A-Brief-Introduction-of-John-Barth

JohnBarthJohnBarth•JohnSimmonsBarth•bornonMay27,1930•bestknownforhispostmodernistmetafictionalfictionLife1930hisdateofbirth1947graduatedin1947fromCambridgeHighSchool•playeddrums•wrotefortheschoolnewspaper1951receivedaB.A.,hisdaughterChristineAnnwasborn1952receivedaM.A.,hissonJohnStricklandwasborn1950•marriedHarrietAnneStrickland•publishedtwoshortstories•JohnsHopkinsUniversity'sstudentliterarymagazine•TheHopkinsReview1953-1965aprofessoratThePennsylvaniaStateUniversity1954thirdchild,DanielStephen,wasbornmethissecondandcurrentwife,ShellyRosenberg1965-1973UniversityatBuffalo,TheStateUniversityofNewYorkLostintheFunhouse,inspiredbyJorgeLuisBorges1972-1973avisitingprofessoratBostonUniversity1973-1995taughtatJohnsHopkinsUniversityandthenretired•Barth'snovelscomeinpairs---or,ashewouldprefertocallthem,twins.Eachpairofnovelsfunctionsaccordingtothesameprinciple:thefirstexhaustsaparticulargenre,thesecondtranscendsorreplenishes(complements)it...(Ziegler17)•Eachbookofferspositionsthatrefute(disprove),oratleastqualify,thepositionsofferedintheworkpreceding;takencollectively,theyachievetheeffectofaconstantgraspingformeaning,ontheonehand,balancedbytherealizationthatallmeaningisprojected--invented,ratherthandiscovered,andthereforerelativeandcontingent(dependent)--ontheother.YetB'sdramatizationofthedesiretoimaginealternativephilosophicalpositions,whichisreallythedesiretoinventalternativestoreality,affirmsthevalueofsuchimaginings....InB'sfictionsthepassionatedesiretoconstructmeaning--notmeaningitself--assumesthestatusofauniversalvalue.(Harris7)Comments•Significantly,allB'sworksendwiththeaffirmationofthevalueofliterarycreation.Thisaffirmationisnecessaryifthereaderistotaketheworkseriously.Artobviuoslyrepresentsfortheauthoranalternativetothepossibledespairoverthemeaninglessnessofexistenceononeside,andtothepassiveacceptanceofthestatusquoontheotherside.(Glaser-W210)Comments(1957)&(1958)--bothexistentialistandrealistincontent.•InhisfirsttwonovelsBdirectshisattentionmainlytotheideasofNihilismandExistentialism,andhedescribesthroughtheprotagonistsToddandJacobthatnopretensionsorfalserolescanprovideanescapefromthefundamentalmeaninglessnessofexistence.Solelytheworkofartcanperhapspositmeaning....(Glaser-W207)EarlyWorks•Itiswiththewritingofhisnovelsoftheearly1960s,(1960)and(1966)thatBarth...learnsanunderstandingofhisvocation:todrawfromtheontological（本体论的）,perhapsmetaphysical(形而上学的),rupture(断绝)betweenartandlifetheenergyforhisownlifeandartbyvariouslyexploitingtheimpossibilityoftheirreconciliation（协调）.(SW--dynamicpicaresque,GGB--staticallegory)[Bildungsroman](Ziegler12)TheSecondPair(1968)&(1972)--Kunstlerroman(成长小说),theartist'sself-reflexiveversionoftheBildungsroman（教育小说）.•ThestoryEcho...appearsasthecentraltaleofLFandistheturning-pointofBarth'sfiction.,Uptothispointtheauthorhadimplicitlydescribedhisdevelopmentandgradualtransformationintoanartist.•InLFandChtheauthorshowshisprofoundinterestintheroleoftheartistandtheprocessofartisticcreation.Thereforetheseworksexemplifyquiteclearlythenovelist'saestheticsandtheyprovethatBarthenjoysliteraryexperiments.(Glaser-W211)TheThirdPair•Thetwonovelsthatfollow,(1979)and(1982),returntowardrealism--...(Ziegler15)TheFourthPairIdeasandThemes1.LiteraryexhaustionandreplenishmentJohnBarththinksthenovelasagenrehasbeenperfectedbythegreatmasterofthe19thcenturyandthefirstpartofthe20th,itspossibilitiesasaformhavebeenexhausted,andalltheavailableplotshavebeenusedup.Flaubert,Tolstoy,Hemingway,andFaulknerhaveourrespectandadmiration,butpossessnomoreappealtowritersofthelastthirdofthe20thcentury.Youngerwriterswillhavetofindanewwayofwriting.Hetookgreatinterestinthenarrativemodeoflinkingmanystoriesinoneframework,andfoundtheabsurdistandmetafictionalworksofEnglishplaywrightSamuelBecketandArgentinenovelistJorgeLuisBorgesespeciallyattractive.Alltheseexertedgreatinfluencesonhiswriting.Objectivelyspeaking,Barth’sattemptdismemberedanddestroyedthetraditionalnovel.IdeasandThemes2.NatureoffictionandrealityJohnBarthismoreinterestedinhowastoryistoldthaninthestoryitself.Inhisworks,heconstantlyreferstotheprocessofwritingandreadingthroughthetechniqueofmetafiction.Barth’sintentistoalertthereadertotheartificialnatureofreadingandwriting,andtopreventhimorherfrombeingdrawnintothestoryasifitwerereal.Toexplodetheillusionofrealism,Barthusesapanoply(alargeamount)ofreflexivedevicestoremindhisaudiencethattheyarereadingandsomeoneismanipulatingbehindthescene.IdeasandThemes3.Absurdityoftheworld＆meaninglessnessoflifeInmanyofBarth’sworks,hepresentsthethemeofabsurdworldwithnopurposeandmeaning.InBarth’sopinion,therealityofmodernlifeistoocomplexandelusive(hard)formantorationalizeandidealize.Onlywhenpeoplerejectitandembracetheworldforwhatitis,canhefeelthesignificanceofhislifeadequately.Barthbelievesthatparticipationandacceptanceofthechaosandabsurdityoftheworldistheonlymeaningfulwayoflife.Styles1.NovelofIdeas•Totheextentthat[mynovels]arenovelsofideas--andthat'saverylimitedextent--theyarethatbecausetheydramatizealternativestophilosophicalpositions(AlanPri