Postmodernism

Postmodernism is a literary movement of post-1950s, a time marked by the cold war and
the excesses of consumption. t differs from !odernism by blurrin" the conventional
boundary between #hi"h# and #low# culture, by a completely loosened structure in both
time and space, and by multiple openin"s rather than a closure. t re$ects to conform to
popular taste and combines hetero"eneous elements, makin" it cater to a more
sophisticated readership.
%haracteri&ed by an attempt to establish transhistorical or transcultural validity, it claims
that search for reality is pointless, as the #real# is conditioned by time, place, race, class,
"ender, and sexuality. 'here is no knowled"e or experience that is superior or inferior to
another.
(eveloped in the second half of the twentieth century, it is lar"ely influenced by a
number of events that marked this period. )enocide that occurred durin" the *econd
+orld +ar, *oviet "ula"s, the %hinese %ultural ,evolution, mass destruction caused by
atomic bombs dropped on -iroshima and .a"asaki, insecurity of %old +ar /ra, post
colonialism issue, as well as the supremacy of multinational corporations and post-
industrialism with new technolo"ies, violence, counter culture and consumer culture
shaped the perception of new authors.
+hile postmodernism had a little relevance to poetry and only a limited influence on
modern drama 0applied only to the 1bsurd 'heatre2, it had a hu"e impact on fiction,
especially to the novel.
Main characteristics:
'opics dealin" with the complex absurdity of contemporary life - moral and
philosophical relativism, loss of faith in political and moral authority, alienation
/mployin" black humor, parody, "rotes3ue, absurdity, and travesty
/rasin" boundaries between #low# and #hi"h# culture
4ack of a "rand narrative
1voidin" traditional closure of themes or situations
%ondemnin" commercialism, hedonism, mass production, and economic
"lobalism
,eality represented throu"h lan"ua"e
Postmodernism
5 Postmodernism is a term that encompasses a wide-ran"e of developments in
philosophy, film, architecture, art, literature, and culture.
1
5 6ri"inally a reaction to modernism, referrin" to the lack of artistic, intellectual, or
cultural thou"ht or or"ani&ed principle.
5 *tarted around 1970s, exact date is unknown.
5 Peaked around the 1980s and 1990s with the release of %atch :: and
*lau"hterhouse ;ive
Postmodern 4iterature
+hat is it<
- =sed to describe the different aspects of post ++: literature 0modernist
literature2.
- 'here is not a clear and defined definition of postmodernism because of the little
a"reement of the concepts and characteristics and ideas within postmodernism.
Postmodernist Literature contains a broad range of concepts and ideas that
include:
- responses to modernism and its ideas
- responses to technolo"ical advances
- "reater diversity of cultures that leads to cultural pluralism. 0small "roups within
a lar"er society maintain their culture identity2.
- reconceptuali&ations of society and history
5 'here are a few similarities to modernist literature.
- 4ike modernist literature, both are usually told from an ob$ective or omniscient
point of view.
- >oth literatures explore the external reality to examine the inner states of
consciousness of the characters
- >oth employ fra"mentation in narrative and character construction
Postmodern 4iterature? Common Themes
rony, playfulness, black humor
- /xample? 'he %ryin" 4ot of 79, Pynchon uses childish wordplay while discussin"
serious sub$ects. 1n example of his wordplay can be found in the names of his characters?
!ike ;allopian, *tanley @oteks, !ucho !aas, and (r. -ilarius.
Patiche
- 1uthors often combine multiple elements in the postmodern "enre.
/xample? Pynchon includes elements from science fiction, pop culture references, and
detective fiction to create fictional cultures and concepts.
!etafiction
- +ritin" about writin", often used to undermine the authority of the author and to
advance stories in uni3ue ways.
/xample? n talo %alvinoAs novel, If On a Winters Night a Traveler, is about a reader
attemptin" to read a novel of the same name. n @urt Bonne"utAs novel, Slaughterhouse
Five, the first chapter is about the writing process of the novel.
