An Ecocritical Perspective On Paranoia And Schizophrenia In Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying Of Lot 49

Abstract

This research paper examines Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 (1966) through an ecocritical lens, interpreting the novel as a postmodern critique of environmental degradation and the socio-ecological consequences of late-capitalist urban sprawl. The protagonist, Oedipa Maas, navigates a fragmented world marked by paranoia and schizophrenia, which this paper argues metaphorically reflect the alienation of humans from the natural environment in 1960s America. By analysing Oedipa’s quest to uncover the Tristero postal system, the study posits that Pynchon uses paranoia as a modernist response to environmental control and schizophrenia as a postmodern acknowledgment of ecological fragmentation. Drawing on ecocritical theories from scholars like Lawrence Buell and Timothy Morton, alongside postmodernist frameworks from Frederic Jameson and Gilles Deleuze, the paper explores how the novel’s imagery of urban landscapes, waste, and communication systems critiques the commodification of nature. The socio-political context of the 1960s, including industrialization and environmental awareness, further informs the analysis. This ecocritical perspective highlights Pynchon’s commentary on the loss of ecological agency and the challenges of redefining human-nature relationships in a postmodern world, contributing to discussions of environmental justice in literature.