Question

Which of the following are considered to be typical postmodern narratives?

• A. Italo Calvino's \textit{If on a Winter's Night a Traveller}
• B. John Barth's \textit{Lost in the Funhouse}
• C. Thomas Pynchon's \textit{V.}
• D. Iris Murdoch's \textit{The Bell}

Hint:

When you see Calvino, Barth, or Pynchon, think postmodern metafiction. Murdoch, however, belongs to modernist realism, not postmodern play.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A, B, C

Step 1: Define postmodern narrative.
Postmodern literature typically features metafiction, self-reflexivity, playfulness, parody, fragmentation, intertextuality, and skepticism toward grand narratives (as discussed by theorists like Lyotard).

Step 2: Evaluate each option. \begin{itemize} \item (A) Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveller — quintessential metafiction: a novel about reading a novel, foregrounding narrative construction. A core postmodern text. \item (B) Barth's Lost in the Funhouse — metafictional short stories, explicitly theorizing "literature of exhaustion" and playfully deconstructing storytelling. Postmodern hallmark. \item (C) Pynchon's V. — sprawling, fragmented, paranoid narrative with intertextuality and pastiche; a foundational postmodern novel. \item (D) Murdoch's The Bell — though innovative, it belongs to mid-20th-century realist/modernist tradition, not postmodern experimentation. \end{itemize} \[ \boxed{\text{Answer: (A), (B), and (C)}} \]