Beginning of Essay
The philosophy behind all Pynchon novels lies in the synthesis of philosophers and modern physicists. Ludwig Wittgenstein viewed the world as a "totality of facts, not of things."1 This idea can be combined with a physicist's view of the world as a closed system ....

Middle of Essay
.... not participate at all.4 Oedipa's purpose, besides executing a will, is finding meaning in a life dominated by assaults on people's perceptions through drugs, sex and television. She is forced out of her complacent housewife lifestyle of tupperware parties and Muzak into a chaotic system beyond her capabilities to understand. Images and facts are constantly spit forth. Oedipa's role is that of Maxwell's Demon: to sort useful facts from useless ones. The reader's role is also one of interpreting countless symbols and metaphors to arrive at a meaning. Each reader unravels a different meaning. Unfortunately, Maxwell's Demon can only apply to a ....