Life And Death In A Death Kit

Susan Sontag(1933-2004) is considered to be not only one of America’s mostrenowned literary critics but also one of the most influential contemporary womenwriters in the West, a popular icon for her role in the development of modern cultureand intellectual thought. Sontag also exposes Americans to the works of modernEuropean intellectuals.Her Death Kit concerns the failed life of a man named Diddy who has no true self.The story takes place in Diddy’s mind as he awaits death, a dream experienced byDiddy after he has taken an overdose of sleeping pills, and a hallucinated transformationof an impending death.The present thesis purports to make a narratological study of Death Kit by focusingon the exquisite narrative techniques. In so doing, it intends to argue that such narrativetechniques are indispensable for Susan Sontag to reflect on her eternal theme of life anddeath. In addition to Introduction and Conclusion, this thesis consists of three chapters.The Introduction provides a brief biographical account of Susan Sontag, her literaryaccomplishments, Literature Review and Theoretical Basis. Chapter One focuses onnarrative labyrinth in Death Kit. Chapter Two deals with the technique of unreliablenarration in Death Kit. Chapter Three analyzes narrative duration in Death Kit.