The Anti-Hero in Postmodern Literature

THE ANTI-HERO IN POSTMODERN LITERATURE MS A Thesis submitted to the faculty of San Francisco State University 7JD 13 In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Master of Arts In Literature by Amy Elizabeth Borges San Francisco, California December 2018 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read The Anti-Hero in Postmodern Literature by Amy Elizabeth Borges, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Literature at San Francisco State University. Geoffrey Green, Ph.D. Professor Kathleen De Guzman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL I certify that I have read The Anti-Hero in Postmodern Literature by Amy Elizabeth Borges, and that in my opinion this work meets the criteria for approving a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in Literature at San Francisco State University. Geoffrey Green, Ph.D. Professor Kathleen De Guzman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor THE ANTI-HERO IN POSTMODERN LITERATURE Amy Elizabeth Borges San Francisco, California 2018 I trace the anti-heroic quest in two postmodern texts: Richard Farina’s Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me and John Barth s Giles-Goat Boy. I psychoanalyze the protagonists and trace their heroic quests in order to demonstrate that their paranoia, anxiety and disillusionment are a reflection of their historical climate. The novels are from the postmodern era, both having been published in 1966. Historically, this was post World War II and in the midst of both the Cold War and the Vietnam War in addition to a multitude of global atrocities taking place. The anti-heroes represented by the two authors internalized the paranoia, anxiety, and disillusionment present in contemporary society and manifested it in their psychological issues and distorted heroes quests that end in utter destruction rather than enlightenment. An anti-hero appears to (not) save the day. I certify that the abstract is a correct representation of the content of this Thesis. Prof. Geoffrey Green, Chair, Thesis Committee Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank my husband for supporting me through (what felt like) my own anti heroic quest to achieving my goal of earning my Masters of Arts in Literature. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 Historical Climate............................................................................................................. 1 Psychoanalytic Basis........................................................................................................ 3 Anti-Hero’s Quest.............................................................................................................6 Narrative Background.................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 1: Goat Boy or Grand Tutor........................................................................................ 15 Chapter 2: Pap’s Odyssey.......................................................................................................... 37 Conclusion....................................................................................................................................58 Bibliography......................... 63 v 1 Introduction: The Anti-Hero in Postmodern Literature Historical Climate Richard Farina’s Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me and John Barth’s Giles-Goat Boy demonstrate the resurgence of the anti-heroic quest as a psychological and literary motif in contemporary postmodern fiction. They serve as a tool applied to refract the contemporary issues of the 1960s. Both—significantly—were written by American authors and published in 1966; in the middle of a decade known as the “sixties” or the “cultural decade,” due to the era signifying a culturally and politically complex time in history. Farina’s and Barth’s writing internalizes the anxiety, paranoia, and highly disillusioned climate of their respective environments. The two protagonists, Gnossos and George, and their odysseys internalize the paranoia, anxiety, and disillusionment present in contemporary society and manifest in their psychological issues and distorted heroic quests that end in destruction rather than enlightenment. This can be seen through close-reading and tracing the stages of their respective quests and psychoanalyzing the characters along the way. Carl Jung’s archetypal psychology, along with Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces are imperative to this close- read and hero’s quest trace. Sigmund Freud’s writing is also imperative in order to psychoanalyze the characters in both novels. A Campbellian hero could not possibly exist in this time period, thus the anti-hero appears to (not) save the day. The United States was in a state of turmoil during the 1960s. War, social upheaval, civil rights, and a multitude of global atrocities permeated the countiy. The 2 United States was existing in the aftermath of World War II, the most globally fatal war in their history, and in the midst of both the Cold War and the Vietnam War. The Cold War was with the Soviet Union and caused those involved to live suspended in fear, believing a nuclear missile could extinguish them at any moment. The Vietnam War was so violent that an entire generation of young men was returning with severe physical and mental trauma—if they returned at all. In addition to the combative violence, social upheaval in the 1960s was disruptive as well. The decade is notorious for the revolution in the way people thought about music, drugs, clothing, sexuality, education, everything. Many topics that had previously been considered taboo were no longer off limits to the younger generations. They did drugs, had sex, protested politics, and rebelled against the very nature of society. The newfound freedoms—though postulating as pure revolution— were a manifestation of the internalized futility felt by a generation who had grown up surrounded by war and destruction. Not understanding this attitude of frivolity, the older generations were dismayed by the alleged “moral and social decay” presented by their children. This alleged “decay” enabled the civil rights movement to thrive. African- Americans fought valiantly for national desegregation and equal rights. Their peaceful protests were met with hostility and opposition, adding further to the already deteriorating situation in the United States. News headlines about marches, sit-ins, civil rights advocates, and the violence with which they were met were prevalent. Situations outside of the United States were just as chaotic. Many of the previously colonized areas 3 of the world were in a period of decolonization that was problematic to say the least. There were wars, genocides, and a multitude of atrocities taking place globally. All of this turmoil is conspicuous and percolating throughout both novels. 1 Psychoanalytic Basis In his various writings, Sigmund Freud provides valuable psychological background from which to diagnose (interpret) the symptomatic behaviors of Barth and Farina’s anti-heroes. His psychological discussion of anxiety and paranoia were most useful. In order to understand both, however, one must start with the basics of Freud’s explanation of the mind with the id, ego, and superego. Freud defines the id, writing that “[it] contains everything that is inherited, that is present at birth, that is laid down in the constitution—above all, therefore, the instincts, which originate from the somatic organization and which find a first psychical expression here [in the id] in forms unknown to us” (An Outline o f Psychoanalysis 14). Essentially, the id resides in our unconscious and contains our most instinctual and innate drives. These are further broken down into two main drives known as Eros and the Destructive Drive, or Death Drive: “The aim of the first of these basic instincts [Eros] is to establish even greater unities and to preserve them thus—in short to bind together; the aim of the second [Death Drive] is, 1 Historical background found in Kenneth Walsh’s “A Decade of Change for Women” and History.com 4 on the contrary, to undo connections and so to destroy things” (An Outline of Psychoanalysis 18). These two innate drives are only stopped by the ego, which: Acts as an intermediary between the id and the external world... It has the task of self-preservation... [The Ego] gains control over the demands of the instincts, by deciding whether they are to be allowed satisfaction, by postponing that satisfaction to times and circumstances favorable to the external world or by repressing their excitations entirely. (An Outline of Psychoanalysis 14-15) Finally, the superego is formed when an individual is growing up through the examples of their guardians. The job of the superego is to “[satisfy] simultaneously the demands of the id, of the super-ego and of reality—that is to say, if it is able to reconcile their demands with one another” (An Outline o f Psychoanalysis 15). The id, ego, and superego are found in different parts of the mind that Freud split up into the conscious, preconscious, and subconscious. Our conscious is our present state, thoughts, and feelings. Our preconscious consists of stored information that can be readily recalled by the conscious, such as names, dates, etc. Our subconscious

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