A Study On The Metafictional Strategies In Money:A Suicide Note

The emergence of postmodernism in 1960s marks the birth of a non-conventional academic paradigm.In the field of literature,postmodern novels restore the vitality of “The Exhaustion of Literature” with their innovative artistic techniques.Postmodern novels destroy the metaphysical tradition of modernist art,break its closed,self-sufficient aesthetic form,and advocate the complete diversification of ways of thinking,artistic genres and language games.Under such a background,metafiction,as a unique type of postmodern novels,has gradually attracted worldwide attention.In the British literary circle in 1980 s,Martin Amis enjoys a high reputation via such non-conventional and creative forms as unpredictable plots and shocking language talents.However,he is also deemed as a “bad boy” for his blunt description about a depraved society.So far,Amis has published more than ten novels,many of which have a strong moral impact and inevitably lead to severe moral trials in academia.This is especially revealed in Martin Amis' sixth novel,Money: A Suicide Note.The novel is about the protagonist John Self,a money worshiper who makes TV commercials and pornographic films,and lives on alcohol,sex and fighting every day.In his straightforward and decadent narration,readers can't help associating the immoral characters of the novel with the author's own morality.Previous researches on this novel have focused on studying the theme of money and morality.As for the postmodern skills of this novel,scholars haven't systematically studied from the metafictional perspective yet.On the basis of related studies,the present author is from three aspects to study metafictional narrative strategies in Money: A Suicide Note,including the intrusive author,parody of the previous text,and collage.In the end,the current research points out that with such metaficitonal strategies,Martin Amis aims at weakening the educational function of novels,deconstructing the grand narrative of traditional novels which praise virtue and punish vice,and also reflecting his sarcasm on the distorted society in the Thatcher era.In a word,his pioneering and experimental novels not only subvert the traditional views of the novel but also arouse people's thinking about the purpose of novel creation and the relationship between novels and reality,which undoubtedly will promote the postmodern narrative skills of British novels.