Name: Malik Anwaar Ahmed

Class: BS English-6th
Roll No: 5743
Subject: Literary Theory
Department of English

Question No.1) What is Postmodernism? Discuss the new faces of Postmodernism in new
globalized world.
Answer:

Post-Modernism: Postmodernism was a late twentieth century movement which

was characterized by skepticism, relativism, and a general disdain for reason and suspicion
regarding it. It implies that the western cultural norms are in some way influenced by the
ideology of dominant groups and serves the objectives of elite.
Most postmodernist doctrines are a straightforward denial of the general point of view of 18 th
century enlightenment. It is believed that there is an objective natural reality whose properties
are independent of our minds and practices. But, postmodernists believe such reality is just a
conceptual construct, and an artifact of scientific practice. Postmodern denial of objective
natural reality is often expressed by saying that there is no such thing as the truth, and thus
explanatory statements of scientists and historians hold no ground of being true or false.
It is believed that with the advances of science and technology, modern generations will be
more just and humane. This notion is rejected by the postmodernists. They believe misguided
pursuit of scientific and technological knowledge led to massive killings and global anarchy.
Science, technology, reason, and even logic are inherently destructive because they have been
used by oppressive people to destroy others. Reason and logic are merely conceptual
constructs and are only valid within established intellectual traditions.
It is commonly believed that human nature consists of faculties and aptitude. However,
postmodernists insist that nearly all aspects of human psychology are socially determined. They
claim that language is semantically self-referential. Meaning of a word isn’t a static thing in the
world or an idea, but rather a range of contrasts and differences with meanings of other words.
Meanings are never fully present to the speaker but are endlessly deferred. Postmodern view
of language is due largely to the French literary theorist ‘Jacques Derrida’, who was the leading
practitioner of deconstruction.
The general belief is that human beings can acquire knowledge about natural reality, and this
knowledge can be known intuitively or with certainty. Postmodernism rejects this type of
philosophical foundationalism. This attempt is best exemplified by Rene Descartes’ (I think,
therefore I am), to identify a foundation of certainty on which empirical knowledge is built.
General theories should be derived explaining many aspects of the natural and social world
within a given domain. It should be the goal of scientific or historical research to construct such
theories, even if they aren’t attainable in practice. But, postmodernists dismiss this notion as a
pipe-dream. These theories are destructive not just because they are false but because they
effectively impose conformity on other perspectives or discourses, thereby silencing them.
Derrida, therefore equated the theoretical tendency toward totalitarianism.
Postmodernist doctrines imply some form of metaphysical relativism. It denies that there are
certain aspects of reality that are true or false, or it is possible to know some things with
certainty. Reality, knowledge, and values are constructed by discourses and can vary.
Postmodern answer to the prevalent discourses in a society is that it reflects the interests and
values of dominant or elite groups. What counts as knowledge in a given era is mostly
influenced by subtle considerations of power. Established discourses of enlightenment are
pretty much arbitrary, they can be changed. Because they reflect the values of elite class, they
must be changed. Postmodernists regard their theoretical position as uniquely democratic,
because it allows them to explain the hegemony of enlightenment discourse. Postmodernism
not only describes a period but also set of ideas, and can only be understood in relation with
modernism.

Modernism: It is a style or movement that aims at departure from classical and

traditional forms. It aimed at modifying traditional beliefs in accordance with modern ideas. It
was both a philosophical and an art movement that arose from broad transformations in
western society in late 19th and 20th century.
There would’ve been no postmodernism if there was no modernism at the first place. It is often
associated with pluralism and abandonment of conventional ideas of originality and authorship
in favor of dead styles.

Post-modernism in modern globalized world:

Postmodernism is the shift from solid to liquid times. It is the end of traditional structures and
instructions, and an end of grand narratives. There is a loss of faith in the idea of progress, the
idea that we are gradually heading towards certain universal goals, such as a full picture of
knowledge. There is an emphasis on multiple pathways and plurality, diversity, or the partiality
of all knowledge. It supports the idea that all knowledge is biased. Change isn’t a linear process,
but a series of networks and flows, and connections, because they are always forming and
reforming. Postmodern thought emphasizes fragmentation, diversity, discontinuity, multiplicity,
and connections.
Main features of the postmodern society:
1- Globalization
2- Media
3- Word in fragments
4- Consumer society
5- Cultural diversity

GLOBALIZATION:
Globalization is the increasing connectedness between societies across the globe. It means
there is more flow of information, ideas, money, and people moving across national
boundaries.

