Elements of Cyberpunk in Pynchon’s Novels “V.”, “The Crying of Lot 49” and “Gravity’s Rainbow”

Abstract

Although the fi ction of Thomas Pynchon cannot be regarded as cyberpunk, his novels had a great infl uence on the cyberpunk science fiction written in the 1980s. Pynchon’s novels V., The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity’s Rainbow contain the prominent elements of cyberpunk, such as tendency towards mechanization, integration with technology, analogy between the urban city structures and computer matrix and electronic components, dystopian environment with noticeable absence of nature and its devastation, importance of information and loss of identity. All these elements that Pynchon skilfully uses to balance on the thin line between reality and fantasy have become the typical features of cyberpunk.