REDEMPTION IN THE NOVELS OF JOHN BARTH, JOHN HAWKES, AND THOMAS PYNCHON: 'BY INDIRECTIONS FIND DIRECTIONS OUT' (HAMLET II.I.66)

This study of selected works by Barth, Hawkes, and Pynchon has a two-fold purpose: to examine the techniques employed in order to determine how they redeem the novel as form, and to assess the degree to which these writers consider the problems of contemporary society and offer hope for mankind. Stylistically, the novels share postmodernistic characteristics and offer interesting variations of techniques. Thematically, they explore modern man's search for self-identity and meaning, his need for love, and his desire to discover a redemptive force that will help him face the insecurities of life.;The conclusions drawn from the study have a dual aspect. Through their stylistic innovations, these writers have invigorated the climate of the novel and redeemed the word. Without being moralists, they have created order through imagination and called attention to redemptive values in life, making their point by indirection like the fabulists of old.;The procedure adopted was analysis and evaluation of the novels; research in, and appraisal of, the critics' reactions; and consideration of the authors' own views on their works. The results of the study show that these writers have turned away from traditional notions of the well-made novel to exploit innovative ways of using language and expressing ideas. For subject matter they draw on myth and legend, as well as popular fiction. In their method of treatment, they resort to parody, even self-parody. In their approach to the nature of being and reality, they touch upon concerns other than those specifically literary; without being allegorists, they hint at ontological issues. While Barth explores existential and nihilistic ideologies and Hawkes creates lunar landscapes of comic terror, Pynchon wields a lash to reawaken the human conscience.