Rhetoric in the Unknown

In the novel, The Crying of Lot 49, we as readers are able to attempt the digestion of a complex but rewarding rhetorical experience. Rhetorically this book becomes so significant to our class because it constantly portrays the impact of the unknown on peoples actions in a manner congruent with the overall picture of the Vietnam war. 

In the novel, the main Character, Oedipa, constantly battles the unknown as she is engrossed in the handling of her ex-boyfriends estate after his untimely death. This conflict with the unknown unfolds and allows us insight into various forms of rhetorical strategy as various mysteries reveal just enough of themselves. For example, in the second chapter Oedipa is faced with the unknown in a major scene characterized by a new setting in a hotel room, the introduction of a new character, an insecurity and lack of direction in her own life, all combined with the ominous movie of Baby Igor. In the scene a systematic form of events involving a hidden argument worthy of Jay Heinrichs praise, ends up in a drunken love affair. The whole scene through its progression from first introductions, to casual flirting, to drinking, to strip Botticelli, and finally the affair showed both character's interests and sides of the hidden argument. This trend doesn't stop here, however, as Oedipa continually battles the unknown as she comes in contact with mysterious acronyms, secret symbols, and underground societies. 

Not unlike the unknown surrounding Oedipa, Vietnam Proved itself to be an unfathomable mystery. Due to the arguments derived from this state, the rhetoric and sense of argument holds its own in a battle of importance. From the Tet offensive to the Draft, uncertainties drove the war forward. Likewise The Crying of Lot 49 was driven forward.