Crying of Lot 49 Thomas

Crying of Lot 49

Thomas Pyncheon's work "The Crying of Lot 49" is one of the most impressive postmodern literary works of the 20th century. Combining an array of expressionistic instruments, ranging from incorporating a play within the action of the book and using proper names with underlying messages, the book discusses a wide and diversified range of themes that include loneliness (one of the big themes in all modern or postmodern works), the constant search towards finding the truth and the incapacity to separate reality from idealism in the modern world. All of these are in fact the usual challenges that the modern (or rather postmodern) individual faces and Pyncheon is keen to analyze them as well.

In a classic postmodernist approach, the analysis is not open and transparent, but rather intuitive and suggested. Such is the case with the painting Bordando el Manto Terrestre, by Remedios Varo, which Oedipa remembers, at the beginning of the book, having seen during a trip to Mexico. The painting itself seems to be formed of two different levels and spaces. One is inside the tower and tower itself, while the other one is represented by the tapestry, connecting the interior of the tower to the outside world. It is also an expression of the individual's tumult in search of his or her own values in a world that is starting to lose its own.

In the same manner, the names used by the author are quite important throughout the book. Apparently, they make no sense, they have no underlying significance and simply sound funny, either a way for the author to make fun of his readers or a mean to encourage the surrealism of the story. However, some analogies can indeed be found. The first comes with the name of the main character, Oedipa, a play on the famous Oedipus. Part of Oedipus's destiny is related to his capacity to solve several mysteries, which is also what Oedipa has to do. Some of the names the author uses are simple plays on the sound of the respective name. Such is the case with Pierce Inverarity, but also Genghis Cohen. Many of the names are a simple instrument of satire, such as Dr. Hilarius.

The novel ends in a similar postmodern knowledge tension. As Oedipa becomes more and more lonely, there are different clues pointing out that the entire plot may in fact have been a joke played on her by Pierce Inverarity. As she attends the auction, she is hopeful that by learning who the bidder is, she will find the main key in understanding what Tristero is. The hope that is build up here is probably the common denominator of the book: we constantly search for the truth, and, although we may never actually reach it, we always hope that we will.