Confessions of justified postmoderns in A. L. Kennedy's so I am glad and Don Delillo's white noise.

Abstract

Postmodernist literature has been too often and too sternly excoriated because of its contradictory forms and its sense of disruption and indeterminacy. Many scholars tend to consider it an empty commodity and a humble social practice, unable to convey a unified moral message. Yet, refusing to be decried as gratuitous fiction that fails to transcend social, political, and aesthetic debates, contemporary literature has conscientiously strived to learn its lesson and do more than play the sick joke of cultural virtues. Thus, with works such as A. L. Kennedy's So I Am Glad and Don DeLillo's White Noise, Postmodernist fiction assumes on its part the task of becoming a critical tool, mediating aesthetics to social and cultural practices, to literary styles, and to political discourses as well. In dealing with these two novels, I am attempting to expose and discuss the moral force of literature today, its revolutionary aspect, and its laudatory innovations in terms of literary tradition. Lastly, I am illustrating the unending importance of contemporary fiction, fostered through its concern for individuality and for history alike, through its ethical commitment to the reader, through its engagement to solve social injustices, and last but not least, through its fondness for art.