The worldview of The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon appears to take a very pessimistic view. It focuses mainly on Oedipa’s relationship with several men around her from her husband, lawyer and others she comes across. It does not necessarily advocate for change she seems to simply agree with it but is not content with the way things are presently. The book does seem to accept the status quo because everything is explained as matter of fact.
A pessimistic view is to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen. It is having a negative outlook and this book seems to focus on that a lot at the very beginning after Oedipa discovers she inherited something or is part of a will she responds by: “Oedipa stood in the living room, ... tried to feel as drunk as possible” (Pynchon1). The news did not seems to settle well with her because she had no idea how to go about executing a will. Then she mentions her husband and he also has a very negative outlook in life. He sells cars and he describes it as “For a couple of years he’s been a used car salesman … working hour were exquisite torture to him” (4). He took his job very serious and compares people trading in old cars as: “filed in only to exchange a dented, malfunctioning version of himself…” (5). They are married and both seem to have a gloomy outlook in life.
Then she mentions her shrink Dr. Hilarius which calls her at 3am and she suddenly thinks of Unlce Sam: “his eyes gleaming unhealthy, his sunken yellow cheeks, most violently rouged, his finger pointing between her eyes” (8). This is another important man in her life but he turns out to be completely crazy. He ends up taking her hostage at the end of the book, ‘“He has a gun” Oedipa called “and I’m in here”’ (111). He is another example of how the worst always happens.
Then the lawyer Roseman is a pervert “Roseman tried to play footsie with her under the table” (10). And she seems to just shrug it off, when he asks her to run away with him and she asked where to only to end the conversation. She however does not seem alarmed by this as if it’s common practice.
Even the city she visited San Narciso is described gloomy and gray, “Smog hung all round the horizon, the sun … was painful” (14). This is where she meets a young band member Miles from a group called The Paranoids. He too is paranoid and comes on to her. There are alot of sexual overtones in the entire book. “Miles closed the door behind them and started in with the shifty eye. ‘In return for what?’” (17). He was thinking, she wanted to sleep with him to play his song in the radio.
Then there is the other lawyer Metzger who she ultimately cheats on her husband with, so she is part of the pessimistic overtone of the book. He is described with “enormous eyes” and a “wickedly” smile page 17. There is also the scene of them having sex which just seems like rape, she says: “She awoke at last to find herself getting laid” (29). If she was unconscious I doubt there was consent, even if she initiated it, but she again seems to not bother with it. To make things worst she asked him what her dead ex Inverarity say about her and Metzger says “‘That you wouldn’t be easy’” (30). It almost sounded sarcastic and as though he was calling her a slut. The she continues to admit what she has done in the very next chapter she says, “then that night’s infidelity with Metzger…” (31). She doesn’t seem to have remorse for cheating on her husband like this is common for her to do.
The narrative also carries a lot of conspiracy theories, and mentions the symbol she found on page 38 and the Courier’s Tragedy Play which I think only adds to her paranoia that something is wrong. She must uncover something bad, and she even admits towards the end of the book, “She might well be in the cold and sweatless meathooks for a psychosis” (107). The entire book is Oedipa trying to uncover something but in the end it’s just a lot of clues and no answers. She has several encounters with men who are all bad people, and she sees the world as a gloomy sad place.
The events of The Crying of Lot 49 definitely did not unfold as I thought they were going to. As I approached the end of the novel, I thought that the remaining few pages were not nearly enough to provide a proper ending to all the mystery that surrounds The Courier's Tragedy, Inverarity, and Trystero. And I was right, the book ended on a cliffhanger with a final laugh at the reader's expense. The pessimism in the book is highlighted by the stance that life has no meaning. If you try to find meaning or make a meaning to the meaningless, you are left just like Oedipa. Your story is cut short and without meaning. Another instance of pessimism in the story, which I would like to point out as well, is in the very beginning of the story in which Oedipa questions whether the events of the story are the work of Inverarity. I cannot find the quote right now, but I am sure it happens shortly after Oedipa and Metzger begin to watch the film in which Metzger starred in as a child.
ReplyDeleteThe traits that the entirety of The Crying of Lot 49 are based upon creating a overwhelming feeling of a lack of purpose in the world as a whole. Through the different examples that were mentioned, I was able to get a variety of perspectives on the understanding of pessimism in the work. I found your insight to be very multifaceted, however as a reader I would have liked to see a deeper analysis of the different situations that were shown. I agree that the focus on Oedipa's worldview, which is based in confusion and disorientation becomes overwhelming in her relationships with men, as she never truly finds intimacy in a world based in existentialism. Her relationships become an expression for her inability to be intimate, whether it be with others, herself, or existence as a whole.
ReplyDeleteHey, I really liked what you had to say about pessimism and how it correlated with The Crying of Lot 49. You also used many sources to back up your claim which is awesome and appreciated because now I can go back and reference them, but I would recommend having more analysis to back up the quotes because they were kind of short. I would love for you to delve deeper because you pose a interesting subject matter.
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