Theory of the Relation between Plot and Character

Abrams also states that “an undertaking in some postmodernist writings is to subvert the foundations of our accepted modes of thought and experience so as to reveal the “meaningless”, of existence and the underlying “abyss”, or ”void”, or “nothingness” on which any supposed security is conceived to be precariously suspended” Abrams, 1993:120. In other words, many of postmodernism terms are applied to some work of literature after World War II. Besides, the effect of World War II has great impact to the literature work. It is also said that the foundations of postmodernism thought accepted the meaningless, abyss, void, and nothingness for the study. According to Waugh and Rite in their book, they clarified the meaning of postmodernism as a “mood” expressed theoretically across a diverse range of theoretical discourses and involving: a focus on the collapse of grand narratives into local incommensurable language games or “little narratives; a Foucauldian emphasis on discontinuity an plurality of history as discursively produced and formulated, and a tendency to view the discourses of Enlightenment reason as complicit with the instrumental rationalization of modern life 1996:289. From the quotation above, it is clear that postmodernism tries to focus on the rejection of the grand narratives. Postmodernism believes that the grand narratives should be changed into little narratives. Another concept of Postmodernism is also being described by Jim Powell on his book. He described that Postmodernism was a term which was after the Modernism. He writes Postmodernism as the “post” preface implies, is something that follows modernism. However, people who think about such things as Postmodernism don’t agree whether Postmodernism is a break from modernism or a continuation of modernism-or bo th. In fact, they don’t PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI even agree as to what modernism is, much less Postmodernism Powell, 1998:19. It means that the project of enlightenment as a value had lost its credibility. The project is about “fostering of this belief that a break with tradition, blind habit, and slavish obedience to religious precepts and prohibitions, coupled with the application of reason and logic by disinterested individual, can bring about a solution to the problems of society” Barry, 2002:85. Some of the philosopher such us Derrida believe that the enlightenment is uncompleted project. They try to get rid the value of the enlightenment. In his view “the ideals of reason, clarity, truth, and progress, and as they were thereby detached from the quest for justice, he identi fied them as ‘young conservatives’” Barry, 2002:86. For Lyotard, the project of enlightenment tries to totalize explanations of things like Christianity or the myth of scientific progress. As explained in Peter Barry’s book, for Lyotard postmodernism is simply Incredulity towards metanarratives” 2002:86. He believes that metanarratives of “progress and human perfectability, then, are no longer tenable, and the best we can hope for is a series of ‘mininarratives’, which are provisional, contingent, temporary, and relative and which provide a basis for actions of specific group in particular local circumstances Barry, 2002:87. A series of mini narratives such as myths, legends and tales “legitimize themselves-make themselves believable-just in telling. And at the same time they legitimize the society in which they are told” Powell, 1998:34. It means that the myth, the chanter, the audience, all form a kind of social bond-asocial group that legitimizes itself through the chanting of the myth. The myth requires no authorization or legitimization other than itself. The myth defines what has the right to be said and done in the culture Powel, 1998:35. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI