The Crying of Lot 49 - Second Chapter: Exaggeration in Satires

When I read the second part of Pynchon's novel, I encountered myself with several parts that were interesting, or stood out. First of all cam the intrigue of why the TV was called a tube. Then I noticed that Pynchon writes in a very exaggerated manner, something typical in satires.I also questioned the reason for including so many songs. Is this necessary for the overall meaning? Finally I noticed that the author is constantly mentioning other countries. I believe this might indicate (as I mentioned in my previous blog) that Pynchon doesn't like his country.

"Oedipa had planned on nothing more involved that evening than watching Bonanza on the tube." (pgs. 17 - 18) I am not sure whether "the tube" is just the way it looks or if it is something special or new made especially as a tube and not a TV.

One of the most important parts of this chapter is where I notice an exaggeration. Oedipa is preparing herself to play strip botticelli and goes in to put all her clothes on. When she looks at herself in the mirror a hair spray can falls and blows all around the room. This is so exaggerated that it takes up a whole page of description. "The can, hissing malignantly, bounced of the toilet and whizzed by Metzger's right ear, missing by maybe a quarter of an inch." While on the topic of Oedipa and Metzger in the motel room, I would like to mention the prolonged importance of the movie Cashiered. I feel this is unnecessary and takes up a lot mores space than needed. The point that Pynchon is really trying to stress is simply the fact a lawyer is an actor at times, and an actor is a lawyer at times. All of this is basically describing Metzger's personality and life, which I think will play an important role further on in the novel.

Another catch in The Crying of Lot 49 is the excessive use of songs. Throughout the second chapter Pynchon shows us three different songs: Miles's Song, Baby Igor's Song, and Serenade. I feel that the author is trying to express something through the use of songs but don't really know. Perhaps Pynchon is criticizing or making fun of music as a vice in modern people's lives.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, Pynchon uses many countries throughout his novel. I believe the excess use of foreign countries as examples or important roles, might be leading towards a dislike of his own country: United States. In the first chapter Mexico and Germany were mentioned, and in the second, England plays a pretty important role. The Parnoids is a music group Oedipa meets in this chapter through the manager of the motel she is staying in. As a member of the group, Miles told Oedipa it was important to sing all the band's songs in an english accent.