The Crying of Lot 49 Ch. 5
Honestly, I am having a difficult time following this story's plot. I apologize in advance if my blog post seems to be all over the place, but I do not know how to connect the different ideas I picked up on in the reading.
I find it interesting how Pychon brings up the idea of communication even without the mention of W.A.S.T.E. After giving up on following the mail deliverer, Oedipa goes back to the hotel lobby and sees it "full of deaf-mute delegates" (106). Deaf-mutes cannot easily communicate with people, but when everyone was dancing, there were no collisions. Oedipa did not understand how everyone could be synchronized without any means of communication. This could relate to the mail conspiracy because on the outside it seems that people do not have a way to communicate. Oedipa does not understand how people can communicate, but they have a secret way to do so while Oedipa is caught in the middle of it with no understanding. I wonder what Pychon is trying to say about communication by including this scene in the story at this specific point.
Names of places and people hold importance in this book. We have discussed the possible reasons for Oedipa's name, Pierce's name, and other names, but chapter 5 mentions the word "identity." Funch tells Oedipa that Mucho is "losing his identity...Wendell is less himself and more generic" (115). Oedipa also tells Funch to call her Edna, a name that means pleasure. Mucho acts different than he did before because he started using LSD pills. Both Oedipa's and Mucho's identities have changed because of pleasure. This idea of pleasure also connects to the topic of addiction that pops up a few times in the story. Oedipa's obsession with the mail conspiracy seems to be like an addiction of some sort because she cannot help but look into it further. When Oedipa talks to Mucho at the end of chapter 5, she finds out that he has been taking LSD pills, and Mucho argues that people "don't get addicted" (117). Their addictions seem to be the source of their pleasure, and their identities changed as a result. This idea also comes up earlier in the chapter when Oedipa goes to The Greek Way and meets a man who claims that love is "the worst addiction of all" (91). No one in this book seems to be in love, and when the word "love" appears in the book, the characters do not view it positively. I wonder how the comparison between these types of addictions carries the themes throughout the story. This story seems to be mixing the ideas of communication, identity, addiction, and love/sexuality, and I do not know how to understand them. Hopefully, this book will make more sense once we finish it, but as of now, I am more confused than I was when we were reading Piers Plowman.
I find it interesting how Pychon brings up the idea of communication even without the mention of W.A.S.T.E. After giving up on following the mail deliverer, Oedipa goes back to the hotel lobby and sees it "full of deaf-mute delegates" (106). Deaf-mutes cannot easily communicate with people, but when everyone was dancing, there were no collisions. Oedipa did not understand how everyone could be synchronized without any means of communication. This could relate to the mail conspiracy because on the outside it seems that people do not have a way to communicate. Oedipa does not understand how people can communicate, but they have a secret way to do so while Oedipa is caught in the middle of it with no understanding. I wonder what Pychon is trying to say about communication by including this scene in the story at this specific point.
Names of places and people hold importance in this book. We have discussed the possible reasons for Oedipa's name, Pierce's name, and other names, but chapter 5 mentions the word "identity." Funch tells Oedipa that Mucho is "losing his identity...Wendell is less himself and more generic" (115). Oedipa also tells Funch to call her Edna, a name that means pleasure. Mucho acts different than he did before because he started using LSD pills. Both Oedipa's and Mucho's identities have changed because of pleasure. This idea of pleasure also connects to the topic of addiction that pops up a few times in the story. Oedipa's obsession with the mail conspiracy seems to be like an addiction of some sort because she cannot help but look into it further. When Oedipa talks to Mucho at the end of chapter 5, she finds out that he has been taking LSD pills, and Mucho argues that people "don't get addicted" (117). Their addictions seem to be the source of their pleasure, and their identities changed as a result. This idea also comes up earlier in the chapter when Oedipa goes to The Greek Way and meets a man who claims that love is "the worst addiction of all" (91). No one in this book seems to be in love, and when the word "love" appears in the book, the characters do not view it positively. I wonder how the comparison between these types of addictions carries the themes throughout the story. This story seems to be mixing the ideas of communication, identity, addiction, and love/sexuality, and I do not know how to understand them. Hopefully, this book will make more sense once we finish it, but as of now, I am more confused than I was when we were reading Piers Plowman.
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