Hidden Meanings?

The Crying of Lot 49, written by Thomas Pynchon, ends with the words "...to await the crying of lot 49" (p.152). Why end his novel like this? I think that he is showing that, after searching during the entire book, Oedipa finally just waits for the answer to present itself to her. She is waiting to figure out how will "cry" for the lot 49. Why did Pynchon choose the number 49 though? I don't think it was just a random number. It must have some sort of symbol behind its innocent appearance. Was it the year that Tristero was created? Does it have to do with the fact that 4 is even, and 9 is odd?

And what is with the sentence "She heard a lock snap shut; the sound echoed a moment" (p.152). Were all of these people perhaps being locked in, to be killed or something? Or maybe it was just her, and all of these people were members of some sort of conspiracy, and she had gotten too close to figuring them out, and now she is either going to be killed, or offered a spot in their "priesthood" (p.152).

As the door is closed, the lobby windows and the sun are also shut out. Could this be hinting at a no escape kind of event? "The sun" might be symbolising enlightenment, concerning everything Oedipa was trying to find out in the first place.

What is the real meaning behind the ending of The Crying of Lot 49?

Auction items are called "lots"; a lot is "cried" when the auctioneer is taking bids on it; the stamps in question are "Lot 49". from Pynchon wiki, click here to go to the site

Mucho changed

At the end of chapter 5, Oedipa is reunited with her husband. But, actually, she finds out that "the day she'd left him for San Narciso was the day she'd seen Mucho for the last time" (p118). She discovers that Hilarius had given him pills called LSD. He now is some complete different person, who thinks that he is an antenna sending his pattern out across a millino lives a night. The pills seem to have changed his entire being, and made him some sort of "calm" druggie, who believes the pills have changed his entire out look, and are good for him. But what were the pill's supposed to do? What was Hilarius trying to test when he gave them to Mucho? What was their purpose? And why would you test them on people, without knowing the results, and what would happen to the victim?

The Symbol

The Crying of Lot 49 seems to be targeting mystery stories. There is a symbol that Oedipa keeps seeing everywhere, it looks like this, and Oedipa refers to it as the WASTE symbol.

She first saw it in a bathroom stall, and then saw a young man drawing it on an envelope when she got lost at the Yoyodyne Stockholder's meeting, on a ring that belonged to an old man's grandfather, who cut it off of an indian's finger, and finally for a fourth time on a letter from the Pony Express issue of 1940.

So, yes. It is really creepy, intimidating and exciting. (cough cough) I searched the symbol on the internet when looking for a picture, and results came up calling it the "silent horn". I probably spoiled some big suprise for myself later on in the book, so, I decided not to research it further, and to just keep reading.

However, this symbol probably has to do with the whole hippie-government-rebellion thing that is going on. For example, the whole mail carrier ordeal, where they weren't using the government "monopoly" on mail service. The g

randfather who cut the ring with the symbol off of an Indian's finger was in the Pony Express(click for more information), in the gold rush days. So, I think this all has something to do with the mail.

The fourth time she sees the WASTE symbol, was on the 1940 issue of the Pony Express. At the same place, she saw an old German stamp with the workds Freimarke and Thurn und Taxis, which were the European mail service. "Decoratin each corner of the stamp...a horn with a single loop in it. Almost like the WASTE symbol" (p.77).

From all of these "clues" that Oedipa has been presented with, I think she is being led to discover some sort of governmental conspiracy, or some sort of rebellious tribe who has been going against the government.

She makes the connection whoever "they" were, their aim was to mute the Thurn of Taxis post horn.

Mail Call

As Oedipa and Metzger are sitting in a bar, having a modified-history class, a "fattish pale young man...started calling names and throwing envelopes into the crowd" (p.37). Whaaaaaaat? I had to read this paragraph three times to actually realize that they were talking about a real mail carrier, walking into a bar, and start throwing letters at people. It made me crack up; yet, what was the significance of this, other than just being plain funny, in a ridiculous sense?

Then when Oedipa writes down an address from the bathroom, and a symbol that was a "loop, triangle, and trapezoid" (p.38), I thought, okay, maybe Pynchon is targeting ridiculous scenarios? However, reading on, I found out that he was actually targeting rebels. Rebels who were against the government. So pretty much the people who go around doing...well, whatever they want I guess. The whole mail carrier ordeal was a way to rebel against the government "monopoly" on delivering mail. Great thing to rebel against, don't you think? It makes mail so much more, interesting and complicated.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of The Crying of Lot 49 gave me something really complex to think about. However, it was not the kind of thinking I thought I would have to do in school.

