The Ending of The Crying of Lot 49

            For some reason, after finishing this book, I am still completely and utterly confused as to what happened in the story. I was hoping for some sort of mind blowing clarity in the last chapter and I was somewhat denied that luxury. Personally, I did not like the ending of this book because I felt like it was a cliffhanger of sorts; you want to find out who this mystery bidder is but it is never revealed. I would think the author is alluding to the fact that the bidder is Metzger or Pierce Inverarity, but I cannot be completely sure. For the sake of this blog though, I am dreaming of my own ending to take place where the current ending leaves off. In this dream ending, Pierce reveals himself and proves to Oedipa that he is not dead, and has been playing tricks on her for the entire length of the story. At points of the story, and even in chapter 6, Oedipa is concerned that this quest has been nothing but a huge lie. On page 140, she realizes that “every accessible route to the Tristero could be traced back to the Inverarity estate.” At this point, she contemplates the idea that Pierce has paid all these men to play this trick on her. Farther down on page 140 she states, “Or loyal, for free, for fun, to some grandiose practical joke he’d cooked up, all for her embarrassment, or terrorizing, or moral improvement?” I feel as if at this point, Oedipa is putting all the pieces together and realizing that Inverarity is in every part of this mystery, even where she had no idea. While Oedipa is putting all of this together, she calls the man she met at The Greek Way and asks him to put the final piece of the puzzle together. It was at this point that she does not get that clarity; instead he proclaimed “it’s too late” and hung up the phone on her before she could question his intentions. Anyway, I was really looking for meaning in the end of this chapter, and also looking for an explanation of what “The Tristero” was, since I really did not understand this concept throughout the rest of the book. With the lack of clarity at the end, I will just have to research more into this “quest” online.

microcosm: a little world; a world in miniature

            “Nobody else I ever knew was so close to the author, to the microcosm of that play as it must have surrounded Wharfinger’s living mind.” Page 125

incommensurate: disproportionate; inadequate

            “…her love, such as it had been, remaining incommensurate with his need to possess, to alter the land…” page 147-148

litanies: a ceremonial or liturgical form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations or supplications with responses that are the same for a number in succession.

            “…monotone litanies of insult..” page 149

Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49"

            Now being 79 pages into “The Crying of Lot 49” I feel as if I should have more of a grip about the plot. I am still completely and utterly confused as to what is happening, and I have even had to consult SparkNotes for clarification. I did not read the SparkNotes until after I read each chapter, but I am glad I did because it has helped me understand a tad bit better. I have a grip on the idea of a conspiracy that Oedipa must figure out, but I honestly do not understand what this conspiracy is all about.

            Regardless, I really hope further reading gives me a clearer understanding of this conspiracy because I enjoy examples of conspiracy. I remember learning in History classes about conspiracies surrounding assassinations such as JFK’s and being very interested in the whole idea. I really want to give this book a try because I would like to get into the mystery of it.

            One aspect I would really like to highlight though is the subtle uses of popular culture that I have recognized. Pynchon frequently brings different verses of songs into the novel, which I feel is significant because of the time period. The 1960s was a time of widespread revolution, and music was one of the ways to publicize that revolution. Music was very popular during this time and I think Pynchon deliberately placed these musical references in to play up the time period more. At one point, the music even is used in the workplace. “The routine business took an hour; for another hour the shareholders and proxies and company officers held a Yoyodyne songfest,” shows that the plant uses music to bring people together. The idea of music bringing people together was very popular in the 60s, and is evident in music festivals such as Woodstock.

            Another quote that I particularly enjoyed was when Oedipa was trying to work out the Wells, Fargo incident in her head. She says “A cross? Or the initial T?” and I liked this quote because I personally thought it showed her becoming a detective of sorts. At this point, she has realized there is a conspiracy to figure out and has already started overlooking the face value of a “sign.”

Vocabulary:

Oblong: deviating from a square, circular, or spherical form by elongation in one dimension

            “…handing her an oblong magnifying glass.” Page 77

Philatelist: a specialist in philately : one who collects or studies stamps

            “…who is the most eminent philatelist in the L.A. area.” Page 75

Adversaries: one that contends with, opposes, or resists

            “He did, but not about their dark adversaries.” Page 74

"Some people build fences to keep people out and other people build fences to keep people in."

Like most of the other readings we have done thus far, I truly enjoyed Fences by August Wilson. It was a fairly easy read and I tend to like books that are written in the sort of dialect that is the spoken word. I’m assuming this sort of language is typical of plays since most lines are spoken words, but I do not know much about literature in that sense. Lines such as “Naw, you telling the truth there. I seen you do it” may not be correct English, but these sorts of lines make it an easy read in my mind. I also very much enjoyed the story line and liked the speed of the play. There was not too much fluff and was very straight to the point.

Going along with that point, I liked how Bono alluded to Troy’s affair but it wasn’t until their very serious conversation where you find out that it is true. At first, I thought the whole idea of Troy having an affair with Alberta was just nonsense and I liked the surprise the play gave me when it was really talked about. As odd as it is, I do not like surprises in my own life, but this sort of underplayed aspect was a “good surprise.” One quote I really liked from this particular scene where Bono calls Troy out for his affair is “You responsible for what you do” because sometimes people try to justify things until they are blue in the face and it gets under my skin. I felt like Troy was trying to blame some sort of intuition for his love for Alberta when it is his own fault. Troy made a mistake and should have fixed it, but instead he continued and impregnated the woman.

This play was fabulously written and I am glad I have found all the previous works to be semi-enjoyable; it really makes this class interesting. One pet peeve I had with this book was a mistake (I think) I found. In the prelude to scene five it stated, “There is noise and activity in the house as Rose, Gabriel, and Bono have gathered,” but it isn’t until later in the scene that Gabriel actually arrives from the mental hospital. For some reason this really threw me off.

Atavistic: recurrence of or reversion to a past style, manner, outlook, approach, or activity

“A dance of atavistic signature and ritual.” (page 101)

Pallbearer: a person who helps to carry the coffin at a funeral

“I’m gonna go down and get the pallbearers lined up.” (page 92)

Treed: planted or grown with trees

“Blue treed a possum in a hollow log.” (page 99)