Paranoia
:
-'he belief that there is somethin" out of the ordinary, while everythin" remains the
same.
/xample? n @urt Bonne"utAs novel, rea!fast of Champions, a character becomes
violent when he ima"ines everyone else as a robot and he is the only human.
Postmodern 4iterature? Influential works
5 Catch "" C Doseph -eller
5 Slaughterhouse Five C @urt Bonne"ut
5 #ost in the Funhouse C Dohn >arth
5 The Things The$ Carrie% C 'im 6A>rien
5 White Noise C (on (e4illo
5 &ravit$s 'ainbow C 'homas Pynchon
5 The Cr$ing of #ot () C 'homas Pynchon
5 Joseph Heller
- >orn !ay 1, 19:E in >rooklyn, .ew Fork
- @nown for his post +orld +ar satires and playwri"hts
- %atch :: most well-known of his works
- 6ther works include? Something *appene%, &oo% as &ol%, an% Closing Time.
- 1lso wrote plays? We ombe% in New *aven, Catch "", Clevingers Trail
5 Thomas Pynchon
- >orn !ay G, 19E9 in )len %ove, .ew Fork.
- @nown for his fictional writin" over many different sub$ects that include? science,
mathematics, and history
- @nown for his early works? B, 'he %ryin" of 4ot 79, and )ravityAs ,ainbow.
- 1lso wrote essays concernin" diverse topics such as missile security and +atts
,iots 0 a lar"e scale riot that lasted six days in the +attAs nei"hborhood of 412.
5 Kurt onnegut
- >orn .ovember 11, 19:: in ndianapolis, ndiana
- @nown for usin" Patiche in his works. >lends satire, black comedy, and science
fiction to create novels, such as Slaughterhouse Five an% rea!fast of
Champions.
- 1s a former soldier and prisoner of war, many of his experiences influenced his
later works.
5 Tim !"#rien
- >orn 6ctober 1, 1978 in 1ustin, !innesota
- -is career be"an with the release of If I +ie in a Combat ,one, o- .e /p an% Ship
me. +rote mainly about his experiences in the Bietnam +ar
- 6A>rien uses fiction and reality and blends them into his own "enre. -e labels his
works fiction, however, he uses his situations he experienced in his works.
- !ost famous work? 'he 'hin"s 'hey %arried
E
5 #Doseph -eller.# Wi!ipe%ia, The Free 0nc$clope%ia. 19 !ar :00G, 05?7: ='%.
+ikimedia ;oundation, nc. :7 !ar :00G Hhttp?IIen.wikipedia.or"IwIindex.php<
titleJDosephK-ellerLoldidJ199:G0G10M.
5 #@urt Bonne"ut.# Wi!ipe%ia, The Free 0nc$clope%ia. :1 !ar :00G, 1G?:8 ='%.
+ikimedia ;oundation, nc. :7 !ar :00G Hhttp?IIen.wikipedia.or"IwIindex.php<
titleJ@urtKBonne"utLoldidJ199G9918GM
5 #4ist of postmodern authors.# Wi!ipe%ia, The Free 0nc$clope%ia. 10 !ar :00G,
1:?E9 ='%. +ikimedia ;oundation, nc. :7 !ar :00G
Hhttp?IIen.wikipedia.or"IwIindex.php<
titleJ4istKofKpostmodernKauthorsLoldidJ199:15909M.
5 #Postmodern literature.# Wi!ipe%ia, The Free 0nc$clope%ia. :1 !ar :00G, 18?78
='%. +ikimedia ;oundation, nc. :7 !ar :00G
Hhttp?IIen.wikipedia.or"IwIindex.php<
titleJPostmodernKliteratureLoldidJ199G5879EM.
5 #'homas Pynchon.# Wi!ipe%ia, The Free 0nc$clope%ia. 15 !ar :00G, 17?:E
='%. +ikimedia ;oundation, nc. :7 !ar :00G
Hhttp?IIen.wikipedia.or"IwIindex.php<
titleJ'homasKPynchonLoldidJ19G7101:9M.
7