Postmodernism, its development, and its main

Theorists

PRESENTED BY
ZAKIA
HAJRA
NEELAM
Introduction to Postmodernism
 Beginning of the Movement

 Around 1950s
 Literary shift
 Rejection of modernism
 Death of the age of
enlightenment
 Characteristics of the movement

 Skepticism
 Subjectivism
 Relativism
 General suspicion of reason
 Playfulness
 Irony, black humour
 Temporal distortion
 Certain Features of Postmodernism

Search Fragmentation
for truth of social life
confusion No
absolutes

Consumerism
is all Postmodernism
unreal and
absurd
Lack of
structure end of rigid
globalization ideology
 Few quotes that describe the theory

 “A thing is not necessarily either true or false;

it can be both true and false.” ( Harold Pinter)
 “Postmodernism … may be an invitation to
intellectual and moral suicide”. (Gertrude
Himmelfarb)
 “Life has no meaning… It is up to you to give
it a meaning”. (Jean Paul Sartre)
 Characteristics – A Post-Modern Novel
• Use Of Metafiction
• Unreliable Narration
• Self-reflexivity
• Individualism
• Experimentation
• Absurdity
• Symbolism
• Formalism
• Intertextuality (Which Thematizes Political And Historical Issues )
• Questioning Of Grand Narratives
• Post Modernism Is Often Related To Deconstruction And
Structuralism
 God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy
Embracing randomness – playfulness – fragmentation
• Several beginnings in the novel first where Aymenem is introduced
second when Sophie Mol comes to Ayemenem 23 years ago.
Magical realism
• Roy uses twin telepathy and their interconnectedness for portraying
magical realism E.G. The connection between Rahel and Estha, one
always knew when the other one was near and they would laugh on
each others funny dreams. Each of them knew and sensed all the
horrible things that happened to one another
 PTSD- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Rahel sees Sophie Mol do a cartwheel in her coffin. When Sophie Mol is buried, Rahel
knows she's not really dead. "Inside the earth Sophie Mol screamed, and shredded satin
with her teeth. But you can't hear screams through earth and stone" (1.48).
This incident in the novel refers to post traumatic stress induced hallucinations in a kid after
witnessing a murder.
INTERTEXTUALITY:
Reference to Heart of Darkness- conveying the darkness of Indian caste system and
subjugation of Indians by their Colonizers.
Reference to The Great Gatsby – symbolizing the role of wealth in Indian culture and
the way class impacts physical health, mental health, family life, education, religion and
justice and most importantly fall from grace in Ammu’s character
Examples:

1. The Great Gatsby as a metafiction.

2. The Forty Rules of Love portrays political and historical
intertextuality
[Link] sense of ending by Julian Barnes includes
intertextuality, juxtaposition, fragmentation, discontinuity,
inability to face the real world ambiguity and metafiction
 Origin of Post-Modernism

 Origin of Post-Modernism In recent years , new social, political and

literary theories have emerged resulting from the post-modern
debates that cover a wide variety of disciplines like art, architecture,
literature ,film, sociology, communication, philosophy etc.
 The term „postmodernism‟ was used in the Latin-American literary
criticism and in the AngloAmerican literary debates in the 1930s
and 1940s, the main analysis of post – modernism got force mainly
in the 1970s
 Major Scholars

 Derrida – was an Algerian born French philosopher who followed a deconstructive

approach . He used the term „discourse‟. Derrida emphasized on the hermeneutical
method in analyzing the work of Foucault.
 Baudrillard- French scholar Baudrillard concluded that our identity or subjecthood is
constructed by the signifiers we use. Thus a person‟s social position is determined by
the brands he is uses for his car or everyday consumer items .Apart from focus on
reality post- modernist examine the utility of knowledge.
 Foucault- French philosopher Foucault also gave importance on discourse. He said that
truth is a relative concept and we can understand truth through a social process called
discourse.
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 Reisman- American Philosopher Reisman, in his work titled „The Lonely Crowd , also
highlighted the dominance of media in our lives. According to him, from being „inner
directed‟, people in the society are becoming other directed‟. People are no more getting
guided by their elders or „adult authorities, rather they are being guided by the peer group
and mass media.
 Lyotard- French philosopher and famous postmodernist James Francois Lyotard worked
with interdisciplinary discourse covering a variety of topics. Lyotard highlighted the recent
conditions of the society like computer age , cybernetics, informatics, information storage
data banks and the problems of transaction from one computer to another. Lyotard also
criticized „ totalizing and universalizing discourse‟ and supported „ difference and plurality.
He found flaws in grand narratives a concept which serves the basis of „ universal truth‟
that the modernists look for justifying any form of knowledge.
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 Jameson- American scholar Fredric Jameson equated postmodernism with late

capitalism. In late capitalism, consumerism and mass media govern the culture. In all the
aspects of our lives, whether it is socialization ,education or leisure, we get influenced
by mass media. He also believes that in case of consumerism production , the issue of
„aesthetics‟ became more important in this postmodern era.
 Issues and Problems of PostModernism- Though postmodern thoughts can be treated as
the demand of the time , these are not beyond the criticism. Scholars are also confused
with the fact that whether we have really entered in a new world that can be termed as
postmodern or this is just an extension of the modern era.
 Some common criticism are discussed here.

 1. Many readers find post- modern literature is difficult to understand . Use of

difficult language , forms and difficult jargons and terms. Ambiguous way of
explanation makes post-modern literature almost unreachable to many readers.
 2. Postmodernism does not contain the flavor of anything obvious but in most cases,
it is something that rejects any format or simplicity. Whatevermay be the field ,
whether it is art, music, architecture, literature or sociological theory, lack of format
has become the identity of postmodernity.
 3. Nonetheless, the multifaceted characteristic of post –modernity makes it bizzare .
In most cases, the post-modernists highlights the problem without pointing any
solution. Many people believe that post-modernism is just a theory and not a fact.