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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. How did Metzger know that Oedipa went to Mexico with Inverarity?

2. Metzger objects that if Mike Fallopian's hero was anti-Communist he could not also be against ______________.

3. The rock group, The Paranoids, is a take off on what famous band?

4. Tony Jaguar's lawsuit against Inverarity resembles the plot of a Jacobean revenge play entitled ______________.

5. Why does Dr. Hilarius call Oedipa at 3 a.m.?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is suggested by the name of Oedipa's psychiatrist, Dr. Hilarius?

2. What kind of image does Funch the program director want Mucho to have at the radio station?

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

4. What is the plot of the movie that Metzger starred in as a child?

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

6. What is Mike Fallopian trying to prove in his history of private mail delivery in the U.S.?

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

8. How does Oedipa imagine Pierce Inverarity might have died?

9. How did Mucho Maas feel about the used cars his customers brought in for trade-in?

10. What does Oedipa mean in Chapter 1 when she tells Dr. Hilarius that she is already having hallucinations?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how Chapter 4 of The Crying of Lot 49 shows Oedipa involved in a process of meaning creation. Give at least four specific examples from events in the chapter.

Essay Topic 2

One of the themes of The Crying of Lot 49 is that technology does not reveal truth. How is this demonstrated in Chapter 5? Are there other examples of this theme in the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Satire is the literary criticism of people and society through ridicule. Pynchon gives a satirical view of many of society's institutions in The Crying of Lot 49. Choose two of the following and discuss the use of each fully through characters, setting, plot and theme.

1) Law and lawyers

2) Psychiatry

3) Industrial corporations

4) Universities and scholarly research

5) Federal institutions such as the postal system

6) Urban sprawl

7) American pop culture

8) Capitalism

(see the answer keys)

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