The Crying Of Lot 49

[Mark Kohut]

He loves it lovingly, working-it-outly......

But I had never noticed the "descending angle" before!!....
And we know a little of what angles have come to mean in AtD........

and always wondered whether some auctions started by refusing latecomers with "locked doors".?  Anyone know?



----- Original Message ----
From: Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>
To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Monday, January 21, 2008 10:51:39 AM
Subject: The Crying Of Lot 49

eyes of the world
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Crying Of Lot 49

After reading The Crying Of Lot 49 my initial reaction was similar to
Mucho's when we learn Dr. Hilarius has been giving him LSD. Pynchon
brings the reader hauntingly close to the edge of confusion, but at
the same time offering a type of clarification only established by his
word choice and scene description. Certain sounds that echo in the
background throughout his book were interesting and made me realize
the type of technology which was beginning to show its face during the
60's. As Pynchon writes on page fourteen, "Though she knew even less
about radios than about Southern Californians, there were to both
outward patterns a hieroglyphic sense of concealed meaning, of an
intent to communicate." I believe Oedipa is searching for
communication through the legend of the Tystero. Not only is she
searching for a way to communicate, she is also searching for herself.
I believe this is one reason Pynchon's addition of historical events
is so prevalent. The World War II reference regarding old bones that
were sold to a cigarette company was fascinating. The story relayed by
Fallopian in the bar about the disagreements between the Russians and
the U.S. was fantastic. And of course the entire legend of the
Trystero and W.A.S.T.E was mind numbing. These historical events are
relayed mostly by stories and words, which makes their link with
another form of communication (music) so interesting. Music surrounds
this book much like historical stories do. Mucho is a disc jockey, the
teen band sings songs throughout the book, and the singing that takes
place at Yoydyne.

Another theme that seems to loom in the background of this book is the
presence of television. The television seems to create an initial bond
between Metzger and Oedipa. The technological box not only builds
their relationship, but in some terms ends it with the two having sex.
(Which seemed to be Metzger's original agenda.) Pynchon writes on page
twenty nine, "On the screen New Zealanders and Turks were impaling one
another on bayonets. With a cry Oedipa rushed to him, fell on him,
began kissing him to wake him up." Not only are they surrounded by the
bright light of the television in this scene, but also the guitar
sounds of the Paranoids. The character of the television itself is
mentioned over and over in this book. From episodes of Bonanza to the
scene in Nefastis' house. Pynchon includes cartoons in this section on
page eighty five. "He returned to his TV set, which was now showing
cartoons. Oedipa sat through two Yogi Bears, one Magilla Gorilla and a
Peter Potamus, staring at Clerk Maxwell's enigmatic profile, waiting
for the Demon to communicate." Again, we see a need for communication
and a strange background noise reserved for the observant.

When I first began to read this book I wanted to finish so I could
learn what it all meant, including the title. The ending has left me
somewhat baffled. Pynchon writes on page one hundred and fifty two,
"She heard a lock snap shut; the sound echoed a moment. Passerine
spread his arms in a gesture that seemed to belong to the priesthood
of some remote culture; perhaps to a descending angle." I couldn't
help but think this might just be the end of Oedipa. Why the locked
door to an auction? Why a reference to an angle? Is lot 49 more than
the sale of some old stamps?

http://literaturelink.blogspot.com/2008/01/crying-of-lot-49.html


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