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Labyrinths in Postmodernism: Danielewski, Pynchon, and Wallace
Šosterič, Teja ; Roraback, Erik Sherman (advisor) ; Robbins, David Lee (referee)
This thesis explores the labyrinthine nature of three primary texts: Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves. Various labyrinthine features of the novels, such as labyrinthine narrative, language, structure on the page and labyrinths as a plot element are discussed to determine the extent to which these novels resemble mazes. Also considered are the choices readers make when reading forking, labyrinthine narratives and the level to which they become participants in guiding the narrative. Furthermore, the thesis explores what postmodern labyrinthine novels have to say about the society and our contemporary understanding of material reality. It discusses the reasons behind the shift to the increasingly complex and more sinister multicursal labyrinths that are predominant in our time, which are indicative of a crisis in society caused by excessive individualism. While the primary focus is on the aforementioned three novels, the thesis also includes other media and other forms of labyrinthine narratives to show the diversity of the form and the prevalence of mazes in our time, as well as to discuss the development of the mazy form in the future.
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