Postmodern Themes and Techniques in Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel – A Critical Study A thesis submitted to Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH by S. VEERAMANI (Ref. No. 33821/Ph.D.2/English/P.T./April 2007) under the guidance of Rev. Dr. A. SEBASTIAN, SJ Principal & Associate Professor in English St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS) (Nationally Re-accredited with A+ - College with Potential for Excellence Affiliated to Bharathidasan University) TIRUCHIRAPPALLI - 620 002, INDIA APRIL 2012 Rev. Dr. A. Sebastian, SJ, MA, MPhil., PhD Principal & Associate Professor of English St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous) Tiruchirappalli - 620 002 India _____________________________________________________________________ CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis entitled Postmodern Themes and Techniques in Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel - A Critical Study submitted by Mr. S. Veeramani is a bona fide record of research work done by him under my guidance in the Department of English, St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli and the thesis has not previously formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar titles. The thesis represents the independent wok on the part of the candidate. Rev. Dr. A. Sebastian Anand S. J. Research Advisor Tiruchirappalli-2 April 2012 S. Veeramani St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous) Tiruchirappalli - 620002 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– DECLARATION I hereby declare that the work entitled Postmodern Themes and Techniques in Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children and Shashi Tharoor’s The Great Indian Novel - A Critical Study has been carried out by me under the guidance of Rev. Dr. A. Sebastian, SJ, Principal, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli and the work has not been submitted either in whole or in part of any other degree or diploma at any other University or Institute. S. VEERAMANI Tiruchirappalli-2 April 2012 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT At the outset, I thank almighty God for making all in right. I thank Rev. Fr. Dr. S. John Britto, SJ, Rector, St. Joseph’s college, (Autonomous), Trichirappalli for rendering his benevolent support to me to the completion of my thesis. I thank Rev. Fr. Dr. A. Albert Muthumalai, SJ, Secretary St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli for encouraging me to do this research work successfully. I extend my gratitude and thanks to my Research Guide and Principal Rev. Dr. A. Sebastian, S. J., M.A., M. Phil., Ph.D., St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli for having taken me as his ward. I chisel my special thanks to my beloved guide for helping me to under go the research with his scholarly advice and channelization of my ideas in proper way in my research work. Personally the members of my family are owed to him. Moreover he is a lighthouse in the Department of English, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli. I extend my thanks to Dr. S. Papu Benjamin Elango, M.A., M. Phil., B.L., Ph.D., Head, Department of English, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli for having encouraged and motivated me to do the research work with his fullest cooperation. Besides , he is a man who stands for a candle in a church. v I thank Prof. G. Ravindran, M.A., M.Phil., former Head, Department of English, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli for having encouraged and helped me to complete my research work. I thank Dr. Dhanalakshmi, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of English, Periyar E.V.R. College, Tiruchirappalli; Prof. A. J. Mariadas, Vice-Principal, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Tiruchirappalli; Dr. K. Gunasekaran, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of English, Periyar E.V.R. College, Tiruchirappalli; Dr. T. Jayakumar, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of English, Periyar E.V.R. College, Tiruchirappalli for having helped me in various ways to complete my thesis with out any hitch. I thank all my school and college teachers for having enlightened me to the world of knowledge. I thank my colleagues, friends, and well wishers in all the ways for showing me right path. I thank my parents, sister and brother for having given me a peaceful ambience to complete my research. S. Veeramani CONTENTS Chapter No. Title Page No. Acknowledgement I Introduction 1 II Postmodern Themes and Techniques in The Crying of Lot 49 35 III Postmodern Themes and Techniques in Midnight’s Children 63 IV Postmodern Themes and Techniques in The Great Indian Novel 89 V Comparative and Analytical Study of The Crying of Lot 49, Midnight’s Children and The Great Indian Novel 121 Conclusion 157 Works Cited 173 Appendix: