear that it is an almighty struggle to let go of the compulsion to make sense of
The Crying of Lot 49 explores cultural chaos and communication seen through the eyes of a young woman, Oedipa Maas, who finds herself caught in the tides of a suggested hallucinogenic world that appears to be disintegrating around her. Pynchon demonstrates, through characters and specific elements, the futility and frustration of attaching meaning to language and communication. One of the most effective ways in which Pynchon achieves the chaos and confusion is through Oedipa’s quest for knowledge and sense. The journey itself is a metaphor for human existence—the suggestion that our place as humans on earth is purely by chance, and we seek to find things to take as “signs” in order …show more content…
Hilarius to attempt to translating order and meaning out of random things, not ever entirely sure whether or not they are hallucinating. Oedipa, in the end does not even attempt to deny that she is committed to attach meaning to things that may not coincide with what she believes—“Nothing…could touch her. Nothing did. The repetition of symbols was to be enough…she tested it, shivering: ‘I am meant to remember. Each clue that comes is supposed to have its own clarity, its fine chances for permanence’ ” (Pynchon 95). Dr. Hilarius, in a sense, is used to help Oedipa temporarily see communication as potentially workable—Dr. Hilarius gets to finish his sentences and convey his opinions to her, raving or otherwise. By telling her to “cherish it,” it adds to the theme of attaching meaning to chaos where possible, “to hold it dear, for when you lose it, you go over by that much to the others. You begin to cease to be” (Pynchon 113). Although Oedipa still begins to lose herself through isolation resulting from being unable to make sense of the Trystero, it is clear that it is an almighty struggle to let go of the compulsion to make sense of