Desperate! Crying of Lot 49 help!
03-21-02 | 09:14 PM
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Desperate! Crying of Lot 49 help!
I know this should be book forum, but that place is dead right now. Has anyone here read the Crying of Lot 49, and if so could you help me out with an essay on Maxwell's Demon? Specifically, how it relates to postmodernism
Last edited by Monk506; 03-21-02 at 09:26 PM.
03-22-02 | 12:17 AM
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You aren't posting back, so I assume you either went to sleep, finished your paper, or gave up hope. Anyways, I'll try to give you some help by explaining the way I understand post-modernism, in case your teacher didn't put it succinctly. One of the most blaring (and oftenly criticized) aspects of postmodernism is its refusal to accept absolute truth. Everything can always be rationalized. Such as, if you were to say:
"Stealing is wrong,"
I could make the post-modernist counter-argument:
"What if you need that money to feed your 7 wives and 26,862 kids?"
Or, if you were to say "this building is large,"
I could say:
"not as large as this other one. Now stop screwing around and write your paper."
And this would be misconceived as a rational answer, the conversations would stop, 7 seconds of uncomfortable silence would ensue, followed by the turning on of the television and the preparation of another well-deserved Hot Pocket in the microwave. Once again, all is well with the universe.
"Stealing is wrong,"
I could make the post-modernist counter-argument:
"What if you need that money to feed your 7 wives and 26,862 kids?"
Or, if you were to say "this building is large,"
I could say:
"not as large as this other one. Now stop screwing around and write your paper."
And this would be misconceived as a rational answer, the conversations would stop, 7 seconds of uncomfortable silence would ensue, followed by the turning on of the television and the preparation of another well-deserved Hot Pocket in the microwave. Once again, all is well with the universe.
Last edited by Xanthguy; 03-22-02 at 12:19 AM.
03-22-02 | 10:16 AM
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From: Knoxville, TN
i need to get an essay on the Mxwell Demon of the Crying of Lot 49 written tonight, was wondering if ya'll could help? It's a post-modern paper, so anything about the demon and how it is post modern would be helpful
03-24-02 | 04:50 AM
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Originally posted by Darren H
So, let me get this straight. It's the night before your paper on Pynchon and postmodernism is due, and you head to DVD Talk for help? Good lord. And people wonder why attrition rates are so high among America's educators.
So, let me get this straight. It's the night before your paper on Pynchon and postmodernism is due, and you head to DVD Talk for help? Good lord. And people wonder why attrition rates are so high among America's educators.
edit- and Xanth, thanks for the post man. I ended up just writting about the different post-modern aspect of the Nefastis Machine/Maxwell Demon (they appear in chapter 5, don't have to book w/ me for exact page nums). It was kind of a shallow analysis though...."pynchon mocks symbolysm....pynchon breaks the 4th wall...pynchon thinks technology doesn't work" etc.
Last edited by Monk506; 03-24-02 at 04:54 AM.
