Imagined Worlds: Creative Value of Postmodern Fiction and Significance of Detail.

 

 

         Achilles:

That’s quite a bit to swallow. I never imagined there could be a world above mine before – and now you’re hinting that there could even be one above that. It’s like walking up a familiar staircase, and just keeping on going further up after you’ve reached the top – or what you’d always taken to be on the top!

         Crab:

Or walking up from what you took to be real life, and finding out it too was just a dream. That could happen over and over again, no telling when it would stop.

(Douglas R. Hofstadter, 1979)

 

 

Nothing about the term ‘postmodernism’ is un-contradictory. An avant-garde movement with an unfortunate name that it received in relation to another movement; it can never be fully satisfactory. Charles Newman (1985, p. 17) expressed even stronger opinion about its name – “it inevitably calls to mind a band of vainglorious contemporary artists following the circus elephants of modernism with snow shovels”. The term itself makes little sense too – if ‘modern’ implies “relevant to the present”, ‘post-modern’ must imply “relevant to the future” meaning that postmodernist fiction can only be the fiction not yet written. Perhaps, the prefix ‘post’ does not necessarily indicate a new era, rather, it may signify a reaction or comment on modernism, especially considering the context of the Second World War and major post-war events. Nonetheless, no better term was coined to describe this peculiar literary genre (though alternative names, such as ‘Surfiction’, were suggested by some artists). Postmodernism in art is usually associated with its alternative viewpoints and perspectives onto the world and reality rather than with its solid characteristics – it exists in a very similar way that ‘the Renaissance’ or ‘romanticism’ exist (or don’t exist). In this essay I will examine main concepts and viewpoints of postmodern literature, as well as its key techniques, fiction and imagined worlds, the role of details and I will also analyse my creative piece through the themes listed above.

 

 

Main Concepts and Viewpoints of Postmodern Literature.

 

Matt Morrison (2010, p. 104) states that “in literature, a postmodern text might be identified by its playfulness with language, its use of pastiche and collage, its emphasis on self-reference, and a difficulty in ascribing settled meaning or interpretation”. Postmodernism as a concept doesn’t try to understand or explain what life is like. It is very intuitive and allows for a very broad and extensive interpretation by the reader (or rather the experiencer?). By opposing reason, progress and purpose (common Enlightenment beliefs) it creates new possibilities for discovering the world that is new in the world of reality. Postmodernism is a new way of experiencing the world through the Individual and individual experience with reality. It is a tool for the reader to find personal truth of life by suggesting certain viewpoints.

 

Postmodernism may be seen as chaotic but in its chaos it allows the reader to find the points that interest or intrigue that particular reader. A few criteria for judging different versions of a postmodern texts may be suggested – for example, the criteria of internal coherence and self-consistency. Another criterion can be ‘productiveness’ – a superior version of postmodern text would be one that creates new insights, connections, interpretations, criticisms, polemics – conclusively, more discourse. Another central concept in postmodernism is 'undecidability', the proposition that meaning may never be fixed. This suggestion is especially challenging as it opposes our intuition that definite statements can be made about the real world (though the danger of the definite statements has been proved numerous times throughout the history). Furthermore, from a postmodern perspective, past is seen as a continuous stream of consciousness and language, and as a consequence of this idea, the first version of the text is considered preferable. Postmodern writers are challenged to minimize editing to leave as much room for imagination and interpretation as possible. The writer’s (or the reader’s) consciousness is finally absolute, dogmatic and indisputable.

 

