Borderline Personality Disorder And Postmodernism In Barth’s Lost In The Funhouse

This paper gives in-depth interpretation of the post-modernity reflected in John Barth’s masterpiece Lost in the Funhouse, from the perspective of the psychological theory of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). As an important figure of American postmodernism, John Barth has made an indelible contribution to the development of postmodern literature. Therefore, though more than half a century passed since he first appeared on the literary scene, Barth still attracts considerable critical attention. However, while most scholars approach Barth’s works from cultural, philosophical, or linguistic perspectives, believing that post-modernity reflected in Barth’s works is the inevitable consequence of cultural and ideological development of the late capitalist society, the author of the present thesis intends to call attention to the psychological dimension of his post-modernity, by analyzing the close resemblance between the personality features of Barth’s protagonists and the thematic and stylistic characteristics of his works.Taking advantage of psychological theories of Borderline Personality Disorder, this paper analyzes major protagonists’personality characteristics in Barth’s Lost in the Funhouse, specifically summarizes the various performances of hero’s personality, which are in line with the characteristics of borderline personality disorder, and these characteristics, expressed by Barth, make chapter structure unique and make expression of language and characters possess have postmodern features.In each chapter, the external performance and the language description of characteristics of characters are closely related to growth environment, and more closely related to the author John Barth’s and his protagonists’personality because his works show his thinking pattern and logic. This paper deeply explores the aspects of borderline personality disorder and causes of the formation of personality disorder in the discourse, from the background of the article, the language expression and the inner monologue. This paper is divided into five chapters, the contents are as follows:In the first chapter, John Barth is introduced comprehensively, including his life experience, his important work, works’position, his main achievements and his important contribution to postmodern works in the United States and influence around the world. And it explains the reason and significance of choosing Lost in the Funhouse. Secondly, in the part of literature review, this paper conducts a comprehensive statement on the academic circles at home and abroad about his works, his own interpretation and judgment, and recent researches of all levels and various aspects of works of Barth as well. Finally, this paper ascertains the purpose and direction of this study, and the rationality and necessity of the research, and explains the layout of the whole paper.The second chapter focuses on definitions and researches of medicine and psychology on borderline personality disorder, the specific performance and cardinal factors mainly causing borderline personality disorder, especially inner and external factors and causes. The third chapter based on chapter two of the work classifies, summaries and analyzes the narrators’behavior, thinking and language in this book which show their personality, and it is consistent with the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, and we ascertain the protagonists has borderline personality disorder. According to various factors of development of borderline personality disorder, this paper explores the direct reasons of performance and formation of his borderline personality disorder from these three aspects. The fourth chapter analyzes the narrator’s personality characteristics from inner and external factors, who might suffer from borderline personality disorder, and analyzes it deeply from the parenthesis in the works and chaos of narrative jumps and thinking. This point plays a decisive role of shaping narrator’s personality in this book.The fifth chapter is the summary of the paper. Through the analysis of the personality of the narrator in the work, according to the theory of psychology, the author reads between lines of real-time perception and thinking and recall and comprehension of past life, gets another important factor of the formation of the modern characteristics in this book. Digging clues from Barth who creates the character, this paper shows more profound and accurate understanding and reasons of the unique personality. The speciality of the work symbolizes specialty of postmodernist works apart from familiar features. Therefore researchers should pay close attention to differences and similarities when analyzing postmodern works.