The Crying of Lot 49

Character names in this book were especially important in this novel. Most of them were named to be a contradiction to ther original names while still applying to the character in the book. Their names almost mock themselves, as the people are almost the opposite of what they arelike and how they act. The other thing that is important about their names is the way they sound and are spelled. One big theme in this novel is how people confuse things. The character's names are all strange from their pronounciation to spelling, which really helps reflect who they are and whether or not they are confused.

1. Oedipa Maas is the main character of the novel. She is never directly described, either in personality or looks, but is expected to be pretty, since men are constantly attracted to her. Oedipa is very confused between what is reality and what is a lie, both before she stumbles upon the Trystero and after. Over time, she has been worn down, and no longer has faith in anything. This contributes to her confusion because she does not know herself since she does not have a definite personality anymore, but by trying to understand who the Trystero are, she starts to refind herself as well. Oedipa is named so because she has a questionable life, like Oedipus, but she is cowardly and weak, unlike Oedipus. Both were deeply confused and lived surrounded by secrets that they wanted to know. However, when Oedipus found out his truth, he went crazy, while we never know what Oedipa did.

Mucho Maas is Oedipa's husband. In the beginning of the book, he is weak just like Oedipa. They have both been known to cheat on each other, but are both so emotionally distant they do not know if they should care or not. Mucho's name is satirical because mucho is the exact opposite of who he is. Mucho is not really a full man in the beginning of this book because he cannot hold a job, cannot keep his wife, and cannot believe in anything, as much as he wants to. But as the book progresses, he becomes more of a man, and less of one, because he must rely on LSD to be one. He finally realizes that he has aspirations, and that he does not wanted to be trapped speaking WASP (never acknowledging the things that are on his mind).

Metzger is the co-executor of Pierce's will. He is restless and lonely. He has lived a rather strange life since he was a child star and grew up in an environment notorious for drugs and isolation, but has managed to grow up and become a lawyer. He is interested in challenges, since everything seems to come easy to him. Metzger is described to be very good looking which helps the author convey the idea that better looking people have it easier. Much of the southern California lifestyle becomes Metzger since he is good looking and has so many privileges, but is still looking for something.

Driblette is a playwright and actor. He starred in his own production of The Couriers Tragedy where he slipped in little bits of information about the Trystero, which led Oedipa to him. He really seems to signal the beginning and end of the journey Oedipa is taking since he is the first person to point her on the journey. He also signals the universe's paranoia since he knows says that they are each interpreted their own way. When he kills himself, it leads Oedipa into a dead end that she does not know how to get out of until someone else helps her out.

Fallopian is not particularly importan to the plot, but he symbolizes the rational side of things. Whenever Oedipa is questioning something, she miraculously finds him. When she wants to believe in the Trystero and other government plots, there he is to say, "It is possible." But when she feels like giving up he has a rational possibility that "It was all somebody putting [her] on." He has many different ideas for what everything is, but based on the situation, he comes up with rational explanations.

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