In the final three chapters of the novel, the thing that keeps sticking out to me is the names chosen by Pynchon for the characters. Oedipa's name becomes more and more appropriate for the character. Like Oedipus Rex, Oedipa is driven insane by the events of the story. Even when she is wandering, the reader is beginning to see that all the information Oedipa is getting is driving her totally insane. While her “doom” doesn’t come in the same way as Oedipus, it is a doom of insanity nonetheless.
Her name is not the only one Thomas Pynchon uses as a satirical device. The name of John Nefastis gives the reader, or at least me, the image of something dark, due to his name sounding like “nefarious”.
It almost seems like his character naming is for no other reason than to make the readers chuckle. For me, an example of this is Genghis Cohen. I can’t figure out why he would name the stamp collector like the legendary Genghis Khan, other than possibly trying to keep the reader’s attention, especially in the parts of the novel that are not as interesting.
From Dr. Hilarius to Mike Fallopian, the satire Pynchon uses ranges from the obvious to the puzzling. The most likely reason for some of his namings is simply to distract or puzzle the reader even more in a story that is already very puzzling. It is Thomas Pynchon’s strategy in the novel to be as ambiguous as humanly possible.
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