Postmodern Fragmentation

 

 

As the literary movement of modernism came to an end, American authors sought a new avenue of creativity and employed even greater experimentation in their art. Seeking to break traditional narratives and convections, postmodern authors employed new techniques that often questioned the author’s role and blurred the lines between fiction and reality. One of the techniques they employed to do so was the use of fragmentation. For those unfamiliar with this technique, Professor Beck eloquently describes what it is, and how author’s make use of it, in her lecture notes “Postmodernism: A Brief Overview,” that was presented to her American Literature II class for ASU-Beebe in April of 2025. In it, she explains that fragmentation was obtained through the fragmentation of traditional narrative structures, the use of nonlinear storytelling, and by employing multiple perspectives (Beck, 2025). The various ways authors employed this technique can be seen by examining three unique stories within The Norton Anthology of American Literature: 1945 to the Present, Donald Barthelme’s “The Balloon” (614 – 617), Thomas Pynchon’s “Entropy” (727 – 738), and in Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” (1014 – 1015).

            This fragmentation holds center place within “The Balloon” by Barthelme, as there is no formal or traditional linear plot, there is no clear beginning, middle, or end to the story, in its place is a jumble of perspectives and scenes. For example, the story itself is told from the perspective of an unknown individual that initially claims that he/she is the one that created the ballon, that inflated it and “stopped it,” before contradicting their self by saying that “(He/She) asked the engineers to see to it (614, par 1; par 1).” The narrator also jumps from thought to thought and through various perspectives, shifting from general impressions about the balloon to exact details about its movement, leaving the reader with a disjointed sense of time and place. Though, this fragmentation is echoed in the subject of the story itself, the balloon, as its shape shifts and moves in random ways, as it is described as a “vari-shaped mass” with “small valleys as well as slight knolls, or mounds” that was so large people could take walks on it or jump around (614, par 2; par 4).

            While within Thomas Pynchon’s “Entropy,” this fragmentation is seen in the narrative itself, as the story jumps between multiple perspectives, that of Meatball and Callisto, and their vastly different situations. From Meatball’s chaotic party to Callisto’s tightly controlled “hermetically sealed” existence (729, par 1). Though, this fragmentation of the narrative is echoed in the characters themselves, as each is detached and seemingly isolated within their lives. For instance, Meatball is asleep in the beginning of the story, or more aptly passed out, and is startled awake, but he also frequently contemplates hiding out during his own party, as he considers “lock(ing) himself in the closet” until everyone quiets down or leaves (737, par 2). While Callisto is experiencing a clear fragmentation in his relationship with Aubade, due to his obsession with the concept of entropy.

            And in “Girl” by Jamacia Kincade, fragmentation is front and center in the disjointed commands and instructions the mother is listing off, lacking any type of traditional form, as the mother gives her a list of instructions that are almost random, jumping from the proper way to handle the laundry to social rules like “don’t walk bareheaded in the hot sun,” she attempts to prepare her daughter for her supposed role in society. Though this fragmentation is echoed in the fragmented relationship of the mother and daughter, as seen in the attempts by the daughter to interject, as she defends herself against her mother’s accusations, “but I don’t sing benna on Sundays at all” (1014, par 1).

            Each of these authors used fragmentation as a way to challenge the concepts of modernism and to reflect the fragmented nature of the modern world they found themselves in. Whether they employed the use of multiple perspectives or non-linear storytelling, these authors exemplify the ways in which postmodern authors attempted to challenge their readers and present a more nuanced version of reality.

 

Works Cited:

Beck, C. “Postmodernism: A Brief Overview.” American Literature II ENG2313, April 22, 2025, ASU Beebe, https://asubeebe.instructure.com/courses/20840/pages/postmodernism-a-brief-overview?module_item_id=1263615, Class Handout.

Levine, Robert S., et al. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Volume E: 1945 – To the Present. W.W. Norton & Company, 2022.