Essays on Art Movements

286

The Task of a Reader to a Narrative

1 page / 1847 words

In October 1937, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina—one of Latin America’s most brutal dictators—directly ordered the execution of all Haitians then living in the Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic. People suspected of being Haitian were asked to pronounce the Spanish word for parsley (“perejil”). If the suspect failed...

Nation Building Nutrition Orientalism

287

Effects of Modernity Described in 'Crying of Lot 49' and 'Snow White'

5 pages / 2436 words

America used to be known as the land of opportunity. That was before the wars and the advent of technology. For post-modern authors, modernity and prosperity has turned America into a disappointment. Barthelme’s Snow White and Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 share similar ideas...

Postmodernism Short Story Snow White The Crying of Lot 49

288

The View of Entropy in The Crying of Lot 49

3 pages / 1279 words

In The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon expresses a very interesting view of entropy through the actions of Oedipa Maas. In communication theory, entropy is a measure of the efficiency of a system, as a code or language, in transmitting information. Otherwise, the definition...

Postmodernism Short Story The Crying of Lot 49

289

The Use of Imagery to Portray Conspiracy in The Crying of Lot 49

3 pages / 1628 words

Near the end of Thomas Pynchon’s 1965 novel The Crying of Lot 49, the protagonist Oedipa finds herself at a crossroads after trying to unravel the mystery of W.A.S.T.E., a conspiratorial underground postal system, without finding many tangible results. “It was now like walking among...

Postmodernism Short Story The Crying of Lot 49

290

Meaningless Fragments Symbolizing Meaninglessness in 'The Crying of Lot 49'

3 pages / 1277 words

In Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, standard hierarchical structures are abandoned in a setting of postmodern cultural chaos. The use of fragmented pop culture contributes to many aspects of the book, namely the sense of combined freedom in the search for meaning. Moreover,...

Postmodernism Short Story The Crying of Lot 49

291

The Crying of Lot 49 and Chaos

3 pages / 1198 words

A recurring theme that can be found in Thomas Pynchon’s novel The Crying of Lot 49 is the conception that chaos has a tremendous effect on society. Pynchon engages in a dualistic method of literary technique to engender the realization of the effect that chaos...

Postmodernism Short Story The Crying of Lot 49

292

Conveying Racial and Cultural Truths in The Crying of Lot 49

1 page / 2854 words

“There are still the poor, the defeated, the criminal, the desperate, all hanging in there with what must seem a terrible vitality.” Thomas Pynchon, “A Journey into the Mind of Watts” The challenge posed to any reader of “serious” literature is ultimately one of observation,...

Postmodernism Short Story The Crying of Lot 49

293

Written Information as a Better Means of Communication

4 pages / 1775 words

Before the telephone was invented, people wrote letters to each other to stay in touch. Soldiers would write letters to their wives and families conveying their love and, even today, people write letters to better communicate. Writing is a way of expressing yourself, a way...

Postmodernism Short Story The Crying of Lot 49

294

Personal and Collective Identity The Crying of Lot 49

1 page / 2277 words

Epictetus, the Greek Stoic philosopher, said, “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” Defining one’s personal identity may coincide with this ancient Stoic principle, but what is not mentioned is the human transformation that must take...

Postmodernism Short Story The Crying of Lot 49

295

Analysis of The Methods of Communication in The Crying of Lot 49

1 page / 1288 words

Despite the fact that The Crying of Lot 49 is chock-full of the use of methods of communication, the only time when anything is actually communicated is when a few songs are sung by The Paranoids. Any letters mentioned in the novel are void of...

Postmodernism Short Story The Crying of Lot 49

296

Transformation to Illusions from Realism in Art

1 page / 2711 words

During the modernist era, artists gradually moved away from realism towards themes of illusion, consciousness, and imagination. In the visual arts, realism evolved into cubism and expressionism. This movement is paralleled in literature, as illusions and a feeling of flux replaced the realist themes of...

Literature Review Modernism Realism

297

Moving Scenes Unveiling in 'Crying of Lot 49'

1 page / 3377 words

Just before the morning rush hour, she got out of a jitney whose ancient driver ended each day in the red, downtown on Howard Street, began to walk toward the Embarcadero. She knew she looked terrible – knuckles black with eye-liner and mascara from where...

Postmodernism Short Story The Crying of Lot 49

298

A Reader's Pursuit for The Perfect Book in if on a Winter’s Night a Traveler

1 page / 1257 words

The traditional structure and approach to literature is challenged in If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. For this idiosyncratic narrative, the main character is referred to as the reader, and the novel is told in the second person. Every other chapter...

Novel Postmodernism

299

Drawing Important Conclusions by Comparing Reading a Novel to The Pursuit of a Woman

1 page / 2314 words

In Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller, we see how Calvino attempts to compare the reading of a novel to a man pursuing a woman. In this text, the reader takes on the role of a male protagonist attempting to read a...

Novel Postmodernism

300

Examining Racism in if He Hollers Let Him Go

1 page / 2491 words

World War II had a profound impact on American culture. Essentially every person in the country was affected in some way, but the war’s impact of African Americans was unique. Although African Americans were indeed Americans they were often treated like the enemy on the...

Novel Postmodernism

301

The Role of Style in Creating a Link Between Reader, Author, and Narrator

1 page / 1494 words

So here you are now, ready to attack the first lines of the first page. You prepare to recognize the unmistakable tone of the author. No. You don’t recognize it at all. But now that you think about it, who ever said this author had...

Novel Postmodernism

302

Buechner’s Feeling of Innovation and Godric’s Flawed Sainthood

4 pages / 1955 words

In Godric, Frederick Buechner uses multiple characters who are at once medieval and modern to not only tell the uncommon tale of a flawed saint, but to depict through medieval text and setting his modern comments, appraisals, and beliefs about what is means to be...

Lives of The Saints Modernism Sense

303

The Issue of Class and Its Representations in Literature

4 pages / 1834 words

The issue of class and its representations is consistently present in society, and pervades everyday life to a significant degree, especially when considering the social dynamics of the past century; as such, it is also very prominent in literature, where it can be portrayed in...

Modernism The Death of Ivan Ilyich

304

Influence of "Journey of The Magi" by T. S. Eliot

2 pages / 1045 words

Compared to the poetry prior to the 20th century, the poetry of T.S. Eliot rings vibrant, unconventional and inventive. Eliot’s poem “Journey of the Magi” is typical of his style and illustrates how Eliot’s poetry changed the genre forever. In its compression of image and...

Modernism Poetry T.S. Eliot