It is almost impossible to discriminate against different constructions of postmodern writing since none of them would be less ‘true’ or less imaginary than others – all of them are ultimately fiction. However, it does not mean that some versions of a postmodernist text can not be preferred over others. In particular, a major criterion of postmodernism is ‘interest’ - a text that can satisfy it would ultimately be considered superior. Postmodern writers strive and challenge themselves to create interesting objects, worlds, situations. Yet, the reader is the one who discovers meanings and knowledge in interplay with their own experiences and values. Moreover, postmodernism foregrounds its status as 'text' recognising its artificiality rather than stating the ‘truth’. The wonder is that postmodern literature “still manages to interest, to convince, and eventually to appear relevant to the reader’s experience despite containing so many reminders of its artificiality” (Riffaterre1990, p.1). It leaves truth to exist as a concept but doesn't praise it - even worse is reality. Hence, through the lens of postmodern beliefs realism as a literary strategy is heavily criticized and seen as redundant, even harmful since it presents versions of reality. Postmodernism proposes (insists) that art must stay opposite to reality and nature – yet, the goal is not to form something that has never been seen in nature, rather it is to feature in fictional worlds something that has existed in the real world (Queen Victoria or quantum mechanics). However, these features would not be reflected on in the postmodern fiction but incorporated and used as a tool – a particular system of values, knowledge, emotions, etc. So, according to Benjamin Hrushovski (1984, p. 277), “postmodern texts involve a ‘double-decker’ form of reference: the internal and external worlds form two parallel planes but their geometry is non-Euclidean, for the planes overlap at many points without merging into one”. The difference between the original object and its reflection here is fundamental – it means that postmodernism does not necessarily identify itself in opposition to the real world but in relationship between the real world and fiction.

 

 

Key Techniques of Postmodern Literature.

 

There are a few writing techniques and stylistics associated with a postmodernist text, such as loss of fixed centre, irony, split identity, self-reference (intertextuality), pastiche, multiple viewpoints, metafiction, fragmentation, distortion, etc. Also, a postmodern tactic would be to prioritise language over the ‘truth’; the author would not attempt to make the reader forget that they are reading a writing – rather, the author would try to draw attention to fact that the text is an artificial creation. Linda Hutcheon (2004) argued that postmodern writing could be represented by the ironic quote marks. Playfulness in a postmodernist text represents the ironic outlook that most postmodern artists share; it is essential in postmodern fiction since seriousness and factuality of the real world is considered dull. Furthermore, in most avant-garde writings the notion of self-identity is challenged, yet in a postmodern approach it evolves into a multi-dimensional concept through creation of fiction and ‘alternative worlds’. Reflections in these fictional worlds, however, are regulated by the perception of possibility – they call for ‘the suspension of belief’ (as well as of disbelief). For example, in Muriel Spark’s ‘The Hothouse by the East’ (1975) the characters are dead and not dead at the same time, and their world exists and does not exist. Another example of parallel worlds would be Miguel de Cervantes’s ‘Don Quixote’ (1615) which presents two worlds: one of Alonso Quijana’s delusions and another of Don Quixote’s delusions. These possible worlds only exist hypothetically meaning that in order for them to exist they need to be believed in, experienced or/and imagined by the person. Therefore, a fictional text always contains signs and symbols whose function is to connect with the reader who exists in the real world.

 

 

The Role of Details.

 

Details often evoke peoples' memories, emotions, associations, inspirations, etc. Something that has no obvious value in one's eyes can trigger reactions in another based on their experiences. Twisted postmodern narratives can not be understood without the reader mentally rebuilding or hypothesizing the story, therefore realistic (though not real) details are used to stimulate this process. Fragmented meanings trigger our instinct to piece in the ‘gaps' with our imagination, consequently creating something uniquely and individually meaningful. In this case imagination works as an X-ray: for example, imagine that you are looking at an elderly lady with a bag cratered on her lap. Only an X-ray could show what is inside her bag –  you would probably imagine coupons clipped from the morning newspaper and bunched by rubber bands, powdery medicines, tissues, maybe some sweets; what you would imagine depends on what your experience was at that time with elderly ladies, bags, bus stops. These details accumulate into a solid picture of the subject, although it is not the 'truth', it's an assumption. Though it is a product of imagination, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is not valuable since through such assumptions it is possible to produce knowledge and insights. Observing the visible world is important too, Flannery O’Connor (1969, p.77) once said: “The longer you look at one object, the more of the world you see in it”. Often, the extraordinary is hidden in the ordinary, in the factual. Details are saturated with stories and unexplored narratives. Somehow they guide us to what we want to tell ourselves. Even the kitchen calendars with squares filled in daily are silently chronicling the heroism of everyday. The driest factual record often evokes a story. Postmodern writing can function as an approach to discovering sequence in experiences and its signs; connections emerge in process and experiences are identified as a larger shape. Furthermore, details (in excessive amounts, especially) can also be utilised as a tool for creating warped narratives and worlds. The painter Delacroix, for example, rejected Balzac’s obsession for realistic details: “What is the use of giving full-length portraits of so many secondary characters that all the interest of the book disappears?” (qtd. in Nichols, 1990, p. 7). Delacroix recognises that attempts to describe the world excessively can lead to a narrative abyss. Fortunately, this is often the objective of a postmodern writing.

