The Crying of Lot 49 - Sixth Chapter

The final chapter of the novel had a ton of information but I was disappointed with the way it ended. Within the chapter I found many interesting points and satirical elements. For some reason or another throughout the final chapter I asked myself who Bortz really was. What does he represent? Why is he included at the very end of the novel? Unfortunately I never really got to answer this question, but it is something I would like to investigate further. Other than finding out the origins of trystero, I liked the fact the author explained the novel's title. I had been very intrigued about what the lot 49 was, and when I found out I was very happy.

Talking about the satire in The Crying of Lot 49, I think I found a very important point. The part where we found out that there was a pornographic version of The Courier's Tragedy in the Vatican seems absurd to me. I believe this is making fun of the church. Continuing with the topic of satires, I believe the dirty version of the play is a satire because it is mocking theater. "'Why should they do a dirty version of his play?' 'As a morale example. They were not fond of the theater. It was their way of putting the play entirely away from them, into hell.'" (pg. 128)

I also found a connection with Macbeth. "Robert Scurvham had founded, during the reign of Charles I, a sect of most pure Puritans. Their central hangup had to do with predestination." This idea of predestination is connected to the destiny of Macbeth in Shakespeare's play. The Scurvhamites or pure Puritans can be compared to the Weird Sisters of Macbeth.

When I was reading this chapter I was constantly thinking about the characters in the novel. It seams very strange to me to see so many different characters throughout the book. This was very confusing because there were some characters that simply appeared once, but were mentioned later. In the beginning or middle of this chapter I was also thinking how all this linked back to Pierce. Fortunately, I found this out later knowing that all the places he owned were linked to Trystero workers. Finally his collection of stamps led to the lot 49 at the very end. Even though I was interested in the name of the book, The Crying of Lot 49, I was disappointed with the end. It was interesting to read the explanation of the 'crying' of this lot: "'We're in luck. Loren Passerine, the finest auctioneer in the West, will be crying today.' 'Will be what?' 'We say an auctioneer 'cries' a sale." (pg. 151) I say I was let down with the end because even though Oedipa found out all the information on Tristero, she didn't do anything about it. The last weeks of the investigation were written in a way that showed an Oedipa that didn't care or believe anymore. Nothing really happened in the novel.

Vocabulary

Whimsy (pg. 134): Playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor.

Fountainhead (pg. 136): The headwaters or source of a stream.

Incommensurate (pg. 147): Out of keeping or proportion with.