APIT, GIESELLE ANN V.

BACHELOR OF ARTS
SECTION 2-1 A.Y. 2021-2022 LITERARY AND CULTURAL STUDIES

MODES OF FICTION

Fabulation, according to the Oxford dictionary, is a term used by modern critics to describe
fiction that indulges in its verbal artifice (“Fabulation”)1. The term, with contrast to realism,
counters traditional characters of a realist novel that blurs the line between what is serious or
trivial, comic or tragic, horrible or ludicrous. 2 A famous example is Herman Melville’s Moby Dick,
a nautical fiction that encompasses the fabulation of Ishmael’s adventure and his obsessive chase
to the sperm whale that eventually drives him wild. Melville’s flexible narrative causes
interference of what reality is to Ishmael. “While ponderous planets of unwaning woe revolve round
me, deep down and deep inland there I still bathe me in eternal mildness of joy.” (Melville 433).3

Realism, on the other hand, presents subject matter truthfully, without attempting to recreate or
alter any history or incorporate it with supernatural elements. Realist art rejects romanticizing or
dramatizing the form of storytelling and opts to portray the truth as mundane as it is in real life. 4
One of my favorite realist novels is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, in which the author observes
a woman’s limited opportunity when it comes to estate property back in 19 th century England.
Jane Austen displays attributes of every person of every class in her novels and is praised to be a
wise blend of romantic relationships in relation to social reality. 5

Magical Realism is a combination of both fabulation and realism. It integrates fabulation within
realistic elements. 6 For example, in an ordinary society there may be often elements of myth that
is not proven to exist in real life, like a horse with wings that casually roam around town. A Franz
Kafka novel entitled The Metamorphosis falls within the magical realism characteristics. A normal
day for Gregor Samsa, who has awoken and ready to return to his job only to find out he
transformed into a gigantic insect. 7

Metafiction is a mode of fiction that embodies the “meta” of its own literary text that
occasionally keeps the readers aware that they are reading literature. 8 It provides the reader
alertness to the narration. One example of metafiction literature is the Percy Jackson series, in
which the narrator implies the self-awareness of the book in relation to the reader. Its famous
opening line, “Look, I didn’t wanna be a half-blood. If you’re reading this because you think you might be
one, my advice is: close this book right now.” (Riordan 1). 9
APIT, GIESELLE ANN V. BACHELOR OF ARTS
SECTION 2-1 A.Y. 2021-2022 LITERARY AND CULTURAL STUDIES

Bibliography

1. “Fabulation.” Oxford Reference, 2021,

www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095807356. Accessed 14

Dec. 2021.

2. Wikipedia Contributors. “Fabulation.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Sept. 2021,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabulation. Accessed 14 Dec. 2021.

3. Melville, Herman, and Ronaldson A S M. Moby Dick. Longman, 1986.

4. “Realism in American Literature.” Wsu.edu, 2013,

public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/realism.htm. Accessed 14 Dec. 2021.

5. “Jane Austen’s Hidden Feminism | Toledo Lucas County Public Library.” Toledolibrary.org,

2021, www.toledolibrary.org/blog/jane-austens-hidden-feminism. Accessed 14 Dec. 2021.

6. https://www.facebook.com/thoughtcodotcom. “An Introduction to Magical

Realism.” ThoughtCo, 2017, www.thoughtco.com/magical-realism-definition-and-

examples-4153362. Accessed 14 Dec. 2021.

7. Kafka, Franz, and Stanley Corngold. The Metamorphosis. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1981.

Print.

8. Sonderegger, Melba. “Metafiction. The Theory and Practice of Self-Conscious

Fiction.” Academia.edu, 29 May 2013,

www.academia.edu/3626028/Metafiction_The_Theory_and_Practice_of_Self_Conscious_

Fiction. Accessed 14 Dec. 2021.

9. Riordan, Rick. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book One the Lightning Thief. Hyperion,
2006.