"The whole world in a book" : fact, fiction and the postmodern in Selected Works by E. L. Doctorow

This dissertation considers the manner in which the thematic and stylistic interests displayed in E. L. Doctorow's fiction derive from the postmodern context in which he works. Encapsulating the spirit of subversion so typical of postmodernism, Doctorow not only questions established modes of perception, but reinvigorates cultural and social traditions through the reformulation of customarily unchallenged norms and values. Departing from the conventions of traditional narrative, he emphasises the need for a continual critical interrogation and revision of absolutist grand narratives in order to achieve a more complex understanding of human experience. He grapples with concepts relating to the fluidity of meaning and the constructed nature of texts, deftly experimenting with narrative form in order to destabilise conventional perceptions of history, reality and representation.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Housdon, Beth

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Marx, Lesley

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10819

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10819