Thomas Pynchon Thomas Pynchon, a contemporary as well as a post-modernist writer began his writing career and found much success in the nineteen sixties and seventies eras. Pynchon was influenced by his time period and wrote about the serious issues surrounding society, while also incorporating satirical notions, which reflected his quirky personality. The sixties and seventies produced a culture heavily focused on science, mathematics, technology, industrialization, war, and also a counterculture movement focused on pop culture, self-expression, sex, drugs, and crime. In each of Thomas Pynchon’s writings, representations of these key environmental, social, political, and cultural forces that define these eras are evident. Pynchon began his collegiate career studying engineering physics at Cornell University. Although he did not complete this degree, Pynchon was heavily interested in science and technology. His first job out of school was with Boeing Aircraft Corporation in which he was a technical writer and found inspiration for many of his works (Pynchon 3). Science was not only interesting to Pynchon; it was an interest of the culture of the sixties and seventies. The expansion of the space program in the sixties as well as the voyager programs of the seventies placed heavy emphasis on space and exploration. Emphasis on technological advancement and the increased use of mathematics also became prominent interests in these eras, which led to a common theme to many of Pynchon’s works. Pynchon’s first novel V., published in 1963, was a “whimsical, cynically absurd tale of a middle-aged Englishman’s search for “V.,” an elusive supernatural adventuress appearing in various guises at critical periods in European history (Pynchon 3). This complex story offers many references to science and civilization post both world wars. The emphasis of modern physics, and post war life is reflected in the various plots expressed in the chapters within V. Amongst those plots include a diplomatic spy story in 19th century Africa as well as a bombing during WWII (Byam, p 2666). The topic of war is often connected to issues of political diplomacy and upheaval and as seen in V., Mussolini and his Fascist movement are described (Cowart). This emphasis and reference to war, and the political Fascist movement is scattered throughout V., proving the impact these topics had on Pynchon. Pynchon’s second novel, The Crying Lot 49, follows the same themes of science, technology, space, and even industrialization. In this work, a woman named Oedipa Maas, struggles with a strange quest to discover this supernatural and futuristic conspiracy of a closed society titled Tristero (Cowart). Oedipa is left with the struggle to determine whether this society is real or if she is becoming paranoid and delusional (Cowart). Seeing Pynchon’s excessive reference to science, space, technology, math, and war in this second novel proves the importance of the areas of interest in the eras in which he lived. Scientific improvement, the space race, and post war culture were key forces that influenced his literary works. Gravity’s Rainbow, Pynchon’s longest and most daring novel also deals with the same topics as the previous two novels. This story centers on the wanderings of an American army lieutenant who is attached to an allied intelligence unit in WWII (Cowart). The soldier, Tyrone Slothrop, is looking for a secret V-2 rocket that will supposedly break through Earth’s gravitational barrier when it is launched (Pynchon 3). Again, the introduction of war and science prove Pynchon represented key factors that define the age in which he wrote in each of his writings. Entropy (1960), one of Pynchon’s most notable publications is the first to begin the expression of his interest in science. The work uses technical language and scientific metaphors not familiar to the common reader (Pynchon 3). Weather and science are continually discussed in this piece making an emphasis that the temperature outside remained 37 degrees for many days, despite drastic changes in the weather (Pynchon 1, p 2670). Pynchon’s use of scientific language is prevalent throughout Entropy. For example Pynchon writes, “The cosmologists had predicted an eventful heat-death for the universe (something like Limbo: form and motion abolished, heat-energy identical at every point in it); the meteorologists, day-to-day, starved it off by contradicting with reassuring array of varied temperatures,” (p 2670). Readers are introduced to a scientific language that is common not everyday usage. This example proves the influence the scientific era of the sixties had on Pynchon’s interest and writings. Although science, industrialization, and war subjects are heavily influenced in Pynchon’s works, the eras of the sixties and seventies also brought about much interest in a self-expressive movement of sex and drugs. The influence of society’s acceptance of pop culture such as the Beatles and events like Woodstock, are also key factors that affected Pynchon’s topics of writing. These themes are found in his works including Vineland (1990), a story involving a plot that revolves around the hippie movement, conservative politics, drugs, pop culture, and high art; Inherent Vice (2009), a crime novel featuring an investigator living in a world of drugs, surfing and gangsters, and Bleeding Edge (2013), another novel following an investigator in NYC (Pynchon 3). Due to the nature and topics in which these works some view Pynchon’s writings to be obscene and sometimes risqué. Although many readers find Pynchon’s literary works difficult to follow since they offer a variety of characters mixed with complicated plots and various forms of scientific language, it is easy to tell the era in which Pynchon wrote directly affected the subject of his literary works. The nineteen sixties and the seventies produced emphasis from many aspects such as post war civilization, scientific and technological expansion, industrialization and space travel as well as a countercultural movement of self-expression and the increased appearance of sex, drugs, and crime. These key environmental, social, cultural, and political factors are apparent in each of Pynchon’s works. Pynchon found the subject of his writings through what was happening in the culture around him and as Pynchon continues to write in his presumed home in California, he continues to make the subjects of his writings to reflect the interests and concerns associated of the time.

Works Cited Cowart, David. "Thomas Pynchon. "Critical Survey Of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition (2010): 1- 11. Literary Reference Center. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine. Thomas Pynchon. "The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012. 2666-67. Print.
Pynchon (1), Thomas Baym, Nina, and Robert S. Levine. "Entropy”. "The Norton Anthology of American Literature. New York: W. W. Norton, 2012. 2668-2678. Print. "Pynchon (2), Thomas." Encyclopædia Britannica (2014): Research Starters. Web. 30 Nov. 2014 "Pynchon (3), Thomas."Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2014): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.