The Paranoids and Metzger

Considering that everything in this book is connected to Oedipa and that Pynchon was very clever in giving significance to every characters name, I was curious to explore the significance of the Paranoids. Our first introduction to a Paranoid is Miles, who tries to have sex with Oedipa upon the first few minutes of meeting. If you recall, Oedipa believes that the only reason Cashiered was playing on TV the night she met Metzger was because he bribed the program to play this movie to impress her. Perhaps the Paranoids represent Oedipa's paranoia because Oedipa is so narcissistic that she assumes every man is trying to have her. This is just a theory because I haven't found any other evidence for it so far. The only reason I call attention to it is because this band's actions, such as stealing Godzilla II, don't seem reckless but rather paranoid.

Another interesting thing that I noticed involves Metzger. Metzger seems to blind his eyes to any form of misconduct. In the mass murder of Cashiered, in the theft of Godzilla II, and in the Paranoids' drug possession, Metzger claims that not seeing these events will allow him to defend his clients if they ever need a lawyer. I think that this disregard for justice, especially as a lawyer, represents Metzger's flawed character and selfishness that we will continue to see throughout the story.