The Modern Novel And Post Modernism

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Post Modernism was a time of great change. The world had just encountered its second world war and people were greatly affected by not only the war itself, but also the technological and spiritual changes. Perhaps one of the most disruptive changes was questioning the idea of religion and its position. James Wood in his critical essay The Broken Estate argued that the modern novel was ‘the enemy of superstition, the slayer of religions, the scrutineer of falsity’ (McHale (1987), pg.52). Although there was literature present that contradicted religious beliefs, it could be argued that the novels themselves were merely asking people to question their beliefs and ideas and what was considered ‘normal’. Literature reflected the ideologies of the people, which in effect became a highly individualistic set of writing with no rules. These radical changes in the structure of society could have been argued as being mirrored in literature. Novels began to expand in terms of its form and readers were presented with different modes of presentation. It could be argued that ‘the novel broke away from those narrative predecessors that used timeless stories to mirror unchanging moral truths’ (McCaffery (1986), pg.11). In order to explore these changes further, a variety of post modernist texts will be explored and critically analysed in order to understand the changes that took place in narrative techniques. These texts include Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, Atonement, and Brighton Rock. Some argue that Post modernism is still applicable today. Although some have argued that the movement changed at the millennium. Usually movements are named in retrospect therefore it is difficult to determine whether the postmodernism movement ended....

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...eligious significance. Briony is not able to forgive herself; therefore she believes that by penning an alternate ending, she will be atoned for her sin of lying, which led to the destruction of two lives.

In conclusion, the postmodernist era constantly acknowledged religion in both its narrative techniques and structure. Through detailed analysis it is evident that the writers during this period questioned the authenticity and legitimacy of god and the bible. However James Woods’ argument about theses texts being ‘the slayers of religion’ is an exaggeration, as these texts did not explicitly object to the idea of religion, rather they subtly incorporated features, which posed questions. The changes in society regarding religion, identity and truth were themes within the novel; therefore perhaps the novels were merely highlighting the concerns of society.

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