The Context of Construct: On Barthes and Postmodernism
1968 publications were emblematic of a shift in ideologies, values, and motives.
Books were no longer published with the sole intention to entertain, but also to give way to schools of higher thinking.
The popularity of works by writers like Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Pynchon, and John Barth is reflective of a humanity that has become increasingly aware of itself and how individuals function in the context of construct.
Additionally, the themes and ideas made popular in 1968 have persisted and translate into contemporary postmodern works.Roland Barthes’ The Death of the Author is perhaps the ideal embodiment of a text that defines a movement away from tradition and simultaneously towards new horizons. Barthes’ Author represents power dynamic in traditional narratives; they control the story and the characters, they are aware of the capacity of each of the characters, and they are able to use their omniscience to manipulate the story to their own will. There is one meaning, that being the meaning the Author imposes upon his own piece. The Author has all of the power over his narrative. Consequently, the reader has none.
Granting power to the reader begins with killing the Author. It ought to be the language, or the actual words on the page, that propel the narrative forward, not the omniscient Author.
“Linguistically, the author is never anything more than the man who writes” (3).
Barthes’ ideology relinquishes all power from the author and places him as a conduit, a vehicle that puts the words on the page. The power (and oniss) shifts to the reader, to not only comprehend a piece, but to give it meaning.Text is only worth something if it is read. If a book sits on a shelf, going unread and collecting dust, it holds no real value. There is no inherent meaning, rather, meaning is given by a reader when they read. Reading becomes individualized, meaning is subjective and open for debate. Killing the Author propels literary discussion in a different direction, furthering conversations that are reflective of a humanity that has become increasingly self aware within the context of construct.
Barthes’ text is only the beginning of a new trend in narrative function and literary style. Other works like Kurt Vonnegut’s Welcome to the Monkey House, Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, and John Barth’s Lost in the Funhouse are all works published in 1968 that thrive on the stage set by Roland Barthes, continuing the pattern of deviating from traditional narrative structure.