MEDIA:
Postmodern era has witnessed a huge expansion in media technology. Rise of internet and
digital media has led to an unprecedented increase in the number of people using the media
and diversity in usage of products. This results in a much more complex patterns of media.
Today’s society has an increased reliance on media to tell us what is going on in the world.
Some sociologists argue media has created a phenomenon called ‘hyper reality’. Baudrillard
says that the media’s coverage of war is different to reality, yet is the only reality most of us
know.

WORLD IN FRAGMENTS:
Postmodern society is more dynamic and fluid. It does not sit still, but is like a fidgeting child. It
therefore lacks any coherent stable social structure. This can be evidenced in work routine,
fashion, music, and local communities. Today is the era of ‘portfolio worker’, who is much more
likely to move jobs and change careers several time through working life. Working life is
characterized by much more uncertainty as businesses are much likelier to move to other
regions in order to find cheaper services.
Fashion and music industries are evolving at a breath-taking pace. Artists have to reinvent
themselves to stay in the limelight. Pop-idol genre demonstrates how individuals are made
stars for a month and then forgotten.

CONSUMER SOCIETY:
Our society has become consumer oriented rather than work oriented. Image of the
postmodern society is that of a shopping mall, rather than a factory. Individuals today are free
to pick their life’s course and way of living. Society is no longer divided along class, gender, or
ethnic lines.

CULTURAL DIVERSITY:
Cultural diversity refers to mixing of different cultural traditions. If we compare today’s society
to that of 50 or a 100 years old, we’ll see bewildering changes.
A simple trip to the market or mall reveals a huge range of products and services. This implies
to pretty much every sphere of life compared to the near past.

Question No.2) Take a text of your own choice and analyze it in the light of Structuralist or
Post-structuralist theory.
Answer:

