Dissertation

Parting with Postmodernism: Uncovering the Pillars of the Developing Literary Movement

Carroll, Cassandra

2022

Overview

Postmodern literature is giving way to a new literary movement in the twenty-first century. This paper explores the developing world of post-post-modernism in terms of its strategies, techniques, and thematic concerns. Critically acclaimed contemporary novels A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan and Lost Children Archives by Valeria Luiselli are used as prototypes of this burgeoning literary movement. The argument of the existence of post-post-modernism is made by looking at the ways in which postmodern techniques are undergoing modification to better represent our current cultural moment. An adaptation of psychoanalytical theory is employed throughout to examine not just the authors' subconscious but the truths of our current moment that are being revealed through their works with a particular emphasis on narrative identity theory. This thesis begins with a working definition for this movement and takes a closer look at the various ways identity and meaning is developed in the contemporary novel. The goal of this analysis is to come to a better understanding of our current literary and cultural moment and to anticipate where our literature is headed.

• Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
• Subject: American literature / Doerr, Anthony (1973- ) / Egan, Jennifer (1962- ) / Foer, Jonathan Safran (1977- ) / Holmes, John Clellon (1926-1988) / Kerouac, Jack (1922-1969) / Latin American literature / Luiselli, Valeria (1983- ) / Modern literature / Woolf, Virginia (1882-1941)
• ISBN: 9798438796046