The aim of the present paper is to unveil how a "dissident" reading can be perceived by a deconstructive investigation in the novel "City of Glass" by Paul Auster. As the matter of fact, the story entails some binaries which their clashes serve to conceptualize the term "dissidence" as observed in the approach of cultural materialism. Cultural materialists argue that literature does not reflect only one cultural formation and is able to invoke other ideologies and subcultures.
To put in other words, while a literary work may serve to practice the dominant ideology, it may produce a contrary dissident reading. This possibility mostly is based on the inner contradictions of any literary text. This is the common ground of cultural materialists and post-structuralist deconstructionists although there are many differences between the two sides such as the former opposes the latter, arguing that texts are not created in the void.
In fact, the inner contradictions, which the theories and principles of cultural materialism is rested on, can be realized as those dualities which the deconstructionists apply in their practices. They imply that no transcendental meaning is present in the verbal game of a work of literature as the cultural materialists deny one dominant culture. In "City of Glass" Paul Auster has skillfully exhibited such a verbal game to represent his own concerns regarding the subject of the identity caught in the binaries of "author-reader", "fact-fiction", "solitude-loneliness" and "city-space", leading to a "dissident" reading which is potentially opposed and threatening to those social oppressive norms which the protagonist "Quinn" is suffered.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Methodology
III. Discussion
IV. Results
Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this paper is to examine how a "dissident" reading of Paul Auster's novel City of Glass can be facilitated through a deconstructive investigation, specifically by analyzing the clashes between binary concepts within the narrative. The paper explores how these internal contradictions mirror the approach of cultural materialism, ultimately challenging dominant ideologies and the stability of identity within the literary text.
- The theoretical application of cultural materialism to literary analysis.
- The deconstruction of the "author-reader" binary and its implications for narrative authority.
- The blurring of boundaries between fact and fiction as a subversive literary strategy.
- The exploration of identity crisis through the binaries of "solitude-loneliness" and "city-space."
Excerpt from the Book
II. Methodology
Too broadly speaking, “Cultural materialism” denies the dominance of any single culture which is always threatened by the other cultures and ideologies surrounding it. “Cultural materialism,” as a British approach in literary theory, is highly associated with its American counterpart “new historicism.” This proximity is to the extent that one can rarely find a book in literary theory without having the two approaches next together, or even within an identical chapter. However, regardless of any mutual history, “cultural materialism” is influenced by the theories of Michel Foucault, Antonio Gramsci, Luis Althusser, and thinkers of the “Frankfurt School” although in some anthologies there are some other names and persons like Mathew Arnold, F. R. Leavis, and Claude Levi-Strauss. But the early stage of “cultural materialism” emerged in Britain by Raymond Williams and Richard Hoggart, the leftist British thinkers in 1960s. The theorists that are representing “cultural Materialism” today may include Alan Sinfield, Jonathan Dollimore, Catherine Belsey, and Stuart Hall.
Firstly, literature acts as a discourse with the potential of discursive formation, dealing with the issues of power relation. But what does “cultural materialism” exactly say as a literary approach? Hans Bertens in his book Literary Theory: The Basics in the chapter which talks about Cultural Materialism announces, “Literature does not simply reflect relations of power, but actively participates in the consolidation and/or construction of discourses and ideologies, just as it functions as an instrument in the construction of identities not only in the individual level – that of the subject – but also on the level of the group or even that of the national state” (177). The theorists of cultural materialism argue that literature participates in constitution of culture.
Summary of Chapters
I. Introduction: This chapter introduces Paul Auster’s City of Glass as a postmodern detective narrative that subverts genre conventions and establishes the foundation for a study on identity and dissident reading.
II. Methodology: This section outlines the principles of cultural materialism and its focus on how literature interacts with power structures and social contradictions to produce potential for dissidence.
III. Discussion: This chapter analyzes specific binary clashes within the novel—such as author-reader, fact-fiction, and solitude-loneliness—to demonstrate how Auster deconstructs traditional narrative authority.
IV. Results: The concluding analytical chapter synthesizes how these binaries function to expose the limitations of dominant ideology and the search for self within the labyrinthine urban landscape of New York.
Keywords
Paul Auster, City of Glass, cultural materialism, dissidence, binaries, identity, postmodernism, deconstruction, author-reader, fact-fiction, solitude, loneliness, city, power, narrative
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this research paper?
The paper explores the novel City of Glass by Paul Auster through the lens of cultural materialism and deconstruction, focusing on how internal binary clashes create a "dissident" reading.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
Central themes include the subversion of the detective genre, the instability of identity, the blurred lines between reality and fiction, and the role of the environment in shaping human existence.
What is the core research question?
The research asks how the internal contradictions and binary clashes present in City of Glass allow for a dissident reading that challenges established social and literary norms.
Which theoretical approach is applied in this analysis?
The analysis primarily employs cultural materialism, drawing upon theories that view literature as a discourse involved in the construction of power, ideologies, and identities.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body examines four specific binary pairs: author-reader, fact-fiction, solitude-loneliness, and city-space, analyzing how each contributes to the novel's subversive potential.
How would you describe the key characteristics of this study?
Key characteristics include a post-structuralist perspective, a focus on postmodern narrative techniques, and a commitment to interpreting literary texts as sites of political and social conflict.
How does the author define the "author-reader" binary in the context of the novel?
The author argues that Auster decenters the roles of both the author and the reader, creating an ironic and contradictory relationship where the authorial position is constantly compromised.
In what way does the city of New York represent a binary in the text?
The city is portrayed as a labyrinthine, restrictive space that traps the characters, functioning as a metaphorical binary of "city-space" that emphasizes the loss of identity and personal confinement.
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- Amir Hossein Yasini Visti (Autor:in), 2014, Deconstructive Binaries and Dissident Reading "City of Glass" by Paul Auster, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/384244
