In his essay, “On Several Obsolete Notions,” Alain Robbe-Grillet criticizes the stable characters, linear plotlines, and calculated content which make up the conventional novel. He argues that a novelist does not need to begin a story with its content in mind rather, “the novelist’s strength is precisely that he invents [...] without a model.” And that “invention and imagination become, at the limit, the very subject of the book” (Robbe-Grillet 32). Robbe-Grillet’s notions of the creative process are true in that a successful novelist may not require a formula to write by; instead he may experiment with language for a chance to reveal new ideas. The Nouveau Roman, or “new novel,” is a movement popularized by Robbe-Grillet’s criticisms of the conventional novel. Since the conventional form of narrative has been perfected by writers in such a way that it is easily accessible and enjoyed by the mainstream community. Writers were prompted to push boundaries, formally and stylistically, to create new innovative ways to tell a story. However, experimental fiction does not necessarily aim to tell a story but uses form, mood and style to create an ‘effect.’ This effect may intend to evoke the reader’s emotions, or to simply oppose conventional norms of literature. The problem with experimental literature is that it draws away from the act of storytelling itself. Therefore it is a writers’ job to find innovative ways to craft a story, without pushing boundaries for the sake of shock value, or to play devil’s advocate.
As opposed to the realist and naturalist movements which proceeded, experimental literature puts forth the notion that content is subordinate to the form of the text. Experimental novelists such as, Alain Robbe-Grillet, K...
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...with Robbe-Grillet on the basis that writing is an art form which is constantly changing. Writers must adapt their writing style in order to intrigue and inspire their audiences. Experimental literature is the answer for writers who want to push the boundaries of the conventional text to create an original art piece. However, movements, such as Kenneth Goldsmith’s self-indulgent idea of conceptual poetics may devalue previous understandings of originality. As a result, writers will begin pushing boundaries for the sake of pushing boundaries. This creates the reverse effect: originality will become unoriginal. Furthermore, literature has always been a way of archiving history, whether writing is fact or fiction it tells our story to future generations. If conceptual writing continues to be form without content all that will remain is a copy, of a copy, of a copy.
I’ve always had the theory that reportage is the great unexplored art form. I mean, most good writers, good literary craftsmen, seldom use this métier…I’ve had this theory that a factual piece of work could explore whole new dimensions in writing that would have a double effect fiction does not have—the every fact of its being true, every word of it’s true, would add a double contribution of strength and impact. (40)
“Although both articles are exploring writing and the change that needs to or that does happen, Peter Elbow’s idea of growth in writing is a more naïve and simplistic approach to writing, where as Somers and Saltz’s article, while still very general, takes a more realistic point of view at the writing experience for students and new writers”.
An example of literature is brought up, where for no apparent reason the historical novel became a popular genre and everyone was reading and writing them despite the fact that the genre had been around for a very long time. He used this example to give a concrete example if his idea, and it appeals to the audience’s
Thomas Osborne opens the narrative with a description of himself up very late at night trying to write a paper. Sadly, he’s been at it for four days, and unfortunately he seems to have writer’s block. Osborne’s personal experience with a first draft that he deems “failed” due to the writer’s block. Also, his realization of his personal writing style and how he uses it to his advantage versus conforming to a more normal style of writing occurs later in the selection. Looking through the lens of a reflective analysis perspective, it’s easy for me to find similarities to Osborne through my writing style, personal experiences, and through analysis I better understood
Updike, John. "A&P." Thinking and Writing About Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 981-86. Print.
I frankly confess that I have, as a general thing, but little enjoyment of it, and that it has never seemed to me to be, as it were, a first-rate literary form. . . . But it is apt to spoil two good things – a story and a moral, a meaning and a form; and the taste for it is responsible for a large part of the forcible-feeding writing that has been inflicted upon the world. The only cases in whi...
The question of whether or not an author can claim that his or her work is original has been in debate for many years now. This, compounded with the question of whether or not an author can adequately understand or express his or her own work or if the interpretation and understanding belongs in the hands of the readers or the critics, has placed the role of the author under serious scrutiny. This is especially noticeable in an age where so many works of literature are analyzed and critiqued by every reader and critique before turning the work into a movie or play, causing it to be further analyzed and discussed. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the various concepts of the author’s role, originality, and intent, using the graphic novel The Crow by James O’Barr as an example of a work of literature.
Carver, Raymond. Cathedral. Exploring Literature: Writing and Arguing About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Frank Madden. 4th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. 1151-61. Print
...different ideas and combining them to create a whole new concept is what originality truly is. Porter tries to say that plagiarizing is something hard if not impossible to avoid. In fact, no writer can consider a work as originally his/hers. That is because every writer needs to take into consideration other opinions that people have said and then form their own opinions. Therefore, English instructors should modify their conventional idea of originality and give students the opportunity to exercise their creativity and deeply analyze and interpret what they read. What Porter presents as intertextuality makes us reconsider what plagiarism is and recognize that taking other’s ideas is not necessarily as bad as we have been taught.
...s, Edgar V. Writing about Literature. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.
Meyer, Michael, ed. Thinking and Writing About Literature. Second Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001.
The change from differing mediums, novel and film, reveal characteristics and possibilities of narratives. Through the advancement of technology, modern writers
One attribute of Modernist writing is Experimentation. This called for using new techniques and disregarding the old. Previous writing was often even considered "stereotyped and inadequate" (Holcombe and Torres). Modern writers thrived on originality and honesty to themselves and their tenets. They wrote of things that had never been advanced before and their subjects were far from those of the past eras. It could be observed that the Modernist writing completely contradicted its predecessors. The past was rejected with vigor and...
There are billions of books in the world, all with different plots and styles. However, the one thing they all have in common is that they all have literary devices. A literary device is any technique a writer uses to help the reader understand and appreciate the meaning of the work. Due to the use of these devices, books that would otherwise have nothing in common can be compared. For instance, the books Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, and If I Stay by Gayle Forman have different plots and themes. But when both are examined closely, it is evident that they utilize many different and similar literary devices.
Michael Levenson said in The Cambridge Companion to Modernism that Modernism fiction was “involved in the radical modern departure, across all of the arts, from representational verisimilitudei”. It was stylistically and thematically focused on rebellion against the way art was presented in the past and what its main focus was.