{"id":220,"date":"2009-02-11T13:56:16","date_gmt":"2009-02-11T18:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/?p=220"},"modified":"2009-02-11T13:56:52","modified_gmt":"2009-02-11T18:56:52","slug":"harvey-on-genre-vs-characterization-in-postmodernism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/?p=220","title":{"rendered":"Harvey on Genre vs. Characterization in Postmodernism"},"content":{"rendered":"

In \u201cThe Condition of Postmodernity,\u201d David Harvey attempts to define postmodernism in relation to modernism, and in myriad cultural contexts, including literature, architecture, psychology, and art. In his definition, Harvey discusses the blurring of genres, and specifically mentions the postmodern tendency to dissolve the \u201cboundary between fiction and science fiction\u201d (41). This is definitely true of The Lathe of Heaven<\/em>, a novel that cannot fit into either\/or category of science fiction\/postmodern literature. LeGuin\u2019s novel is most striking in its ability to use science fiction to cause disorder and confusion in reality as we know it. However, as opposed to the reality featured in Crying of Lot 49, <\/em>which defies any sense of reason and is completely fragmented, the reality in The Lathe of Heaven <\/em>is more believable, and also more ordered. Though George\u2019s prophetic dreams do <\/em>influence reality, this pattern is more noticeable, and therefore, expected in the novel.<\/p>\n

\n

Jennifer asks in the first post on this topic whether all science fiction novels can be considered postmodern. While it is definitely a valid and interesting question, Harvey posits in his article on \u201cPostmodernity\u201d that while \u201cmodernist literary critics do tend to look at works as examples of a \u2018genre\u2019 and do judge them by a \u2018master code\u2019 that prevails within the boundary of the genre, [the] \u2018postmodern\u2019 style is simply to view a work as a \u2018text\u2019 with its own particular \u2018rhetoric\u2019 and \u2018idolect,\u2019 but which can in principle be compared with any other text of no matter what sort\u201d (44). If I understand this correctly, I think Harvey is specifically drawing attention to postmodernists\u2019 attempts to eschew \u201cgenre\u201d as we know it; therefore, we cannot really classify any postmodernist work as \u201cscience fiction\u201d or any other genre. Though this seems easy enough to digest in theory, it becomes problematic in practice to shy away from categorizing literary works for the purposes of comparison and analysis. On one hand, postmodernism is <\/em>fragmentation and chaos, as Harvey defines it; and on the other hand, in order to legitimize its impact, we need to understand postmodernism logically, and in terms that we can easily decipher and comprehend.<\/p>\n

\n

Leaving the genre debate aside, it becomes easier to think of postmodernism as a way <\/em>to propagate equal representation: \u201cThe idea that all groups have a right to speak for themselves, in their own voice, and have that voice accepted as authentic and legitimate is essential to the pluralistic stance of postmodernism\u201d (Harvey 48). Hence, when discussing postmodern literary works, such as The Lathe of Heaven,<\/em> it becomes apparent that issues of racial construction, for example, are called to be eradicated. Dr. Haber states that we should have \u201cno more color problems. No question of race [\u2026] Nobody in the entire history of the human race has suffered for the color of his skin\u201d (LeGin 129). Additionally, \u201ccharacters no longer contemplate how they can unravel or unmask a central mystery, but are forced to ask, \u2018Which world is this? What is to be done in it? Which of the mysteries is to do it? Instead\u201d (Harvey 48). This shift in focus from genre to characterization, and their influence on\/perception of reality is a defining feature of postmodernism. The effect of this shift in focus is striking: \u201cto break (deconstruct) the power of the author to impose meanings or offer a continuous narrative\u201d (Harvey 51). Therefore, instead of the focus being on how LeGuin weaves the plot to create a work of science fiction, the focus shifts to how the characters\u2014George Orr, Dr. Haber, and Heather\u2014develop throughout the novel, and whether or not their respective dreams\/ realities materialize and coincide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In \u201cThe Condition of Postmodernity,\u201d David Harvey attempts to define postmodernism in relation to modernism, and in myriad cultural contexts, including literature, architecture, psychology, and art. In his definition, Harvey discusses the blurring of genres, and specifically mentions the postmodern tendency to dissolve the \u201cboundary between fiction and science fiction\u201d (41). This is definitely true … Continue reading Harvey on Genre vs. Characterization in Postmodernism<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,16,28,8,44,26,35,21],"class_list":["post-220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-week-4-le-guin","tag-architecture","tag-harvey","tag-lathe-of-heaven","tag-leguin","tag-psychology","tag-race","tag-reality","tag-science-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=220"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":223,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions\/223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2009\/660\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}