The Crying of Lot 49
What makes a mystery story?
Based on what we've read, having unknowns, and a detective figure of sorts trying to piece together clues from their surroundings to gain understanding. This understanding could be of how a murder unfolded, the meaning of life, a secret organization, or even of themselves.
For Oedipa Maas, it seems that the mystery somehow encompassed all of the above.
Another element that creates mystery? No dramatic irony- the readers only know as much as the characters.
Pynchon did a good job stringing his readers along and driving them into insanity along with Oedipa.
He did not do a good job of tying up the loose ends of the story, or resolving the mystery, which wasn't his goal. By not showing the results of the crying of lot 49, Pynchon leaves the story more open to interpretation. Did Oedipa dream up the whole thing? Did Inverarity? Pynchon doesn't answer the question so readers have to decide for themselves.
Unlike some of the other stories we've read, namely Poe and Sherlock Holmes, there is no "wow" moment, when the detective explains what happened and how they figured it out and everyone else is in awe of their talent. There is no amazement because there is no resolution. The mystery isn't solved. It is an ongoing question. Which can be very frustrating for those of us who like being told what happened; like knowing it was what's-his-name, in the kitchen, with the wrench.
One thing that was satisfying was the way that Pynchon slowly revealed the title of the book. A stamp connoisseur or someone who frequents auctions would have likely recognized it early: The crying of lot 49 refers to the auctioning of lot 49, the set of stamps with the Tristero references. The stamps and the estate auction were there all along, signs for anyone knowledgeable enough to pick them up. The more specific clues came toward the very end: "The Tristero 'forgeries' were to be sold, as lot 49" (175). Eight pages from the end, the first direct reference to the title. Then, on the top of the last page: "'Loren Passerine, the finest auctioneer in the West, will be crying today.' 'Will be what?' 'We say and auctioneer 'cries' a sale'" (183). The two pieces of the title are finally revealed. And then, finally, they come together satisfyingly for the last sentence of the book: "Oedipa settled back, to await the crying of lot 49" (183). So though Oedipa's mystery has not been solved, at least readers can have the slightest satisfaction in finally knowing what the title means.
Based on what we've read, having unknowns, and a detective figure of sorts trying to piece together clues from their surroundings to gain understanding. This understanding could be of how a murder unfolded, the meaning of life, a secret organization, or even of themselves.
For Oedipa Maas, it seems that the mystery somehow encompassed all of the above.
Another element that creates mystery? No dramatic irony- the readers only know as much as the characters.
Pynchon did a good job stringing his readers along and driving them into insanity along with Oedipa.
He did not do a good job of tying up the loose ends of the story, or resolving the mystery, which wasn't his goal. By not showing the results of the crying of lot 49, Pynchon leaves the story more open to interpretation. Did Oedipa dream up the whole thing? Did Inverarity? Pynchon doesn't answer the question so readers have to decide for themselves.
Unlike some of the other stories we've read, namely Poe and Sherlock Holmes, there is no "wow" moment, when the detective explains what happened and how they figured it out and everyone else is in awe of their talent. There is no amazement because there is no resolution. The mystery isn't solved. It is an ongoing question. Which can be very frustrating for those of us who like being told what happened; like knowing it was what's-his-name, in the kitchen, with the wrench.
One thing that was satisfying was the way that Pynchon slowly revealed the title of the book. A stamp connoisseur or someone who frequents auctions would have likely recognized it early: The crying of lot 49 refers to the auctioning of lot 49, the set of stamps with the Tristero references. The stamps and the estate auction were there all along, signs for anyone knowledgeable enough to pick them up. The more specific clues came toward the very end: "The Tristero 'forgeries' were to be sold, as lot 49" (175). Eight pages from the end, the first direct reference to the title. Then, on the top of the last page: "'Loren Passerine, the finest auctioneer in the West, will be crying today.' 'Will be what?' 'We say and auctioneer 'cries' a sale'" (183). The two pieces of the title are finally revealed. And then, finally, they come together satisfyingly for the last sentence of the book: "Oedipa settled back, to await the crying of lot 49" (183). So though Oedipa's mystery has not been solved, at least readers can have the slightest satisfaction in finally knowing what the title means.
I agree! There wasn't any single moment where the entire mystery was solved, there's still a bunch of loose ends. I thought it was kind of frustrating that it took so long for him to reveal the meaning of the title, but I do agree that it was satisfying when he finally did.
ReplyDeleteI think it's super interesting that the author left the ending open for interpretation. It's funny how this still qualifies as a mystery novel even though it is vastly different from the books we have previously read, as you stated above. The meaning behind the title was definitely not what I expected; I thought it would relate to the car lot that Mucho used to work at. Regardless, it was nice that the author at least answered that for us!
ReplyDeleteI like that you pointed out that Oedipa herself was the detective in this story because I kept thinking that this book was not really similar to any others that we read, but now that I think about it, the detective element is definitely still there. Also, I like that you pointed out that Pynchon's goal was not to tie up those loose ends. However, I was still not very satisfied just knowing what the title meant because I don't feel like that last bit about the auction was such a major part of the purpose of the book that it was worthy enough to be the title of the entire story.
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