Postmodernism/Metafiction

What is postmodernism?

The term Postmodern literature is used to describe certain tendencies in post-World War II literature. It is both a continuation of the experimentation championed by writers of the modernist period (relying heavily, for example, on fragmentation, paradox, questionable narrators, etc.) and a reaction against Enlightenment ideas implicit in Modernist literature. Postmodern literature, like postmodernism as a whole, is hard to define and there is little agreement on the exact characteristics, scope, and importance of postmodern literature. However, unifying features often coincide with Jean-François Lyotard's concept of the "meta-narrative" and "little narrative," Jacques Derrida's concept of "play," and Jean Baudrillard's "simulacra." For example, instead of the modernist quest for meaning in a chaotic world, the postmodern author eschews, often playfully, the possibility of meaning, and the postmodern novel is often a parody of this quest. This distrust of totalizing mechanisms extends even to the author; thus postmodern writers often celebrate chance over craft and employ metafiction to undermine the author's "univocal" control (the control of only one voice). The distinction between high and low culture is also attacked with the employment of pastiche, the combination of multiple cultural elements including subjects and genres not previously deemed fit for literature. A list of postmodern authors often varies; the following are some names of authors often so classified, most of them belonging to the generation born in the interwar period: William Burroughs (1914-1997), Alexander Trocchi (1925-1984), Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007), John Barth (b. 1930), Donald Barthelme (1931-1989), E. L. Doctorow (b. 1931), Robert Coover (1932), Jerzy Kosinski (1933-1991) Don DeLillo (b. 1936), Thomas Pynchon (b. 1937), Ishmael Reed (1938), Kathy Acker (1947-1997), Paul Auster (b. 1947)^[1], Orhan Pamuk (b. 1952).

Metafiction is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion. It is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually using irony and self-reflection. It can be compared to presentational theatre, which does not let the audience forget it is viewing a play; metafiction does not let the reader forget he or she is reading a fictional work.



Metafiction is primarily associated with Modernist and Postmodernist literature, but is found at least as early as the 9th-century One Thousand and One Nights and Chaucer's 14th-century Canterbury Tales. Cervantes' Don Quixote is a metafictional novel, as is James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824). In the 1950s several French novelists published works whose styles were collectively dubbed "nouveau roman". These "new novels" were characterized by their bending of genre and style and often included elements of metafiction. It became prominent in the 1960s, with authors and works such as John Barth's Lost in the Funhouse, Robert Coover's The Babysitter and The Magic Poker, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five, Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and William H. Gass's Willie Master's Lonesome Wife. William H. Gass coined the term “metafiction” in a 1970 essay entitled “Philosophy and the Form of Fiction”. Unlike the antinovel, or anti-fiction, metafiction is specifically fiction about fiction, i.e. fiction which self-consciously reflects upon itself.

Shakespeare's HAMLET

As we read Hamlet, consider the following major themes:


• Revenge: Hamlet searches continuously for the answer to the question of whether or not he should avenge his father’s death. His concern with right and wrong in religious, moral, and political terms causes him much inner turmoil.
(Journal Topics 1, 2)
• Appearance vs. Reality: The play contains many situations in which the surface appearance of things does not always match reality. Hamlet struggles to determine who his true friends are; the players in the acting troupe assume new identities; Claudius appears to be a true and just king and Gertrude his virtuous queen. (Journal Topics 4, 8, 10, 11)
• Sanity vs. Insanity: In many ways this conflict is intertwined with the theme of appearance vs. reality. Hamlet’s sanity or insanity has baffled critics for years. Even the characters in the play discuss inconsistencies in Hamlet’s behavior,sometimes assuming he is really insane, at other times amazed by his clarity of thought. (Journal Topics 3, 9)
• : Among the most powerful images of the play are those which reveal disintegrating situations, both in personal terms for Prince Hamlet, and in political terms for Denmark. (Journal Topics 1, 2, 9, 12)

Journal Topics

Journal Topics
• How common do you believe the act of revenge is in everyday life? Write about specific incidents, including any in which you were involved or have witnessed.
• Find magazine/newspaper articles, short stories, plays, poems, or novels containing events motivated by revenge. How might events have been changed had someone not sought revenge?
• Characterize yourself as a "thinker" or a "doer." In this respect what character in the play are you most like? How would you like to be different, or would you like to be different?
• Have you or anyone you have known ever seen or claimed to have witnessed some kind of supernatural being? Explain the circumstances surrounding the event. Do you believe in the supernatural? Explain.
• In Act I, scene iii of Hamlet, Polonius gives Laertes a great deal of "fatherly advice" about how to live his life. Look at this section and find advice you have heard from your own parents. How valuable is this advice? Have you used it? Have you been involved in any situation to which this advice was applicable?
• To what extent do parents have the right to "spy" or check up on their children? What circumstance might allow or prevent this?
• How are relationships between stepparents and stepchildren generally depicted in fiction or film? Do you have any experience with or knowledge of step-relationships? What conflicts and barriers must be overcome? What are the advantages, the positive aspects of these relationships?
• Are parents generally blind to their children’s faults? Why or why not?
• King Claudius states "Madness in great ones must not unwatched go." (III, i) How is this true in any age? What evidence can you find in recent news stories to support this statement? How do societies keep checks and balances on their "great ones?"
• So you know what an "apple polisher" is? Have you every known one or been one yourself? Why do you think people do this? How do you feel about it?
• Have you ever been the victim of unrequited love? How did you feel? Have you ever been the recipient of affection from someone whom you did not care about? How did you feel about this situation?
• Write about a time when you discovered that someone was purposefully plotting against you for some reason. Explain the situation—how you felt, how it turned out.