Paper Publication 181 INTRODUCTION . Exclusively in art, modernism is a trend in which a plethora of intellectualism took place. The era modernism is the product of enlightenment project, which is commonly acclaimed as rigorous movement. It is worth mentioning here that the introduction is to throw some lights on modernism and its impact on the child baptized as postmodernism. Modernism defines itself as anything which is ‘new’ or review an art or in any field, whereas in literature modernism spells out with a higher degree of Elitism. Elitism is an intellectualism in literature. This sort of art can be understood by sophisticated people in knowledge. This term is used by various critics in various ways to refer to ‘a body of literature’ produced mostly in the first half of the twentieth-century; most critics think that it has now been superseded by post-modernism, although there are the Rome, who argue that vigorously today. Authors generally classified as modernists take often very different styles; from the novels of Joseph Conrad (1887-1924) and D. H. Lawrence (1873-1957); the poetry of T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) and Ezra pound (1995-1972), or the drama of Bertolt Brecht, fascination with literary experiment, with making a ‘new’ literature that was deliberately unlike the ‘realist’ art of Victorian culture. Modernist literature is often startling and challenging; it may, for example, be written in a fractured or peculiar style, or it may advocate the overturning of traditional value. (Roberts 2000: 99) 2 Adam Roberts has classified the writers above quoted in the level of experimental prose, poetry, and drama. These genres are reviewed in different styles and the style of strange realism of victorism culture is superseded by so-called modernism. Realism stands for unromanticization and pragramticity. David Forgacs identified in modernism the following features: first, it is or, was about novelty; it was a set off artistic practices which shared a commitment to ‘make it new’ in Pounds phrase ... Many modernist artists envisaged political change in terms of a radical and often violent break ... It has been argued that modernism was an art of ‘depth’ not of ‘surfaces’. (Forgacs 1995: 9-1) One of the things that is significant for Jameson’s purposes is that the most famous ‘modernist’ works were products during the 1930’s, at a time when Adolph Hitler was coming to power in Germany, and Benits Musolini in Italy (Robert 2000: 100). Modernism is not only in art, but also in the scientific development and politics. By the invention of atomic bomb during Rooswelt regime America bombarded Japan. Hitler did Jew-massacre in Auschwitz. This massacre is well known as the Holocaust. Mussolini also did the same cruelty. All the effects of modernism are exposed in art, culture, politics and the like. Critics and writers turned towards seeking pleasure and peace. They wanted to embrace a ‘new life’. This new-life, may be termed as ‘post-modernism.’ 3 It is said by Wolf Gang Welseh that the term postmodernism was first used in 1890s. Postmodernism found its place in 1926. Then, in 1977, the term postmodernism was published and made its establishment by Michael Kohler in “Postmodernismus” einbegriffs geschichtlicher Uberblick; in this stage of use only it has come to flash. In 1947, Arnold Toynbee used this term postmodernism in the condition of the western history and that has come to the darkness and he authentically made use of this term to point out that it is a continuity of modernism. From 1950 onwards Charles Olson made use of the term postmodernism to proclaim that this is a movement that is against modernism. After the world war second, Postmodernism has been oxygenated with full force of literature; and postmodern production accepts mass culture, pop music, pop art, by decentering Elitism and Eliotization. Modernity indicates the green signal for universality, certainly center, homogeneity, whereas postmodernity welcomes de-universalization, decentralization and heterogeneity by and the like. Just as Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity is established by an individual’s frame of reference, likewise, the manner how one views the universe in accordance with his own subjective experience is ‘relativism’. Relativism in literature and life is accepted by postmodernism. What postmodernism depicts is that there is no absolute objective value. 4 The leading theorists of postmodern movement are Jean Francis Lyotard, and Jean Bandrillard, who believe that people live not in a world of image but of only Simulations. Jacques Derrida, who attacks western philosophy into understanding of reason and is concerned with deconstruction of texts; and Michel Foucult, who challenges the compact of history as a chronology of in aitatle facts and replaces it with supered and unconscious thought out history.