MASS ANTIQUITIES: A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF METAFICTIONAL

Abstract

Postmodern literature developed as a response to the seemingly static state of fiction during the mid-twentieth century. A debate took place concerning the novel’s relevancy as a literary format, and whether it possessed the capacity to advance beyond its well-worn artistic boundaries. These factors precipitated John Barth’s seminal essay “The Literature of Exhaustion,” which acknowledges the necessity for a departure from traditional literary forms, but proposes that traditional literary modes, such as realism, are no more or less effective those of postmodern literature, such as metafiction. This discussion remains unresolved into the present, as evidenced by the continued production of both traditional and experimental fiction. This thesis examines both approaches in regards to the limitations inherent in narrative structure. The thesis consists of two sections. The first is a critical examination of postmodernism and metafictional techniques. It provides a brief overview of each through analysis of critical pieces, including Barth’s “The Literature of Exhaustion,” excerpts from Bran Nichol’s The Cambridge Introduction to Postmodern Literature, David Gates’ introduction to Donald Barthelme’s Sixty Stories, and Robert Scholes’ Fabulation and Metafiction. The critical portion also examines three pieces of short fiction: Donald Barthelme’s “The Crisis,” Amy Hempel’s “The Harvest,” and Judy Budnitz’s “Scenes from the Fall Fashion Catalogue.” These stories provide examples of metafictional literary devices, as well as a context with which to examine the thesis’ original pieces. The creative section of the thesis consists of two original works of fiction: “Mass Antiquities” and “RV Cowboy and the Wi-Fi Kid.”