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Universi^ Micrdïilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 8523971 Sweatt, Suzanne Mitchell POSTMODERNISM IN THE FICTION OF RICHARD BRAUTIGAN Middle Tennessee State University D.A. 1985 University Microfilms I nternstionel300 N. zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, M l48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Postmodernism in the Fiction of Richard Brautigan Suzanne Mitchell Sweatt A dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of Middle Tennessee State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Arts August, 1985 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Postmodernism in the Fiction of Richard Brautigan APPROVED : Graduate Committee : Major Profesedr I \ Minor Professôr Chairman of the English Department Dean of the Graduate School Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract Postmodernism in the Fiction of Richard Brautigan by Suzanne Mitchell Sweatt During his lifetime, Richard Brautigan published ten novels and one collection of short stories. The themes and techniques of these innovative works of fiction contribute to that division of contemporary literature known as post modernism. This study identifies postmodernist elements in Brauti gan 's fiction, establishes Brautigan as an early initiator of postmodernism, and evaluates his place in contemporary literature. Recognizing the growth of technology, a change in the perception of reality, and the difficulties in estab lishing individuality in this fragmented world, Brautigan presents an anti-hero who survives by transforming reality, by enduring, or by forming a relationship with another person. The first chapter, drawing from the c)ntemporary criti cism of John Barth, Leslie Fiedler, Jerome Klinkowitz, David Lodge, and others, characterizes postmodernism. Features of Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Suzanne Mitchell Sweatt postmodernism include flat characterization, lack of plot development, lack of epiphany, multiple endings, typographi cal play, and, frequently, the appearance of artlessness. Chapter II discusses Brautigan's fiction of the 1960s; A Confederate General from Big Sur, Trout Fishing in America, In Watermelon Sugar, The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966, and Revenge of the Lawn: Stories 1962-1970. These novels established Brautigan's reputation as an innovative author. The five novels that Brautigan published in the 1970s are the subject of Chapter III: The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western, Willard and His Bowling Trophies: A Perverse Mystery, Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel, Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942, and The Tokyo-Montana Express. Brautigan's further experimentation with the novel form is evident in these works. Brautigan's final novel, published in 1982, So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away, blends elements of the traditional novel and the postmodernist novel to produce an important work. The study concludes that an understanding of Brauti gan 's themes and techniques can be best accomplished by knowing the totality of his fiction and the tenets of postmodernism. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Page F o r e w o r d .................................................... iii Introduction ............................................. 1 Chapter I. Literary Postmodernism ...................... 8 II. The Beginning of a Style: Brautigan's Fiction of the 1960s ........................... 35 Innovative Humor .................................. 37 The Emergence of a New Talent .................... 50 An Attempt at Fantasy ............................. 66 The First Subtitle ............................... 79 The Short Stories .................................. 93 C o n c l u s i o n ........................................... 114 III. The Established Author: Brautigan's Fiction of the 1970s ..............................117 Blended Genres .................................... 119 Fantasy and Metafiction in the Second Dual Plot 14 6 Fantasy and P a r o d y .................................. 155 A Train to Introspection ......................... 164 C o n c l u s i o n ........................................... 183 IV. Toward a New Direction: Brautigan's Fiction of the 1980s ..............................185 C o n c l u s i o n .................................................. 194 Bibliograpny ............................................. 201 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Foreword With its small town atmosphere, lush landscape, and scattered beach houses, Bolinas, California, on the ocean side of San Francisco, seems the perfect author's hideaway. But in October 1984, one author's cottage was a grisly scene as two friends found the decaying body of Richard Brautigan, an apparent suicide. News reports quickly dredged up the old labels, "counterculture figure of the '60s," "gentle hippie," and "spokesman for the young," as they eulogized the "humorist" author. However, the old labels fail to adequately appraise Brautigan's significant contribution to postmodernism, a subdivision of contemporary literature characterized by innovation and timely themes. The death of Brautigan will, no doubt, prompt numerous reappraisals of his work. This study should be among the first to show that Brautigan's literary contribution is measured not only by his works but also by his contribution to current literary thought, both of which establish him as an important figure in contemporary literature. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction "A cult grows around Richard Brautigan" is the lead to a 1970 Life magazine article titled "Gentle Poet of the Young." The combination article-interview by John Stickney pictures Brautigan in three photographs: stooping "by a rain-swollen California stream," sitting in front of "a communal free school" that takes its name from his most famous novel, and walking "through his favorite area of San Francisco, North Beach" with his ten-year-old daughter.^ At the time of the publication of this article, Brautigan had published three novels. Chronicling Brautigan's rise from obscurity as an underground writer to published author, Stickney asks the usual question in his article: "Has success spoiled the author?" At thirty-five years of age, the author wears a youthful hair style, parted on the right, a modified pageboy, in length just about even with the jawbone; wire-rimmed glasses; a bushy mustache; and a pensive look. He is casually dressed in jeans. Eleven years later, in 1981, People Weekly featured an article by Brautigan about one of his pecadilloes: he does not drive an automobile. The three-page article has ^ John Stickney, "Gentle Poet of the Young," Life, 14 August 1970, pp. 49, 51, 54. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. four photographs of Brautigan, and it includes the phraseol ogy

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