ipl-logo

The Crying Of Lot 49 Character Analysis

1066 Words5 Pages

Just like every person has their own journey through life, every character has their own quest on which they embark and learn from. In Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, the main character, Oedipa, undertakes a quest of not only fulfilling her duties to her ex boyfriend, Pierce, but fulfilling something within herself as well. Pynchon’s application of the quest model in this book portrays Oedipa’s personal development through use of symbolism and metaphor, and also brings forth greater implications about the universal struggles of every being’s individual journey. The quest is often influenced by society. In The Crying of Lot 49, there are a lot of references to women’s empowerment such as character’s names being female-associated terms. …show more content…

Mysteries may remain mysteries indefinitely. The answer is not the answer. The point of the quest has never been the treasure at the ending; it has always been learning and self-discovery. Taking away the answer to the mystery that the readers have all anticipated brings forth the truth that the end result is not, and has never been the point of the journey. Humans think they have the answers, the ultimate truths, in their brains. They take bits of information and piece them together until it makes sense, and that is the Truth. However, there is no real truth. The existence and creation of the universe, the higher powers, the meaning of life, and the mere concept of existing in general are all things that people think they have the answers to because the unknown is what propels their fears, but there is no ultimate truth; only the truth that people decide is the truth. Every human lives their own truth. The answer to these mysteries is not the answer to life. The quest of how we came to our own conclusions about these mysteries is the point of the quest itself. The story may not feel resolved to the reader, but the quest served its full purpose to the character in self-discovery and lessons

Show More
Related

  • In Cold Blood Dialectical Journal Essay

    366 Words  | 2 Pages

    14. The initial speculation has a few suspects but the suspects are cleared. The people of Holcomb confront what is actually happening. 15. Holcomb was not perfect before and people would hide what the truth was.

    Read More

  • Elizabeth Beardsley's What Is Philosophy?

    630 Words  | 3 Pages

    Philosophy does not have complete answers, which makes some folks frustrated (Russell, 14). Human beings want conclusions. If someone questions something and another person questions the same thing, but they both come up with a different solution to that same questions, they want to find out who is right. It is in human nature to want to know the truth. People almost always believe that the truth is the right answer.

    Read More

  • Frankenstein And Allegory Of The Cave Comparison Essay

    988 Words  | 4 Pages

    We can find what it means to be hidden from the truth, the different forms of knowledge, and telling others about the truth. However, this is not just a topic that we think about on a day to day basis. This is a topic that we face in the long term: What is the real truth? What is the reality of our universe? Why can we think?

    Read More

  • Penelope In The Odyssey

    794 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Homer’s Poem, The Odyssey, Penelope is the exceptionally patient and clever spouse of the infamous hero, Odysseus, and the mother of Telemachus. One poignant factor of Penelope’s character is her patience and devotion which is displayed throughout the poem. With her husband absent for a great majority of her life for the later of twenty years and his location unknown, Penelope stays, patiently awaiting Odysseus’ return, all whilst preserving their estate and raising her son by herself. Throughout this time, she had many persistent suitors in pursuit of her, abusing her husband’s absence.

    Read More

  • Women's Role In The Odyssey Essay

    522 Words  | 3 Pages

    “The Odyssey,” written by Greek poet Homer is an epic tale depicting the brutally enduring quest home of the Greek hero, Odysseus. Within this heroic story, women play a very large and pivotal role in Odysseus’s trip home from the Trojan War. In his attempt to get back to his wife, Penelope, Odysseus’s progress is constantly hindered by the intervention of women who will do anything in order to either convince the heroic figure to stay with them or have him killed. The intentions of the women in the epic are all very different but one of the most prominent roles lies in the seductresses and the alluring women who will deeply influence Odysseus. Most importantly, Penelope plays a large role in portraying the importance of women’s roles in the story.

