Rachid Neji

The Representation of Absurdity in Thomas Pynchon's Fiction Rachid Neji

In The Crying of Lot49 and Gravity?s Rainbow, the concept of absurdity reigns from the beginning until the end. Indeed, there are characters who strive to abate the amount of their dislocation by stepping into the unknown to finally accept their unknown destiny. Absurdity is an unbearable, a truculent and a weird state of mind. In fact, Pynchon seems to be telling the reader that America has lost much of its historical and political energies. Yet, it should be understood that his project is primarily an artistic project whereby he seeks to explore and create an absurd style of representation in a world that has grown replete with signs emptied of their values. This work examines how Pynchon represents absurdity in his novels and explores the manifestations of such a representation.