Elements of Postmodernism - UiO

[Pages:98]Elements of Postmodernism

In John Irving's The World According to Garp

and A Prayer for Owen Meany

Ingrid ?yrehagen

A Thesis Presented to The Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages

University of Oslo in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the MA Degree

Spring 2013 Supervisor: Erik Kielland-Lund

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Elements of Postmodernism In John Irving's The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Ingrid ?yrehagen

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? Ingrid ?yrehagen 2013 Elements of Postmodernism in John Irving's The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany Ingrid ?yrehagen Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo

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Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to explore two of John Irving's most popular novels, The World According to Garp and A Prayer for Owen Meany, in connection with some of the most established parameters of postmodernism. Irving is usually not considered a typical postmodern writer, for very valid reasons; his novels, though captivating, come across as rather traditional narratives. Still, I believe that there are certain aspects of these works that may be discussed. Through a close-reading of the two novels, subjects like intertextuality, metafictional self-consciousness, and the postmodern parody, will be explored. Furthermore, John Irving's presentation of subjects like feminism, gender roles, and sexuality, will be analyzed in connection with some of Michel Foucault's theories on the discourses of power. In this manner, I will attempt to show that some of Irving's best works are more contemporary relevant than what is usually assumed, while trying to establish a "postmodernist profile" for this author, who is both typical and untypical of what are usually assumed to be the usual postmodernist characteristics.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to my parents, Aud ?yrehagen and Bj?rn Terje Thoresen, for introducing me to the world of literature. I am very grateful to my supervisor, Erik Kielland-Lund, for his help and advice in relation to this thesis. I am also very grateful to Ann-Torill Egge, for her invaluable help in looking after Oda, allowing me to get some work done while waiting for an opening in the kindergarten. Last, but not least, I am grateful to Nina and Liv Christina, for being both great friends and great proof-readers. Thank you for making the years of literary studies less lonely, and much more fun.

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