Fiction within fiction in contemporary narrative in English

Abstract

As suggested by its title, this thesis will be focusing on general notions of storytelling to then concentrate specifically on postmodern storytelling. Its approach will be interdisciplinary in that it will refer to theories of sociology, deconstruction, narratology, history and psychoanalysis amongst others. In other words, it will try to discuss issues from a theoretical perspective as well as approaching them through a close textual analysis. Chapter 1 opens with a discussion of the natural compulsion which humans feel with regards to storytelling, and shows how the compulsion to 'tell' manifests itself in such mundane occasions as gossip, jokes, confessions and the telling of life stories. It then traces the development of narrative and its intrinsic links to the development of culture. Through reference to different historical periods, it shows the shift of narrative from a primarily oral medium to a written one.