The cries of Lot 49 - Is the truth there? In a story as confusing and ambiguous as Thomas Pynchon's The Cries of Lot 49, it is difficult to connect any aspect of the book to any element of modern culture. However, Oedipa's quest, her search for the truth, and the paranoia that reigns therein, are inherent in the plots of today's most-watched television shows and films. Although many of the story's themes can be linked to modern culture, perhaps the most important theme is that of the quest for truth. Oedipa's quest is best depicted in a popular television show on FOX called The X-Files. At first glance, the comparison is almost too obvious. Agent Fox Mulder, played by David Duchovny, searches for the truth behind the apparent mystery of alien abduction and the supernatural, a quest he dubs "The X-Files." Oedipa, too, seeks the truth behind her mystery: WASTE. Both characters yearn for the truth behind the events, a truth that may or may not exist, in mysteries that bend the plots endlessly. However, beyond the obvious similarities, there are other, almost uncanny parallels. Although both Mulder and Oedipa claim to seek the truth, what they both seek is resolution to the questions within themselves. For example, X-Files fans understand that Mulder began his search for extraterrestrial life with the alleged alien abduction of his sister. The quest for the truth is therefore personalized for Agent Mulder, as he himself states that he would not work as an FBI agent if his sister had not been [allegedly] kidnapped. Oedipa is also on a personal quest. No other character in the story searches for the "truth" behind WASTE, the muted mail horn, the play The Courier's Tragedy, Pierce Inverarity's stamps, and a secret postal service. In fact, no one else has ever made such a [perhaps ridiculous] connection! So as both characters search for their personal truths, they slowly begin to fear that no answers exist. The motivations of these two researchers are important and even similar. There seems to be an obsession with finding a truth in the symbols (whether horns or crop circles), a truth that both characters realize may not even exist. By definition, obsession is “a disturbing and persistent preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling.” Therefore, the moment their questions are absolved, the moment their hypotheses are proven, the quest and the paranoia, the frustration and the pain that comes with it disappear. The motive is the fear that the quest is endless, that there are no answers to the questions, and perhaps that there really is no mystery to begin with. For each character, Mulder and Oedipa, this fear drives them in their personal quest for truth. Many of the themes of The Crying of Lot 49 can be seen in modern culture, particularly in films: the paranoia in Conspiracy Theory and Enemy of the State, and the drug culture of Hilarius in Girl Interrupted. However, no movie or show ties into Oedipa's quest as well as FOX's The X-Files. Both Oedipa Maas and Fox Mulder search for personal truths, one based on a secret postal system, the other on extraterrestrial intervention in human life, but they have more in common than it first appears. view. Maybe aliens are delivering mail behind the back of the US government.