Date of Award
Spring 5-5-2020
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
English
Advisor/Committee Chair
Kir Kuiken
Abstract
Jean-Francios Lyotard’s book The Postmodern Condition makes the claim that the introduction of postmodernism marks the end of metanarratives. This then infers that metanarratives or universal truths cannot exist within the postmodern genre. Yet Don DeLillo’s postmodern novels White Noise (1985) and Mao II (1991) challenge this claim. With the use of mortality as the focal metanarrative in question, DeLillo engages his readers in the discourse on the existence of the “postmodern metanarrative.” The author uses narrative identity formation to conclude that his novels’ protagonists interpret this metanarrative as such: one can surmount death and achieve symbolic immortality through the use of a hidden narrative or a fictional façade made to gain celebrity and eternal remembrance.
Recommended Citation
Medrano, Stephanie, "“A false character that follows the name around”: Redefining the Postmodern Metanarrative and Unveiling Hidden Narrative Identity Formation in Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Mao II" (2020). English. 32.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/honorscollege_eng/32
