Crying of Lot 49 Ch. 1-4
At first, it seemed like this would be an easier read than Piers Plowman, but I was mistaken. Even though the language is pretty simple, I still have no clue what is going on. It's kind of odd and at some parts, it feels like a dream like Piers Plowman.
Mucho and Oedipa seem to have kind of a strange relationship; they're nice to each other, but Mucho seems kind of aloof. I felt bad for him slightly when Oedipa cheated on him with Metzger, but then again Mucho doesn't seem to really love Oedipa. Also, Mucho's kind of a creep because he's in to underage girls. It doesn't seem like Oedipa loves him either; it doesn't take much for her to sleep with Metzger. I have a feeling that this might be some kind of satirization of the detective genre, because Pynchon sometimes introduces weird things that he never brings up again, which is supposed to parody the presence of red herrings in detective fiction.
Like Piers Plowman, there seems to be some significance behind the names of the characters. But I've tried to analyze them, and it doesn't seem like there's much correlation. Oedipa reminds me of Oedipus Rex, which is alarming, but there hasn't been any hinting at accidental incest so far so I'm hoping they're unrelated. Mucho Maas kind of sounds like "mucho mas," which means "much more" in Spanish. Maybe this means that Mucho Maas wants more out of his life, which kind of makes sense because he doesn't seem very into his relationship with Oedipa and wants something more, i.e. underage girls. Pierce's last name, Inverarity, maybe could mean "inveracity," which means "lie" or "untruth." So then Pierce's full name would be Pierce Untruth, which I guess sort of makes sense since Oedipa's trying to uncover the truth in a sense. Peter Pinguid's last name means old/greasy, which also makes sense. Dr. Hilarius' name also makes sense, because the weird things he does (ex: trying to get Oedipa to take LSD and believing in telepathy) are hilarious. On the other hand, some names seem to be completely random, like Oedipa. Also, Mike Fallopian. I'm not sure what his character has to do with fallopian tubes? Perhaps this is Pynchon subtly making fun of the way we tend to over-analyze or read too much into certain details in detective novels.
Also, what are the Paranoids supposed to be? Isn't it a little weird for teenagers to be following around two adults and walking in on them having sex?
Mucho and Oedipa seem to have kind of a strange relationship; they're nice to each other, but Mucho seems kind of aloof. I felt bad for him slightly when Oedipa cheated on him with Metzger, but then again Mucho doesn't seem to really love Oedipa. Also, Mucho's kind of a creep because he's in to underage girls. It doesn't seem like Oedipa loves him either; it doesn't take much for her to sleep with Metzger. I have a feeling that this might be some kind of satirization of the detective genre, because Pynchon sometimes introduces weird things that he never brings up again, which is supposed to parody the presence of red herrings in detective fiction.
Like Piers Plowman, there seems to be some significance behind the names of the characters. But I've tried to analyze them, and it doesn't seem like there's much correlation. Oedipa reminds me of Oedipus Rex, which is alarming, but there hasn't been any hinting at accidental incest so far so I'm hoping they're unrelated. Mucho Maas kind of sounds like "mucho mas," which means "much more" in Spanish. Maybe this means that Mucho Maas wants more out of his life, which kind of makes sense because he doesn't seem very into his relationship with Oedipa and wants something more, i.e. underage girls. Pierce's last name, Inverarity, maybe could mean "inveracity," which means "lie" or "untruth." So then Pierce's full name would be Pierce Untruth, which I guess sort of makes sense since Oedipa's trying to uncover the truth in a sense. Peter Pinguid's last name means old/greasy, which also makes sense. Dr. Hilarius' name also makes sense, because the weird things he does (ex: trying to get Oedipa to take LSD and believing in telepathy) are hilarious. On the other hand, some names seem to be completely random, like Oedipa. Also, Mike Fallopian. I'm not sure what his character has to do with fallopian tubes? Perhaps this is Pynchon subtly making fun of the way we tend to over-analyze or read too much into certain details in detective novels.
Also, what are the Paranoids supposed to be? Isn't it a little weird for teenagers to be following around two adults and walking in on them having sex?
I pray that I never have a relationship with anyone like Oedipa's and Mucho's. They are so indifferent to each other...it's so sad. I am convinced there is no love in that relationship. And I'm really creeped out that Mucho's into younger girls because I'm envisioning Mucho to be some big meat-head (probably because his name is Mucho Maas). I like your analysis of the names!! I too have NO idea what Fallopian could mean in this book. But whatever its meaning is I won't be surprised because this book is just WEIRD. Also, why the heck are The Paranoids just going on a trip with Oedipa................They're literally everywhere in this book but I don't get it because they're just a bunch of teens mingling with adult business (the conspiracy).
ReplyDeleteI really liked your paragraph about the names. I picked up on most of those ideas when I was reading, but I had not even thought about "mucho mas." I think the idea of wanting more out of life is very true to his character, and in chapter 5, we see this to be true when he starts taking LSD pills. I also like how you mentioned the relationship between Oedipa and Mucho. I, too, thought that there was no love in their relationship. I talked about it a bit in my blog post and maybe how it could connect the claim Arnold made that love is "the worst addiction of all" (91). As of now though, I am not sure what the status of their relationship could mean when considering the other topics from the book.
ReplyDelete