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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Dr. Hilarius has a theory that faces are like what?

2. What name does Oedipa give to her series of revelations?

3. What is the reason for Tony Jaguar's lawsuit against Pierce Inverarity?

4. After Oedipa has lunch with her lawyer, what does he ask her to do?

5. What does Driblette tell Oedipa he found at Zapf's Used Books?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where did Tony Jaguar get the bones that he sold to Beaconsfield Cigarettes?

2. Describe the manager of the Echo Courts Motel.

3. As Oedipa seeks a motel to escape the illusion of speed and freedom that driving provides, to what does she compare the road?

4. Why is Di Presso hiding in a boat at Fangoso Lagoons to avoid his client?

5. Why does the moment Oedipa sees San Narciso from a hilltop have a religious quality to her?

6. Why does the manager of the Echo Courts think Oedipa is trying to seduce him?

7. Who was the Peter Pinguid Society named for?

8. What aspect of Mucho's job does Oedipa compare to a religious officiant conducting a ceremony?

9. Why can't Mucho Maas drink honey in his coffee?

10. What do the Paranoids set outside the door of Oedipa's room?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oedipa's search for truth leads her to visit, along with Metzger, the Paranoids and their girlfriends, Inverarity's housing development, and Fangoso Lagoons.

1) Explain the significance of this setting to the thematic aspects of the novel.

2) Describe how the characters themselves and their actions in this scene embody certain themes of the novel.

Essay Topic 2

What is the myth of Echo and Narcissus? How is it represented in the setting, characters and themes of The Crying of Lot 49?

Essay Topic 3

Explain how the Nefastis Machine is used as a metaphor for language within the novel. What does the use of a complicated scientific machine convey about Pynchon's views about language and communication?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 671 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample