On The Metafictional Features Of The Sot-Weed Factor

John Barth is one of the most prominent writers in American contemporary literature. Hehas made great contributions not only to literary writings but also to literary theories. Hiswriting career has spanned nearly half a century, which has gained a great achievement. Asthe important references, his works are absolutely necessary to define, establish and interpretthe postmodernist literature, especially his critical essay The Literature of Exhaustion whichmarks the beginning of postmodern and metafictional fiction in America and declares thedeath of traditional realism. It established his leading position in the postmodernist literaturein America.The Sot-Weed Factor, published in1960, is regarded as his masterpiece of all hiswritings, which gets much attention. In the novel, Barth attempts to experiment with his newway of fiction writing, adopting some postmodern narrative strategies. He casts away thetraditional way of novel writing.This thesis aims to study the metafictional elements in The Sot-Weed Factor. Althoughsome researchers have given notice to the metafictional impulse in the novel, a deeper andmore systematic study is very necessary and indispensable. Based on the detailed textualanalysis, the thesis endeavors to explore the metafictional features of the text from theperspective of self-reflexivity, intertextuality and metafictional themes of The Sot-WeedFactor.The thesis mainly consists of three chapters. Chapter One analyzes the self-reflexivity inthe novel from two aspects: the self-conscious narrators and the self-consciousness aboutfictionalization. The strong self-consciousness of the novel is laid bare and the fictionality ofthe novel is revealed. Chapter Two discusses the employment of intertextuality. The novelparodies Ebenezer Cooke and his satiric poem, and takes references to some notablehistorical events and some famous literary works, which expose the relationship between pastand present, and reinforce the novel’s fictionality. Moreover, the intertextual connections givethe reader a productive way in reading process. Chapter Three studies the metafictionalthemes of the novel. It probes into the relationships between reality and imagination, history and fiction.Through the study and analysis, the paper concludes that The Sot-Weed Factor possessesthe primary features of metafiction. The application of metafictional skills endows the novelwith more meaning and aesthetic significance. The paper renders the readers to have a deepunderstanding of the novel and John Barth’s art of writing, and promotes the reader’s interestin the famous postmodernist writer John Barth and his works.