I was once almost a Comparative Literature major, but alas, my life changed direction. I still do enjoy reading, although with school and work, it's taken me much longer to get through books.
I usually follow this technique where I reflect on specific quotes/paragraphs, and write these thoughts down on those larger colorful post-it notes. It worked for a while, but they've been getting crumbled and messy.
This is an attempt to somehow record these ideas and reflectons. It's also meant to work as a repo for others to see what I've read!
The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon
In the scene above, Oedipa, runs into Jesus at a Mexican restaurant. Upon first spotting him, it is quickly noted “she found a piece of her past.” Given the context of the book so far, Oedipa has been wandering throughout the Golden Gate Park in San Narcisco, where she is continuously taunted by the reoccurring image of the post horn symbol. Whether or not hallucinations, Oedipa finds herself in solitude, isolated by all those around her, uncertain she could ever find a true final answer. Ultimately hopeless, it is at this Mexican Restaurant that she finds “a piece of her past,” almost an offering of some sort of comfort to her. It gives her a sort of grasp to reality on such a hallucinatory night.
Yet, Oedipa’s disillusionment with her quest translates itself to what may be the closest thing to a description of Jesus that is present in the novel. As an exile from Mexico, Jesus “still believes in the Revolution. Their Revolution.” In a somewhat patronizing tone, there’s a pity in the fact that Jesus’s relentless and persistent revolutionary mindset has not gone away. Instead, he “still believes,” in a Revolution. Although in exile, and obviously incapable of taking direct action, there is a tone in the word “still” that does not offer any sort of hope, but instead offers pity, coming directly from Oedipa.
Why exactly, Oedipa may feel pity towards Jesus is interesting to think about. It is clear, at this point, that what embodies Jesus is his revolutionary ideology and past. Yet, he is still hopeful of whatever may come out of what he has sacrificed in his life thus far. Oedipa, just as Jesus, has acted outside the norms of society. Whereas Jesus has refused to stay silent on abusive state treatment on its peoples, Oedipa has found herself compelled into a conspiracy, that is concealed and recognized as such, without anyone else questioning it. Moreover, it is evident that Oedipa is simply just one of many suburban housewives of California. From the beginning of the novel, her introduction as a character comes through in the form of Tupperware parties with other suburban women, housework, and her unsatisfying marriage to an unhappy man. Yet, it is this conspiracy that has led her to meeting new people outside social circles of suburban wives, and has led her to an affair. This liberation she finds through her journey is similar to the non-conforming spirit of Jesus. Both have taken action in manners that go against what is socially acceptable, and so are left on their own. While Jesus is still hopeful, Oedipa is at crossroads with all she has sacrificed (comfort, stable marriage, etc.). Therefore, she cannot help, but find that Jesus’s hopes in the Revolution are not realistic. Mexico is constantly spoken of throughout the novel and Jesus is the only character that is introduced as Mexican. Other mentions of Mexico are introduced solely in descriptions of what Oedipa sees around her. Is there something more to be said in that the only human embodiment of Mexico is a revolutionary, and is lost in what Oedipa sees as a hopeless cause?