Pynchon develops the theme of the promise of hidden truth when he states, "She had caught sight of the marker," denoting she has luckily seen the marker because she doesn't know where to find them. Pynchon shows that hope can work, Oedipa knows of something and her actions are "deliberately" taken, her wishful thinking leads her to clues. Pynchon's description shows hope is also the fuels Oedipa's investigation. Oedipa strives to get better and to change into a new person. Pynchon describes her optimistic view as a "growing obsession". Oedipa gains more knowledge, which feeds her obsession, and drives her to continue to find the hidden truth. Pynchon uses the phrase ""bringing something of herself"" in quotations to show that they are Oedipa's words about herself. Her hope is entirely her own, nobody else wishes for the same thing. Her quest for self-betterment is shown to be to be fictitious as Pynchon reveals the hypocrisy of her words. Pynchon uses disrupts the sentence with the statement "even if that something was just her presence". He interrupts the thought of Oedipa as achieving greatness with the sarcastic notion that she is completely wrong. Oedipa has nothing to offer, nothing that makes her an individual of value to the businesses at Inverarity. Pynchon's words reveal that hope can only carry one so far. Optimism can lead one to the right place, but won't solve the mystery for them, nor will it make a better person. Wishful thinking may help one out, but in the end, it isn't an asset or a quality that others would rely on. Pynchon argues that information leading to figuring out the hidden truth is worthless because the mystery cannot be solved.
Pynchon continues the theme of hidden truth by demonstrating the effects of keeping the truth hidden rather than exposing it. Pynchon uses symbolism and imagery to illustrate the ramifications of hiding the truth. The emotional effects are shown when Oedipa becomes the hostage of Dr.