House of Seven Gables Discussion questions

Post an individual response to 3 of these questions or essay topics for individual credit.

Your post should show evidence of critical thinking and reference to the text.
Your 3 posts are due on Monday, May 24, for full credit.


1. Who would you say is the principal protagonist of The House of the Seven Gables? Who is the principal antagonist?

2. In the Preface, Hawthorne claims his book is a romance rather than a novel. Romances need not deal with “everyday, ordinary things” and usually incorporate fantastic elements. Do you think that The House of the Seven Gables is more of a romance or a novel? Should it be classified as another genre altogether?

The House of the Seven Gables is, in fact, a skillful blending of both narrative approaches. The book contains some fantastic elements, but most of these never stray far from reality. Two scenes—the two Maule ghosts restraining the spirit of Colonel Pyncheon and the ghosts parading in front of the dead Judge—are too fantastical to have actually occurred, but one is presented as a vision of Alice Pyncheon’s and the other as speculation on the narrator’s part. The hypnotic powers of the young Matthew Maule and Holgrave are certainly eerie and mystical, but hypnosis does exist, and therefore these scenes are not entirely fantastical. While The House of the Seven Gables does not belong to the horror genre, it does incorporate many elements of horror, sharing with the horror genre the realization that the greatest shock value can be created by making things too horrible to be true but not so awful that they can’t be believed. By straddling the line between the romance and the novel, and by refusing to commit entirely to any genre, Hawthorne makes his work shocking but also thought-provoking. He creates a work of fiction that entertains and teaches with a fantastical plot that is also rich with literary and historical themes.

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3. Discuss the role of “fate” in the novel. How much of the Pyncheons’ bad luck is caused by fate, and how much results from their own actions and choices?

At the beginning of The House of the Seven Gables, fate is believed to direct the fortunes of Hepzibah and Clifford. The novel indulges this belief with its graphic descriptions of a curse that has worked itself into the very walls of the house. As the story progresses, however, we begin to wonder if other elements are not also at work. Holgrave’s revolutionary doctrine of tearing down the houses of the dead implies that Clifford and Hepzibah become complicit in their persecution by being passive. They accept the cruelty they are handed with a meekness that borders on irresponsibility. The rest of the Pyncheons also appear to be partly responsible for their own bad luck: Maule’s curse seems to affect only those who are driven by excessive ambition and greed, while the more docile members of the family seem to lead happy lives. To a certain extent, the novel does put a lot of stock in fate, which is demonstrated by its eloquent passages depicting the house as an inescapable prison. Nonetheless, the story also suggests repeatedly that fate is simply another obstacle to overcome, and that our ultimate destiny always remains ours to determine.

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Suggested Essay Topics

1. Discuss the presence of decay and decaying things in The House of the Seven Gables. What does decay symbolize in the novel?
2. Can Clifford be considered a good person? How is his goodness or malice reflected in the way he treats Phoebe and Hepzibah?
3. Discuss the role of hypnotism and mesmerism in The House of the Seven Gables.
4. How is Phoebe different from all the other characters in the novel? Does she resemble any one character more than the others? If so, why?
5. Why does Hepzibah continue to refuse the Judge’s offers of financial help? Can these offers be viewed as genuine, or are there by ulterior motives?

House of Seven Gables Study guide

www.searchlit.org/novels/499.php
www.searchlit.org/novels/499.php

Go to website, use study questions for discussion, post a group comment

Scarlet Letter Study questions

www.studyguide.org/scarlet_letter_guide.htm

Go to website, discuss questions, post a group response.

The Scarlet Letter Questions for Study and Discussion

The Scarlet Letter is one of the greatest works by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Here are a few questions for study and discussion.

* What is important about the title?

* What are the conflicts in The Scarlet Letter? What types of conflict (physical, moral, intellectual, or emotional) are in this novel?

* How does Nathaniel Hawthorne reveal character in The Scarlet Letter?

* What are some themes in the story? How do they relate to the plot and characters?

* What are some symbols in The Scarlet Letter? How do they relate to the plot and characters?

* Is Hester consistent in her actions? Is she a fully developed character? How? Why?

* Do you find the characters likable? Are the characters persons you would want to meet?

* Does the story end the way you expected? How? Why?

* What is the central/primary purpose of the story? Is the purpose important or meaningful?

* How does this novel relate to feminist literature? Is Hester a strong female character?

* How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken place anywhere else?

* What is the role of women in the text? How are mothers represented? What about single/independent women?

* Would you recommend this novel to a friend?

May 10-Study Literary Terms/Reduced Shakespeare

View Reduced Shakespeare Company video

Study for Wednesday's AP exam---literary terms

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Pick up Scarlet Letter or House of the Seven Gables

The House of the Seven Gables

On Rochester:
www.eldritchpress.org/nh/roch.html#g03

Link to Rappacini's Daughter:

www.shsu.edu/~eng_wpf/authors/Hawthorne/Rappaccini.htm

Link to "Young Goodman Brown":

www.online-literature.com/poe/158/

Link to "The Birthmark":

www.online-literature.com/poe/125/