Devon Gravert

Dr. Warner

English 112B

November 27, 2012

Unit of Study

Deconstructing the Conventions: An Introduction to Postmodern Literature

Although many students will probably not be exposed to a majority of postmodern literature until college-level courses, the importance of the genre is not diminished. Left disillusioned by World War II, many writers began to question the conventions of literature, such as plot, narrator, and logical sequencing of events. As time went on, more novels became less conventional. This is fundamental for students to realize in a number of ways. It revolutionized the novel, and paved the way for writers to liberate themselves and let their writing become an art form once again. Novels became challenging and exciting, and postmodern literature has become a staple. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see unconventional postmodern works topping bestseller lists around the world.

For high school students, the routine of reading authors like Hawthorne and Steinbeck may become monotonous. As influential and wonderful as these authors are, they stick fairly tight to the conventions of storytelling. Exposing students to authors who refused, as well as continue to refuse, to follow these expectations may spark a newfound interest in literature. Postmodern literature is challenging, engaging, and there is no �right� way to interpret it. It can be as profound as it is absurd; in Kurt Vonnegut�s novels, there are crudely drawn pictures of signs, places, people, gravestones, and even penises. In The Book Thief, Death is the narrator. Postmodern authors know no limits. Although some dismiss it as a ludicrous deconstruction of necessary convention, postmodern literature rightfully deserves a spot in the canon right next to Shakespeare, Homer, and Hemingway.

In teaching Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, students will gain valuable insight into postmodern literature with a centerpiece work that is not too challenging and fairly enjoyable. Studying the novel will raise questions about how postmodernism challenges conventional writing, with everything from an unreliable narrator to a quirky blend of reality and fiction. From there, they are free to explore the boundless genre and enjoy both the rewards and challenges it presents.

Launching the Unit

a) Preface the unit with the following questions and have the class respond & discuss: What do you expect from a story? What are the key elements of a good story or novel? Can a novel be �good� without meeting these expectations?

b) Have the class attempt to define �postmodern� – share and discuss the following quote:

�Simplifying to the extreme, I define �postmodern� as incredulity toward metanarratives� – Jean Francois Lyotard

What does �an incredulity toward metanarratives� mean? How is postmodernism a response to metanarratives? Why is postmodernism criticized and dismissed so often?

c) Discuss important elements of postmodernism:

i) distortion of time/linear events/chronology

ii) humor/satire

iii) distortion of reality

iv) unreliable narrator(s)

v) metafiction

d) Begin the unit with an example of a postmodern film – Christopher Nolan�s Memento. The film is unconventional in a number of ways; the most noticeable being that it is told in reverse, with the beginning actually being the end. Discuss the following: How does the narrator�s memory loss affect the story? Is the narrator/protagonist reliable? Why does the film begin with the end? How is this film an example of postmodernism? What conventions or rules does it break?

e) As a writing exercise, have students brainstorm stories, films, poems, or other forms of media that they would consider postmodern and why each work should be considered postmodern. Discuss.

Centerpiece Work: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut�s Slaughterhouse Five centers on Billy Pilgrim, an inept soldier fighting in World War II. He suffers from a mental condition that leads him to believe he can travel back and forth in time. As Billy travels, or believes he travels, forward and backward in time, he relives occasions of his life, both real and fantasy.

While reading, have the students do the following assignments:

1) Assess the reliability of Billy Pilgrim after each section of reading.

2) Draw a timeline of the events in the book as they actually occur, and then a second timeline of the events in actual chronological order. Why does Billy tell his story in the order he does?

3) What is the importance of opening the novel with �All this happened, more or less� (1)? How does this establish the novel as metafiction?

4) Select one �fantastical� story Billy tells. What is the importance of this story? What makes it distinctively unrealistic?

5) What postmodern devices does Vonnegut use? What makes Slaughterhouse Five a quintessential postmodern novel?

Extending the Unit

1) Pair The Book Thief by Markus Zusak with Slaughterhouse Five. Compare Zusak�s writing style to Vonnegut�s. Ask and discuss: What postmodern devices or traits do they share? How do Slaughterhouse Five and The Book Thief use dark humor? Compare the portrayal of death in Slaughterhouse Five to Death in The Book Thief; how is each treated? How else are the two novels similar? Is Death more or less reliable than Billy Pilgrim? Do you think Kurt Vonnegut would enjoy The Book Thief?

2) Have the students take a story from their own life, and rewrite it as a postmodernist. Or, if the student wishes, he or she may rewrite a popular fairy tale or folk tale with a postmodern twist.

3) Have each student select a postmodern book or film and present it to the class. Each student must cite three examples of specific postmodern traits within the work, and explain why they converge to make the work as a whole distinctly postmodern. They may choose such novels as Everything Is Illuminated or Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, or another Vonnegut novel; they also may choose from films like Blade Runner, Pulp Fiction, or The Matrix.

Concluding the Unit

Conclude the unit by again asking the students to define postmodernism. How has their definition changed since the beginning of the unit? Discuss why postmodernism is an important literary movement.

Works Cited

Lyotard, Jean-Francois, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Translation from the French by Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993.

Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five. New York: Dell, 1970. Print.