On Postmodernist Literary Techniques In Flann O'Brien's At Swim-two-birds

Flann O'Brien is considered as a major voice among the important novelists in twentieth century Irish literature, and this is the pseudonym under which Brian O'Nolan published his At Swim-two-birds in 1939.Though the novel was not among the best-sellers of its time, it gained favorable reviews from some famous writers, such as another famous Irish writer and poet James Joyce. (Cronin,1989) Among all of his writings, this novel is widely regarded as O'Brien's masterpiece, and one of the most sophisticated examples of postmodernism.There is little study about Flann O'Brien and his novel At Swim-two-birds in China. This thesis intends to study the postmodernist techniques in Flann O'Brien's At Swim-two-birds.Based on a relatively detailed textual analysis, this study attempts to make an exploration of the postmodernist techniques of this text in At Swim-two-birds.This thesis mainly consists of five parts.The Introduction focuses on a presentation of Flann O'Brien's literary position, his works, and a brief introduction to the plot. Starting from above issues, this thesis puts forward research aims of this thesis, and defines the feasibility and value of this research.Chapter One gives a brief introduction to postmodernism by clarifying the genealogical correlation between Modernism and Postmodernism in the aspects of fiction-writing and artistic thoughts.Chapter Two explores two important features of postmodernist writing technique-metafiction and magic realism. Parody of different literary genres is discussed in Chapter Three.Chapter Four examines the notion of indeterminacy in At Swim-two-birds, which is another obvious postmodern, and postmodernist, feature.The last part draws a conclusion of the whole thesis. The application of postmodernist characteristics renders the novel more aesthetic significance and meaning.