Item: Lost in the Funhouse
Author: Kadriye

Kadriye

@Aykc

09 Ocak 2021 15:53

194 syf.

· Kitabı okudu

Puan vermedi

John Barth is the most important postmodernist novelist and his works of art fiction and reality somehow is complicated. It becomes difficult to decide which one is real and which one is fiction. Blurring and uncertainty is so immense that sometimes it is problematic to understand what is happening and what is going on this story. In the story we have suspicions and questions. All the time, nothing is accepted, and we have a sceptical reading. Every concern and everything are sceptical, and we should not forget that the question is very important. Linda Hutcheon talks about self-reflexivity. Do nothing that we are pieces of reality. In fact, we are fictional. They all the time try to make us aware of being fictional. This progress is self-reflexivity of postmodernist works of art. Another word, it shows us through metafiction, through inflectional references, through parody and pastiche. The author used mostly the techniques of metafiction. The author often comments on the narration and sometimes criticizes creation. While narrating the story, he starts to tell very unusual thing, or he starts to give some certain clues related to the techniques. So, all these things help you understand that be aware. This is not a sort of real thing. Do not get lost in the magical story. The other is playful language. Immitations of the language is one of the problems that postmodernist author criticizes. They try to challenge the limitations through playing with the languages. Pronunciations and the spelling of these words are somehow distorted. It shows “mock “this is the motto of postmodernism. Parody, fragmented narration, open ended closure, intertextual references, and uncertainty are the other concepts or techniques used in the novel. Open ended closure is sometimes subverted and distorted. Funhouse comprises lots of colours, playgrounds, people from different ages, cultures. It also includes problems, pollution, disorder, and noise. It represents the world we are in. It might represent lovers. It is a sexual connotation, but when we look at the meaning of a funhouse, it is a place of fear and confusion. We see such kind of epiphany or chaos. At the same time, metafiction is used in the first paragraph. This is fictional story. The second sentence is very similar to the traditional way of narrating the story. While the author gives some background of the protagonist and place suddenly, narration gives the certain details or significant information related techniques. This is unusual. It is about the fragmented narration so in this way, we are not lost in the story. He feds up with this chronological narration and he challenges it. Besides, he is aware of being independent of this tradition and he uses it. The work of art is not real. Nothing happens in that story. For example, when we read a novel, there is a love relationship, there is a villain. We read the story to find out what is going to happen next. Nevertheless, in this story nothing happens. It is about gaining consciousness ourselves. Our protagonist tries to discover himself, and his own condition. There is an existentialist problem or identity problem. Ambrose is the protagonist, and he is thirteen-year-old boy. His elder brother is Peter, and their neighbour is Magda. His family is typical. Nevertheless, that typical family turns out to be self-realization of thirteen-year-old boy. In the story we have love triangle, but this is not somehow very significant point. Although it is significant, this is not the main point. The main character is Ambrose both literary and symbolically because he is placed as a character who is fragmented and who is alienated from the society. We have sudden or gradual realization of the author or of the character as a talented boy. As it is common in modernism, fragmentation and alienation are themes of the novel. These two themes could also be a part of postmodernist fiction. Our central character, Ambrose, is fragmented. He is not understood by others, he tries to reflect his actions or events around himself, but unfortunately, he fails to interrogate them, or he missed the fragment, and he feels alienated. Nobody understands and everyone continues their life with couples, but he is alone. He is different from the others. It is a sort of identity problem. It is a sort of existentialist problem. We can see the idea of loneliness or isolation with this quote. It is a mythical phenomenon. “Symbolism is in places heavy-footed. Yet Ambrose M__ understood, as few adults do, that the famous loneliness of the great was no popular myth but a general truth- furthermore, that it was as much cause as effect.” (Barth, 1980). In addition, Ambrose’s illness is maybe related to the theme of alienation. Besides, the author loses his control. For example, the paragraph that Ambrose’s illness is mentioned is not related to the other paragraphs. The other instance is that he talks about funhouse and then started to talk about designer. He suddenly changes the topic. The other central theme is WWII. “Pilots were falling in flames over Europe; women were being forcibly raped in the South Pacific.” (Barth, 1980). We can see the effect of the World War Two in this quote. Another central idea is contradictory and paradox. As an example, we can show this quote. “The function of the beginning of a story is to introduce the principal characters...expose the background of the situation if necessary, plant motifs and foreshadowings where appropriate and initiate the first complication or whatever of the rising action.” (Barth, 1980). Confusion of adolescent, dilemmas faced during the individuation process, self and selves, becoming aware of your own self and effects of capitalism can be observed as themes of the novel. The author uses unusual narration and certain political figures. He mocks the reader by using the traditional narration. There are two possible endings. The technique of parody is also used. For instance, “one possible ending would be to have Ambrose come across another lost person the dark…” (Barth, 1980). Both author and reader can lose in the story. “It makes a person wonder. We have not even reached Ocean City yet.” (Barth, 1980). We can also observe the concept of the intertextuality. The words of Ulysses, Novel the 42nd parallel and James Joyce are the example of this concept. It is about intertextual reference. He shows us this is the work of art and is fictional and nothing is original. This is related to other texts. A year, two year and thrice year is an example of playful language. The character has a sort of insight psychological mood in order to seem like an adult, his behaviours are somehow appropriate. In addition, Rolland BARTH lost his domination or control over the texts because with poststructuralism, it is somehow accepted that not only the author but also the reader is active during the creation process.

Lost in the FunhouseJohn Barth · Bantam Books · 196916 okunma

122 görüntüleme

Yorum yapabilmeniz için giriş yapmanız gerekmektedir.

Gönderi

Kadriye