The W.A.S.T.E. delivery system plays a significant role to the theme of the novel and reveals the characters of the book. It is described as a machine that mixes up the characters especially on its meaning and how it operates “For a moment she'd wondered if the seal around her sockets were tight enough to allow the tears simply to go on and fill up the entire lens space and never dry” (Pynchon, 11). The theme that has come out clearly in the book is communication breakdown where the characters are unable to coordinate and realize what they want. Such communication breakdown is experienced especially in the life of the protagonist Mrs. Oedipa who struggles almost all her life to find meaning in life. The story opens by her being named the executor of an estate “Oedipa had been named executor, or she supposed executrix, of the estate of one PierceInverarity” (Pynchon, 1). This is something she looks forward to and hopes that she would finally win the bid. The road towards obtaining this coveted treasure leads us through a series of events where Oedipa moves from being and trusting people to a life of solitary and loneliness. She however realizes that she cannot completely avoid people as she needs them to execute her plans. She however maintains a low profile for the purpose of not being so much engaged and involved in other peoples affairs.
The W.A.S.T.E. delivery system is described as a mysterious postal service that once existed but not clear if it still exists and works. The Trystero, which comes with a symbol of a horn remains to be a mystery that Mrs. Oedipa struggles to unveil. This is the system that has to also lead her to the execution of the property that her late boyfriend left her. She is held between believing it as real and dismissing it merely as a hoax. It becomes more complicated for Oedipa who encounters various stamps with the initials W.A.S.T.E. and other artifacts with the symbol of the horn that signifies the Trystero. The desire to know the origin of the Trystero services and what the initials stands for becomes the basis on which the literature revolves. This makes even the story more interesting considering the fact that the mystery is not only veiled to he characters of the novel but also to the reader who is curious to know about whet the Trystero and the delivery system is all about.
The significance of W.A.S.T.E. delivery system leads to the people who use it
The W.A.S.T.E. delivery system leads to a change in character of Oedipa, which is similar to what we all go through. It is normal for one to be curious and anxious at the same time when they know there is a mystery they have to reveal. The thought of giving up and moving on with life come strongly and deeply upon us yet the fact that there is a treasure attached to it makes us want to explore it more and more. Whenever Oedipa encounters a stamp with the initials, she becomes convinced that the system exists, however the complications that come with finding it makes her think of it as a tiring process that is not worth the pain. In as much as she desires to ignore it, she realizes that it is not just something that can be brushed off. She is disturbed mentally thinking about the Trystero “she may fall back on superstition, or take up a useful hobby like embroidery, or go mad, or marry a disc jockey” (Pynchon, 12). Her efforts to find out from people are met with answers that are mot satisfactorily.
The delivery system also introduces us to other characters in the novel as well as other plots. In the effort to finds out about the mysterious delivery system, we learn about Oedipa’s boyfriend, the psychiatrist and even Oedipa’s husband what he is involved in. the drunkenness and promiscuous nature of Oedipa is also revealed even as she struggles to unveil the mystery which is likely to lead her to her fortune. Her emotions shift from following the treasure to unveiling the mystery of the delivery machine. For some period, she feels that the people that are to assist her in her quest are not doing enough and decides to move into isolation. This only increases her curiosity especially when she finds a procedure that promises to unveil her mystery. She literally becomes insane even as the procedure seems to be longer than she has anticipated. With the realization that finding a treasure does not come easily, she persists through her search.
The W.A.S.T.E. delivery system is also an interregnal part that reveals what we go through in our day-to-day life. The fact that there is a consistent communication breakdown in the novel, even as each character tries to find the mystery of the Trystero, we realize the other incidences in our lives where we have searched for something in vain. Life has been set in a way that there is something, which human beings are looking forward to have or accomplish. Just when a person thinks they have fond what they are searching for, they realize that there is still much more about the treasure that one has to keep finding out. This is usually accompanied with a series of events that make life interesting. There is no point in life where everything is always working out well. We encounter people and circumstances that reveal the different faces of life. In the end, we realize that we cannot necessarily obtain everything we want in life. It reaches even a time that even when the truth has been revealed, we do not believe that it is the truth and will always look for more truths. This leads us to more complicated issues that are likely to return us to where we began.
How it compare with other media forms that Pynchon describes in the novel
Unlike other media forms that has been described by Pynchon, the W.A.S.T.E delivery system seems to be having other hidden meanings that the characters are not aware. The modern means of delivering information had clear details of what they stood for and were widely used and recognized by the masses “Though she knew even less about radios than about Southern Californians, there were to both outward patterns a hieroglyphic sense of concealed meaning, of an intent to communicate” (Pynchon, 14). A person could know where the services are based and subsequently using then without any question or thought. However, W.A.S.T.E delivery system was an underground means of communication that had been thought to be outdated. The question of why it existed and who was behind it is what disturbed the characters.
Oedipal had spent a good part of her life searching for the meaning of the initials W.A.S.T.E that formed the basis of the delivery system. The initials stand for ‘We Await Silent Tristero's Empire’. The Tristero is an ancient delivery system that has been disguised. After following the treasure for quite sometime, se realizes that the Tristero does not even exist. The discovery of the initials and the mystery of the Tristero take us back to some incidences in our life where we realized that we were chasing after the wind. The story ends without letting us know whether Oedipa finally won the estate or not. What the author wanted to reveal to us in the literature was not all about the estate but the seasons that we encounter on a daily basis. The most significant role of The W.A.S.T.E. delivery system is hence to unveil our character to ourselves and let us know that what we encounter is not strange but happens to all other people. This becomes vital especially in helping us making decisions about our lives. Realizing there is no answer that will ever satisfy us, we have a decision to cling on something or to let it go.
Works cited
Pynchon, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. New York: HarperCollins, 2009.