 

 

Creative Piece and its Analysis.

 

 

The piece above was created as part of the Detournement activity. This short story is an example of a postmodern style of narration. Postmodernism and Detournement share a common feature: they both produce new ideas through reconfiguring existing context and altering real information, and hence encourage new perspectives and outlooks. In the piece above I used various traditionally postmodern techniques to create an authentic postmodern narrative: distorted structure, metafiction, extensive use of details, linguistic play. The main idea was to create a curious relationship between fiction and reality (metafiction) through only using the objects and physics of the real world, yet create something that is unbelievable and therefore fictional (not fictitious). The story described could be true, there is nothing in it that is technically impossible in the real world, however you have to have a very peculiar outlook on the world to be able to consider it ‘true’ – this is the setting that postmodernism encourages. Its narrative can also be considered twisted and chaotic (which would be fair), however there is no denial that it still follows the main rules of narration: introduction, culmination, ending. The details in the story function as highlights, they are full of references, too – through them you could learn about me not only as an author but as a person (is an author necessarily a person or is a person necessarily an author?).

 

On a greater scale, every person existing in the world is constantly trying to make sense of the chaos, therefore postmodernism as a literary concept is infinitely relevant. At the core, it is about shaping consciousness, not stoking reality, habitual. Postmodern fiction holds a mirror up to reality, yet twisting it with irony and playfulness. In postmodern literature, it is less the factuality of the event that matters than its ability to stimulate reflections on the represented event. It uses each individual’s drifting material of life as an approach to creativity; as a puzzle, it gains its meanings as a system of experiences and emotions rather than offers solid meanings. Though often it comes across as absurd and non-sense, postmodern writing usually carries a meaning unique to each individual writer or/and reader creating values and knowledge that is intuitively and exclusively valuable.

 

 

Bibliography.

 

Alfaro, M. (1996) Intertextuality: Origins and Development of the Concept. Available at: http://faculty.weber.edu/cbergeson/quixote/martinez.pdf (Accessed on 28th November 2017)

 

Barthes, R. (1973) The Pleasure of the Text. Éditions du Seuil: Paris.

 

Cervantes, M. (1615) Don Quixote. Penguin Books: London.

 

Dillard, A. (1982) Living by Fiction. Harper Perennial: New York.

 

Higgins, D. (1978) A Dialectic of Centuries: Notes Towards a Theory of the New Arts. Printed Editions: London.

 

Hofstadter, D. R. (1979), Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. Basic Books: New York.

 

Hrushovski B. (1984) Poetics Today: Fictionality and Frames of Reference. Duke University Press: Durham.

 

Hutcheon, L. (2004) A Poetics of Postmodernism: History, Theory, Fiction. Routledge: New York.

 

Johnson, A. (2001) Leaving a Trace. Back Bay Books: Boston.

 

Kahn, Charles H. (1981) The Art and Thought of Heraclitus: An Edition of the Fragments with Translation and Commentary. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

 

McHale, B. (1987) Postmodern Fiction. Methuen: London.

 

Morrison, M. (2010) Key Concepts in Creative Writing. Palgrave Macmillan: London.

 

Newman, C. (1985) Post-Modern Aura: The Act of Fiction in an Age of Inflation. Northwestern University Press: Evanston.

 

Nichols, S. G. (1990) Foreword to Fictional Truth, by Michael Riffaterre. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.

 

O’Connor, F. (1969) Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose. Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York.

 

Riffaterre, M. (1990) Fictional Truth. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.

 

Spark, M. (1975) The Hothouse by the East River. Penguin Books: London.

 

Waugh, P. (1992) Postmodernism: A Reader. Arnold: London.

 

Welty, E. (1998) Stories, Essays & Memoir. 1st edn. The Library of America: New York.