Pynchon's Satire: Crying of Lot 49

Throughout the novel The Crying of Lot 49 the author makes subtle and then outright statements as to the idiotic tendency for readers to try and find meaning out of everything they read. The first time I saw this I was a bit taken aback because I hadn't really seen it before and saw it as a moment of weak writing by Pynchon: the metafiction. After having finished the book though, and talking about it in class, it is easy to see how he incorporated this writing technique into the novel and the main character Oedipa. While the reader is aware of the fiction that takes place within the story, Oedipa is also aware of the "fiction" that surrounds her in her life due to the delusions and paranoia. I think this is a brilliant move by Pynchon, as he is constantly relating Oedipa to the reader, knowing that the reader will be trying to make meaning out of something that he states has no meaning. As the reader goes through the book, Pynchon makes references to the idiocy of trying to make meaning out of everything that one perceives, and yet the reader continues to try and make sense out of this fantasy world that has no apparent meaning. Oedipa is aware of the fact that not everything she perceives is reality, yet still allows herself to find meaning in things that she knows could just be a figment of her imagination. I find it very humorous that Pynchon knew the reader well enough to be able to have this continuous laugh throughout the book as the reader tries to find meaning.

One point that was brought up in class today that I think also relates to how Pynchon is "playing with the reader" is how Oedipa's journey throughout the novel revolves around a mystery that has no significance to it at all. She found the first clue on a bathroom stall... and the rest of the clues seem so far-fetched that only someone making meaning out of nothing (Oedipa) could piece them together. 

My initial thought when reading this book was that I wouldn't understand most of what was going on and that Pynchon was using this novel as a means to make fun of people who didn't understand his higher thinking. After class discussions and more reading, I now see he makes fun of everyone who tries to find meaning from the fragments of life that we all perceive in our own way. Pynchon's truth is a lack of truth but does that mean he doesn't believe that anything as any real meaning?... Food for thought