Truth and to Draw a Line Between

¶ … truth and to draw a line between what is real and what is pseudo demands not only rationality but also the power to keep one's senses intact. Searching for the answers to the perplexing and intellectually challenging questions result in our increased knowledge of the world and its practices but also what augments is our disbelief regarding the meaning and the values that we hold dear. This essay discusses in detail the principle character, Oedipa of Thomas Pynchon's monograph, The Crying Lot of 49.

Identity of Oedipa: The Search For Reality

Oedipa Mass is undoubtedly the female heroine of the novel, The Crying Lot of 49 by Thomas Pynchon. The entire plot of the masterpiece by Pynchon revolves around the self-discoveries of the protagonist (Pynchon). When his ex-lover Pierce leaves an obscene amount of wealth with Oedipa as the sole executor of his will, the female principle character embarks on a journey where she comes across the two stark opposites; the fantasy world and the real world (Pynchon). Trying desperately to distinguish between the two, Oedipa sets on an odyssey, making futile attempts to solve a worldwide conspiracy in the South of California (Pynchon). In order to piece together the mystery and the truth behind her boyfriend's will she waste her valuable mechanical energy (Pynchon).

In her ability to untangle the reality, she experiences adventurous episodes unfolding an unusual and grotesque world where all concepts of her knowledge transform into absurd and haunting questions that doubt the female protagonist of Thomas Pynchon (Pynchon). She begins to distrust and question everything around her and feels as if she is "within the confinement of a prison" (Pychon: 20) displaying problems related to entropy. Eventually she manages to escape to set herself free from the closed system but in the struggle to learn the real identity about Tristero, she turns into a paranoid. Paranoia as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition is the "extreme and irrational distrust of others." The other meaning also reflects the characteristics as displayed in the novel regarding Oedipa's attitude towards decision-making activities: "A psychotic disorder characterized by delusions of persecution with or without grandeur, often strenuously defended with apparent logic and reason" (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

Hence, the protagonist of the magnum opus, The Crying Lot of 49, is compelled to make use of only the signals and signifiers in the world where "central truth" (Eklund: 216) is missing. Thus, "it is within the context of this epileptic world where Oedipa must search for the meaning behind the clues, announcements and imitations (Pynchon: 95) that define her reality. The post horn and the organizations associated with it are the dominant signifiers in the novel" (Eklund: 216).

Moreover, the author compels his readers to ponder upon their everyday life and the way they view the world as well as their surroundings. The author through the description of Oedipa explains the significance of those individuals who seek the truth, those beings who fight against the system and the difference between these human beings and the ones who do not belong to the system at all.