The Crying of Lot 49 Chapters 5 & 6

Chapter 5

These two chapters were the longest in the book. In this chapter Oedipa travels to Berkley to see Nefastis, the inventor of the machine that defies the Second Law of Thermodynamics. She tells Nefastis she thinks she is a sensitive. She tries to get the machine to work and cannot make the machine move. After this is done Nefastis says to her, " It's OK, Please don't cry. Come on in on the couch. The news will be on any minute. We can do it there." "Do what", she says. Nefastis replies, "Have sexual intercourse." Oedipa is seen as a sex object throughout the entire book. Always having men gawk at her and touch her. In the beginning of the book she has sex with Metzger because she is bored of her own sex life with her husband. This book has an underlying tone of sexuality becoming more care free than it had been in earlier years in America. The story takes place in different places in California. Back in the 50's and 60's this is where the major sexual revolution started in America. So easy to say that this book or any book around this time period would have a major underlying tone of sexuality. Oedipa was riding a bus to the airport she noticed on the back of the seat scribbling of the post horn with the word DEATH next to it. Next to that it said Don't Ever Antagonize The Horn. She also found papers saying, If you know what this means, you know where to find more; this was referring to the horn. These signs and symbols only further to her paranoia which becomes increasingly more evident throughout the rest of the book. Another odd occurrence happens while Oedipa was in the airport she saw a mother and son talking. The mother was telling the boy to make sure to send male via WASTE, saying the government will read her mail. As the boy leaves the mother the son the sound.."was kissing his mother passionately goodbye, using his tongue. Is Thomas Pynchon referring to incest in his story? Or could this be another underlying theme of sexuality that was becoming more acceptable in the US just like homosexuality was?

Chapter 6

Throughout the whole book you may notice there is many songs. Honestly I am not sure what this is for, maybe it is to put satirical humor because some of the songs are funny. Maybe the songs have a message in them to help the reader to realize more about the story. This chapter is mainly about how the Tristero system and its history. Sometimes going into such penial details about things. Also in this chapter though Oedipa becomes increasingly isolated and reverts to almost little or no human contact. She becomes increasingly paranoid about if Pierce had made this conspiracy of The Tristero. The book says, "He might himself have discovered the Tristero, and encrypted that in the will, buying into just enough to be sure she'd find it. Or he might even have tried to survive death, as a paranoia; as a pure conspiracy against someone he loved. Pierce's stamp collection is going to be auctioned off, as Lot 49. The auctioning off of it is called "crying" hence the title of the book The Crying of Lot 49. Oedipa wonders though if one of the bidders may be Pierce and he is still alive, only doing this as a cruel joke to her. There is no real ending to the book, the last line, "The auctioneer cleared his throat. Oedipa settled back, to await the crying of lot 49." This ending leaves much to the imagination no questions answered. Pynchon is leaving the story up for grabs for the reader to take whatever route they want to take for the ending.