Structuralism:
Structuralism is an intellectual movement and a method of interpreting and analyzing language,
literature, and society. It focuses on contrasting ideas or elements of structure and attempts to
show how they relate to the whole structure. It works to uncover the structures that underlie
all the things that humans do, think, and perceive.
Structuralism developed in Europe in the early 20th century, mainly in France. Ferdinand de
Saussure is considered to be the forefather of structuralism. It has since been applied in
anthropology, psychology, sociology, literary criticism, economics, and architecture. Some of
the most prominent thinkers related to structuralism are Levi Strauss, Roman Jakobson, and
Jacques Lacan. In structuralism, meaning is always outside, it is always an attribute of things.
Saussure concentrated on the patterns and functions of language in use today, with the
emphasis on how meanings are maintained and established on the functions of grammatical
structures. He provided us with three main postulates:
1- Meanings given to words are arbitrary
2- Meanings of words are relational
3- Language constitutes the world
Another distinction made by Saussure gave structuralists a way of thinking about the larger
structures which were relevant to literature. He used the terms langue and parole to signify
language as a system or structure on one hand, and any given utterance in that language on the
other hand. A particular remark in English only makes sense to you if you are already in
possession of the whole body of rules and conventions governing verbal behavior which we call
English.
Structuralist study of ‘Oedipus the King’:
Oedipus the King is a play by Sophocles. We are presented with the mythical King Oedipus, who
defeated the Sphinx and now rules over Thebes. However, he got this position by killing his
biological father, Laius, at a crossroads years before the play began. A major purpose of the
play is to present the great irony surrounding Oedipus and his rule. There is a systematic
construction or structure, through which the play gets its meaning across. To understand the
meaning, we must first understand the structure. Whether it be through the layout of specific
scenes or the order of scenes through entire play, the structure is what gives the play the ability
to make its meaning possible, thus, structure is the catalyst.
Claude Levi Strauss applied the structuralist outlook to the interpretation of myth. He
suggested that the individual tale (parole) from a cycle of myths did not have a separate and
inherent but could only be understood by considering its position in the whole cycle (langue)
and the similarities and differences and difference between that tale and others in the
sequence. So in interpreting the myth of Oedipus, he placed the individual story of Oedipus
within the context of whole cycle of tales related with the city of Thebes. He then began to see
repeated motifs and contrasts, and he used these as the basis of his interpretation. Concrete
details from the story are seen in the context of a larger structure, and the larger structure is
then seen as an overall network of basic ‘dyadic pairs’, which have obvious symbolic, thematic,
and archetypal resonance.
Without a structure, meaning is impossible to be presented. The structure of this play is
narration, a narrative appears as a succession of tightly interlocking mediate and immediate
elements. Narrative is the broad connection of sentences or units, and it is these units that
make up the structure. Multiple levels of meaning are assigned. A superior level is made of
these lower levels or units of the text that act as the skeleton. The construction of these units
form structure. This theory in structuralism can be applied to ‘Oedipus the King’.
Sophocles’ play goes on to point the many ironies that are involved in Oedipus’ life. Oedipus
says that he now owns the throne and Laius’ wife, Jocasta, but in fact she is his mother. He
claims to do everything he can to find Laius’ murderer and vows that he has taken up the cause
as if it was his own father. The structure of these lines is important in portraying the irony in
Oedipus’ quest. They match the exact specifications of Oedipus’ fate as he was told by Apollo’s
oracle. Oedipus has replaced his father as the king of Thebes. It is clear that Oedipus doesn’t
know Laius and Jocasta are his parents, and it is clear that he doesn’t realize that he is, in fact,
Laius’ murderer, but readers do.
The biggest irony is that Oedipus calls Laius a victim of fate, which is true. Oedipus does not
realize how true his words are, and he is as much a victim as he is an agent. All of this
information is given as Oedipus is starting his investigation at the beginning of play. This is
important for the structure because it sets up the major irony, the overall meaning that is
meant to be portrayed. Its placement is necessary to make this a tragedy composed entirely out
of irony. Irony derives the actions of virtually every character in the play.
In an important scene, Jocasta tells Oedipus to ignore oracles after he relays the oracle’s power,
she tells him about the prophecy that Laius would die by his son’s hands, but he died by
robbers’, instead at a place where three crossroads meet. Oedipus is clearly shaken and
explains his fate to Jocasta that he was meant to kill his father and marry his mother, the same
prophecy as Jocasta recited to him.
The scene’s placement is important for the structure of play. It repeats the irony, bringing it
back to the fore front of the focus. Oedipus tries to defy his fate by leaving his family in Corinth.
However, it is his attempt to defy the fate that ultimately brings it to fruition. Having Jocasta
repeat the prophecy is an attempt to comfort Oedipus after he is told that he is the murderer is
crucial in reinforcing the irony of the play. This repetition of prophecy leads to Oedipus’
uncertainty, which in turn begins to unveil the irony to the central character. Oedipus needs to
realize that he is the murderer, that his fate is realized. This is the turning point of the play,
beginning of the revelation. Finally comes the revelation and conclusion. It comes at the end of
the play because it is what the play was about, the unravelling of irony.
Oedipus realizes that he is a cursed man, a victim of fate. In his mention of light, he is not only
talking about his sight, but also referring to the revelation and truth. The truth is that he is a
corrupted man he goes out to block it. The placement or structure of his statement is important
because it leads to the major consequences of this tragic truth. He finally blinds himself so that
he can never get to see his family again.
The suffering of Oedipus is necessary for the conclusion of this play because his suffering is the
culmination of this irony. Each scene was meticulously placed, the position or structure of each
scene was necessary in achieving the meaning. Structure is that “which enables meaning to
emerge”, the intention and impact of this play wouldn’t have worked if it wasn’t structured this
way. We are shown the fall of great King Sophocles brought about by irony of fate. Irony
surrounding Oedipus and his topple from grace and admiration is the focal point of this play.
However, the enlightenment of this irony is brought about by the structure of this play. This is
achieved through the right placement of sentences, scenes, and narration. From Oedipus’
investigation to the exile, each scene and unit that builds them up are placed with purpose, and
their purpose arises from the structure.

THE END