PRESENTATION OUTLINE
The Postmodernist Movement started after WWII. It accompanied a sense of disillusionment with the world.
The movement grew even further it the 1960s and 1970s following the
Vietnam War.
The postmodernist movement was in direct contrast to the modernist movement. It saw the modernist's search for meaning pointless.
Pastiche:
Is the conscience decision to combine two or more writing styles in one piece.
Intertextuality:
Is referencing a piece of literature within the story.
Metafiction:
Is putting a writer in the story or acknowledging the fact that the world the reader is experiencing is fiction.
Temporal Distortion:
Is using a narrative structure that is not chronological. Most commonly would be non-linear.
Minimalism:
The use of characters that would typically be supporting as the main focus.
Maximalism:
Is a frantic but extremely detailed writing; think stream of consciousness writing.
Magical Realism:
Is putting outlandish things, creatures, or ideas in a typically realistic story.
Faction:
Is intertwining fact and fiction without acknowledging either.
Reader Involvement:
Breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the reader.
Postmodernists think barriers between genres lessen the art form of literature as a whole. They also do not see a distinction between high brow and low brow literature.
Postmodernists focus on the ability of the reader to find meaning in a work. They also are okay with the idea that there may be no meaning.
Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five shows the pointlessness and absurdity of war. It also has a great deal of dark comedy.
Tim O'Brien is well known for his use of faction when talking about experiences in Vietnam.
The Postmodern literary movement is best known for its rejection of modernist's' principles. However, scholars disagree on what can be classified as postmodern.
