Fabricating truth : the postmodern illusionist narrative

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the notion of the inescapability of escapism and the fragile demarcation that exists between reality ai1d fiction in contemporary novels. Following the course of two novels, the aim of this dissertation is that of demonstrating how it is possible that the seeming lie of art, its conflicts between accuracy and illusion, can in reality show more of the truth than one might expect. All the above issues are examined on the basis of theoretical considerations by various authorities in the area, like Linda Hutcheon, Patricia Waugh, William H. Gass and others. Ontological and phenomenological issues of reality are also presented in relation to certain philosophical theories by Jean Paul Sartre, Maurice Blanchet and Jacques Derrida, amongst others. The first chapter explores the importance of storytelling in Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Pi does not consider himself to be a liar, even after he reveals the true story within the original firstperson account of his life - according to him, storytelling is a strategy for self-preservation. Additionally, the dangers of rationalism will be closely observed and juxtaposed against fictional truth. The second chapter discusses literature as fictionality which is self-referential and aware of itself, focusing on Ian McEwan's Atonement and its metafictional qualities. Atonement draws attention to this paradox chiefly through the character of Briony Tallis, whose powerful imagination works to confuse the real with the fictive and who creates a fabricated world which significantly conditions her life and proves tragic to others around her. The dissertation focuses on the novel as an examination of the keen-edged power of the written word, its ethical implications and the recurring tension between the narrative and its narration by drawing on Gerard Genette's Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method. Finally, this long essay concludes by considering the puzzling though inherent need that humans have for stories, for that which is clearly not true. Is fiction at all valuable to the development of humankind? Why do we live in an age obsessed with the fabrication of reality? And most importantly, why do we still persist in fabricating the truth?