It made me think about the values society has today. In the chapter, a married woman gets "laid" at a hotel by a nicely dressed man who later ends up having a pot-belly.

I have been brought up with the belief that marriage is a sacred thing, binding a woman and a man together, through their faith and their love for eachother, and that they honor eachother by staying loyal to one another. Also, that sex is a sign of love, reserved for married couples only.

I understand that many people do not have the same beliefs as I do, and don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be some sort of preaching-freak who goes around throwing holy water around and the word "evil!" Everybody, including myself, has the right to their own opinions and beliefs. And I am not trying to change, or insult, or bash anyone's beliefs. However, I think that my beliefs should also be respected.

This chapter really did make me think. This book is the second book this year that I have sort of cringed at, and winced at the contents. The first being Slaughterhouse Five, containing its vulgar language, and also, oddly enough, the senario where a married person commits adultery.

Our world is really becoming numb and immune to many things.

Yes, there have been movies and novels written about this sort of thing, and it is "real life" I guess, but I didn't think that I would have to read about it...for a school assignment.

The Crying of Lot 49; Identificaitons of Characters

Oedipa Maas - Recently named executrix of the estate of Pierce Inverarity, the novel seems to be written in third-person, limited to Oedipa, however I am not positive.

Wendell ("Mucho") Maas - Oedipa's husband; former used-car seller, seems to be a bit unstable...he gets easily upset.

Pierce Inverarity - Former lover of Oedipa; deceased.

Roseman - Family lawyer, wants to "run away" (p. 10) with Oedipa...he is married, and also tried to play footsie with Oedipa under the table.

Dr. Hilarius - called Oedipa at three in the morning, to discuss the pills she wasn't taking. Seems like a creepy scary scientist who does freaky tests on innocent people.

My thoughts so far on this book are:

1. It sounds like it was written by someone on drugs

2. It sounds like it is written about people on drugs

3. It sounds like it is going to go nowhere

Personification of a Virus...Not to Mention Everything Else

Chapter 13. The longest chapter in the history of man kind, extending from page 234 all the way until page 266. Only 32 pages you say? Well, it may not be physically the longest chapter ever, but content wise, it is. There are so many things you could talk about! How could you choose? Everything, you might say, talk about everything. Well, that might be a little difficult, as many of the letters just seeped into my eye sockets and went no further. However, because I myself am suffering from a bad cold, one thing did strike my attention, so, guess what...I will talk about that. I will try to do my best, too, because this is the last blog about The Selfish Gene. Thank Goodness!

So, the paragraph starts with "Consider" (p.246). Yes, we could consider many things. Why is the world round? The sky blue? Why cows say 'moo'? Etcetera, etcetera. Yet, like most things, the sentence goes on, slowly developing itself until the paragraph ends with "viruses" (p.246). So, now, we are considering viruses. Those nasty little things that give us symptoms that are not fun at all. Usually involving tissues, runny noses, head aches, and sneezing. "Annoying byproducts" (p.246), right? However, Dawkins states that they are "engineered [the symptoms] by the virus to help it to travel from one host to another" (p.246). Well this is just great. I knew all about germs and how you should wash your hands, but now all of a sudden viruses are purposefully engineering new ways to get around, and make us miserable! Great! Just peachy.

Then I realized, Dawkins does this alot. He personifies things, things that are incredibly weird to personify. Viruses, and even specific genes. His famous "selfish" gene as well. He makes it sound like it has a mind of its own, when, in fact, it has no "mind" at all. What is up with this?

"...nature teems with animals and plants..." (p.253)

"Natural selection favours those genes that manipulate the world to ensure their own propagation" (p.253).

What is up with this? Nature is not an actual organism, it can't be teeming up with anything! Natural selection cannot favour certain genes. And genes, how are they supposed to manipulate the world?

I think Dawkins is trying to explain something that he himself thinks has become intellegent, seeking survival, changing throughout its life time, and then passing on those changes to its offspring. But that cannot be right at all. You cannot change your genes. Even if you acquired characteristics during your lifetime, like muscles for example, you wouldn't pass that on to your offspring, they would have to build up their own muscles. Like wise, genes cannot grow "intellegent" and figure out how to survive, and then pass those genes to survive on to their replicated offspring, it just doesn't work. Sure, maybe they could "tell" them about it, but honestly, genes are doing any "telling" at all!

I finish this book with a jumbled and confused head. What is he trying to prove any way?

The last sentence answers this question.

"The only kind of entity that has to exist in order for life to arise, anywhere in the universe, is the immortal replicator" (p.266).

...alrighty, now what is that supposed to mean?