Postmodernism in

Literature
By Ms. Lopez
 The Treachery of Images

What do we
know about
Postmodernism?
Are we living in
a Modern or
Postmodern
society?

This is not a pipe.

 Modernism
Arts movement that was a liberation
from the social sciences that embraced the
newly found principle of capitalism

Focused on:
The unconscious (Freud)

Universal truth

The City

Logic and rational

Imagism

Rejected Realism

Stream of Consciousness
 Jean-Francois Lyotard The Postmodern Condition

Incredulity toward metanarratives

 Metanarratives
Big, grand stories that help us make sense of the world we
live in (i.e. ideologies, belief systems)
Ex.

Capitalism

Christianity

the Enlightenment
 Jean-Francois Lyotard The Postmodern Condition

Incredulity toward metanarratives

The postmodern would be that which, in the modern, puts forward the
unpresentable in presentation itself ; that which denies
itself the solace of good forms , the consensus of a taste which
would make it possible to share collectively the nostalgia for
the unattainable; that which searches for new presentationsin
order to impart a stronger sense of the unpresentable
What are the main
characteristics of
Postmodernism?
 Postmodern Literature
a culture of fragmentary sensations, eclectic nostalgia,
disposable simulacra, and promiscuous superficiality[and]
traditionally valued qualities of depth, coherence, meaning,
originality, and authenticityare dissolved amid the random
swirl of empty signals (OXFORD)
Louis CK on Cell Phones

Critical of Modern period that led to the

disillusionment/corruption of the Postmodern period
P
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A
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 Key Features

1. Disagree with idea of a universal truth/metanarrative

2. Critique on Capitalism
3. Paranoia
4. Fragmentation
5. Intertextuality
6. Metafiction
7. Irony
Lets Compare!
 MODERNISM vs
POSTMODERNISM
Late 19th & early
Mid 20th Century
20th Century

Influenced by Influenced by
WWI WWII

Critique of
Favored rational Modern practices
& logic (i.e. consumerism/
Capitalism)

Rejected realism & Practiced blending

traditional styles traditional styles
of poetry & prose in writing

Stream of Long narratives,

consciousness fragmentation
1. Do you agree with this comic strips depiction of the two periods
differences?
2. What key features do you recognize as being Postmodern?
 How are the themes of
Postmodernism still
relevant today?
Is it accurate to say that
we are living in a
Postmodern society?
Why or why not?