| Thomas Pynchon is a representative of American postmodernist writers. His Gravity’s Rainbow, which won1974National Book Award, is regarded as a classic in postmodernist literature. As a prolific writer, he has published a collection of short stories and8novels, among which the most recent one is Bleeding Edge (2013). His works are noted for the rich elements, involving history, science, mathematics, etc, through which he has presented a multi-faceted portrait of modern America and depicted the plight of contemporary humanity and modern wasteland. The Crying of Lot49is Pynchon’s second novel, which won the Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Foundation Award shortly after its publication. Regarded as the most easily accessible one among his works, Lot49has a more concise and linear structure compared to Pynchon’s other works. It is considered by Tony Tanner as "one of the most deceptive--as well as one of the most brilliant--short novels to have appeared since the last war".This thesis, through the linage of consumer society theory of French philosopher and social theorist Jean Baudrillard, discusses Pynchon’s novel The Crying of Lot49from the perspective of consumerism and mass media. It contains five parts:an Introduction, three Chapters, and a Conclusion.The Introduction starts the thesis and gives an introductory overview of Thomas Pynchon and his criticisms. Though very well known as a prominent postmodern writer, Chinese readers may not be familiar enough with him and his novels. Therefore, it is necessary to make an introduction about him with some reviews of the previous studies on this novel.Chapter One firstly analyzes the economic foundation of the emergence of consumer society. The boom of American post-war economy brings about the material affluence; and consequently, the consumption of goods has become a way of life, even a way of entertainment. Then the features of consumer society--consumerism and signs, the prevalence of mass media--are introduced and elaborated.Chapter Two analyzes the novel from two perspectives. One is the abundance of material. In the post industrial era, people are surrounded by objects, but the obsession of objects is soon turned into the obsession of signs. In an interest-oriented society, human relationship is nothing more than a seller-buyer relationship. The other is the mass media, represented by television sets. The whole novel is saturated by the shadow of modern media, which has become an essential part of modern life. Ironically, in most cases, messages transmitted by mass media do not actually benefit the protagonist Oedipa with effective information; rather, they confuse her by providing too much information. The invasion of images and information has made our society a "hyperreal" one, but sadly enough, people fail to realize it. The protagonist, with a sober mind, intends to get rid of this condition, but finally assimilated into a hyperreal world by false messages.Chapter Three observes the impact (mostly negative one) of consumer society. Like one of the metaphors in the novel, WASTE is a hint for the reader to explore Pynchon’s expression of modern wasteland. By virtue of the protagonist’s expedition, Pynchon also reveals the question people in modern society have to face, that is, whether we can bring some clarity through a large quantity of information.In Conclusion, the thesis points out that The Crying of Lot49is an epitome of modern consumer society. The problems it reflects should be considered seriously. Baudrillard’s negative attitudes and expression on consumer society may be biased, but to a large extent, these problems are exactly the ones that we should be alert for. |
PDF Full Text Request