Novel Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Novel Analysis - Essay Example In essence, then, to reach an entirely subjective meaning of Pynchon’s novel a reader must do exactly what Pierce Inverarity advises Oedipa to do; namely to keep bouncing the massive reception of information in order to decode the meaningful clues from the meaningless ones. Pynchon’s protagonist, Oedipa Mass, spends the novel engaged in the pursuit of clues or else debating whether she should involve herself in the mysteries that surround her. As coexecutrix of Pierce’s estate, Oedipa takes off on an odyssey to unlock the full impact involved in Inverarity’s bequest. As her odyssey progresses Oedipa comes to perceive that Pierce Inverarity’s influence not only on her life but on the rest of the world appears to be more substantial, such as when she recollects that Pierce â€Å"owned a large block of shares, had been somehow involved in negotiating an understanding with the county tax assessor to lure Yoyodyne here in the first place. It was part, he explained, of being a founding father" (25-26). Executing Pierce’s will sets Oedipa on her journey to begin boucing information back and forth in an attempt to balance it and understand it, causing Oedipa to eventually piece together clues so that they form a truth about Pierce that assigns him great authority, including the power to leave behind the clues to the mystery of Tristero as an inordinately elaborate plan of some sort that is directed entirely for her benefit. This idea causes Oedipa to reflect upon the possibility that Pierce "might himself have discovered the Tristero, and encrypted that in the will, buying into just enough to be sure shed find it. Or he might even have tried to survive death, as a paranoia; as a pure conspiracy against someone he loved" (179). The novel engages with the theoretical ideas of Newtonian forces, especially action and reaction through the idea that Inverarity still manages to be a moving force