The Crying of Lot 49 - Final Blog
We know a story is an account of either fiction or nonfiction that is told for entertainment, which The Crying of Lot 49 definitely is. But what makes it a mystery story? I believe a mystery story can be any novel that withholds information from the reader or characters; not everything is known, but this must be significant to the plot. In other words, the information being kept secret must actually be worth wondering about and hold some sort of importance. For example, the reader never learns when Oedipa Maas's birthday is; however, this fact is not relevant to the story and therefore does not have the power to classify it as a mystery. Contrarily, both Oedipa and the reader never find out the meaning behind "Tristero," a relevant part to the plot, which does indeed classify the novel as a mystery.
Tracing back to what drives Oedipa throughout all of this, she seems to still have feelings for her ex, Pierce. That really would explain why she is so interested in all of his estate business when she easily could've just hired someone to take care of it for her and not become invested. She has a strong desire to escape from her daily life, something that she knows Pierce could've granted her: "so Pierce had taken her away... What did she so desire escape from?" (11). Her love for Pierce more has to do with her love for adventure, and even though she gets frustrated during her journey throughout California, she would much rather be doing this than be stuck at home with her disk jockey husband.
I'd say that Pynchon's evidence relates most closely to Doyle's, since Oedipa finds hard clues and makes sense of what she finds by talking to different people and visiting different places. In fact, the book also relates a bit to Piers Plowman in that Oedipa is on a quest and meets people along the way to gather more information.
In the end of it all, we still are not told the true meaning of "Tristero" and neither is Oedipa. We are, however, exposed to the meaning behind the title, which has to do with the selling of Pierce's stamps at an auction: "Oedipa settled back, to await the crying of lot 49" (152). The whole time I was reading the book I had assumed that the title was in relation to Mucho and the fact that the only job he ever believed in was when he was working on a car lot. Of course, this wasn't what the author had in mind at all. By leaving the ending open for interpretation, the author gives the audience the chance to see the entire book however they want. Since there is no set answer to Oedipa's quest, one can assume that she was on drugs the entire time, or that it was all real and the Tristero actually exists. Regardless, there definitely were no loose ends tied up.
Tracing back to what drives Oedipa throughout all of this, she seems to still have feelings for her ex, Pierce. That really would explain why she is so interested in all of his estate business when she easily could've just hired someone to take care of it for her and not become invested. She has a strong desire to escape from her daily life, something that she knows Pierce could've granted her: "so Pierce had taken her away... What did she so desire escape from?" (11). Her love for Pierce more has to do with her love for adventure, and even though she gets frustrated during her journey throughout California, she would much rather be doing this than be stuck at home with her disk jockey husband.
I'd say that Pynchon's evidence relates most closely to Doyle's, since Oedipa finds hard clues and makes sense of what she finds by talking to different people and visiting different places. In fact, the book also relates a bit to Piers Plowman in that Oedipa is on a quest and meets people along the way to gather more information.
In the end of it all, we still are not told the true meaning of "Tristero" and neither is Oedipa. We are, however, exposed to the meaning behind the title, which has to do with the selling of Pierce's stamps at an auction: "Oedipa settled back, to await the crying of lot 49" (152). The whole time I was reading the book I had assumed that the title was in relation to Mucho and the fact that the only job he ever believed in was when he was working on a car lot. Of course, this wasn't what the author had in mind at all. By leaving the ending open for interpretation, the author gives the audience the chance to see the entire book however they want. Since there is no set answer to Oedipa's quest, one can assume that she was on drugs the entire time, or that it was all real and the Tristero actually exists. Regardless, there definitely were no loose ends tied up.
I agree with your definition of a mystery as withholding or not providing information. The novel never reveals the importance of the "Tristero System", consequently never resolving the mastering. However, the lack of answers provides suspense for the reader, and makes one question how important the actual Tristero System is. However, it also makes me wonder whether the true mystery of the novel is centered around the Tristero System, or Oedipa's role in executing Pierce's will.
ReplyDeleteI guess that defining a mystery as "withholding information from the reader" works as the definition of a mystery. It is broad, but so is the range of books we have read for this class. Perhaps another reason this book is a mystery is that information is withheld even to the end. The "loose ends" that never get tied probably add to the mystery element of the story.
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