The Metamodern Oscillation Between Modern Sincerity and Postmodern Irony in Bunny (2019)
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2024-07-04
Language
en
Document type
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Title
ISSN
Volume
Issue
Startpage
Endpage
DOI
Abstract
This thesis examines Bunny (2019) by Mona Awad through the lens of metamodernism, focusing on characterization and narration to explore its oscillation between modern sincerity and postmodern irony. Chapter I delves into Samantha's characterization, revealing her as a figure of performed depthiness—sincere yet constantly shifting, evoking mixed reader emotions and moral judgments akin to motivated postmodernism. Bunny combines postmodern form with modern themes, specifically through magical realism, resulting in irony where serious themes lack verifiability. Chapter II analyzes narration's role in this oscillation: initially establishing closeness that later dissipates, embodying both Samantha and the novel's performance of depthiness. The unreliable narrator further complicates, blurring dialogue lines to postironic effect, rejecting depth while preserving emotional authenticity—demonstrating depthiness. Together, these chapters explore how characterization and narration in Bunny achieve metamodernism by embracing sincerity amidst ironic uncertainties.
Description
Citation
Supervisor
Faculty
Faculteit der Letteren