    Read More

  • How To Read Literature Like A Professor Chapter Analysis

    1167 Words  | 5 Pages

    Most of the time, the questers go on the quest believing that the stated reason is their assignment, but “the real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge” (Foster 3). In addition, Foster provides an example from a published work, Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon in order to examine the five literary elements. The quester of the novel is a young woman named Oedipal Maas, who is not pleased in her marriage. The place she must go is Southern California, while the stated reason to go there is to fulfill her task given from her former lover. The challenges and trials she face during her quest may include the dangerous people she encounter.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Odysseus In Homer's The Odyssey

    1104 Words  | 5 Pages

    “The Odyssey” is an Epic Poem which discusses the life story of Odysseus. The main focus of the poem is the journey of Odysseus and his way back home. Certain events distract him, most importantly; his encounter with the Gods, Goddesses. It takes Odysseus all of what it takes to head back home, including his bravery and intelligence. These qualities in Odysseus not only help himself but his men survive through the chaos of the journey called “The Odyssey”.

    Read More

  • Avi To Tell The Truth

    387 Words  | 2 Pages

    Avi wrote the questions for us to think about the characters if they told the truth and examine the conclusion, He provided us clues to see if we noticed any lies and truths the characters said. It’s very similar to an essential question. After we read the story, he wants us to connect back to the questions and find what message he is trying to tell us. When you tell the truth, you need to tell the whole truth no matter what situation you’re facing. If you only give half of the truth, you’re revealing only half of the story and it turns into a lie.

    Read More

  • Thomas C. Foster's Every Trip Is A Quest

    1988 Words  | 8 Pages

    Every Trip Is A Quest For many people who study literature almost all works of literature are related to eachother in some way or another. The most common relationship found between texts is some structure of a quest. In Thomas C. Foster’s book How to Read Literature Like a Professor a quest is described as “[consisting] of five things: A quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenges and trials, and a real reason to go there”(3).

    Read More

  • The Use Of Tone In The Lottery By Shirley Jackson

    1333 Words  | 6 Pages

    Once the reader begins to question the lack of explanation surrounding the event, a suspenseful tone beings to grow. Due to the unexpected

    Read More

  • In The Lake Of The Woods Analysis

    1398 Words  | 6 Pages

    By letting the reader decide the ultimate answer of the mystery, he leaves the decision to agree or disagree with everything he speaks for at their

    Read More

  • The Odyssey Essay: The Role Of Women In Homer's Odyssey

    1255 Words  | 6 Pages

    In spite of the fact that Homer’s Odyssey is an epic story of a man’s gallant journey, women play a huge part throughout. Their unique yet controversial personalities, intentions, and relationships are vital to the development of this epic and adventurous journey of Odysseus. The poem by Homer was written at a time when women had an inferior position in society, yet that didn’t stop them from being any less influential. All of the women throughout the Odyssey possess different qualities, but all of them help to define the role of the ideal woman.

    Read More

  • The Hound Of The Baskerville Book Vs Movie Analysis

    732 Words  | 3 Pages

    Holmes and Watson’s antagonist in the novel is the logic aspect of the case. For example, Holmes says “Of course, if...we are dealing with forces outside the ordinary laws of Nature, there is an end to our investigation. But we are bound to exhaust all other hypotheses before falling back to this one.” Also, in the novel, the logical solution and evidence is explained in further detail, for Holmes gives “a sketch of the course of events from memory” in the resolution. There are many subplots in the novel, such as Seldon’s escape, Sir Henry and Mrs. Stapleton, and Sir Charles Baskerville and Laura Lyons, which answered many questions about the case and evidence against Stapleton.

    Read More

  • Ambiguity In Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

    1382 Words  | 6 Pages

    Martel intended to leave an ambiguous ending that was open to interpretation, but readers are not content with ambiguity and want to find a truth instead of a belief. Readers are encouraged to take a leap of faith and decide what story they believe for themselves, trying to find out what story is true is impossible. The story can never be fully comprehended, there will never be one true story for the novel. There is no one truth, but as soon as a reader believes one story, that becomes their truth. As the Japanese investigators are questioning the authenticity of the animal story, Pi responds, “which story do you prefer” (352)?

    Read More

  • Powerful Women In Homer's Odyssey

    1355 Words  | 6 Pages

    Countless of these tearful songs have been written, describing the image of the woman behind a hero’s victory. In The “Odyssey”, Homer transforms the audience’s perspective about women significantly. All of them, whether beautiful woman or powerful goddesses, are occupied by sorrows. Especially, Penelope and Calypso--the two most influential women in both appearance and the complicated relationship with the guile hero. Although they have very different personalities and backgrounds--one is the queen of Ithaca, and the other is a magnificent goddess.

    Read More

More about The Crying Of Lot 49 Character Analysis

Open Document