Abstract
This thesis comprises an original work of fiction, entitled Liberty Horses, and a commentary which explores and compares postmodern English and American fiction, locating my own creative writing practice in that field of contemporary writing. My original work of fiction, Liberty Horses, is divided into two parts, being `Part One: Liberty Horses' and `Part Two: Dreamland'. The critical section of this thesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter One, `American Postmodernism', shows how American writers, such as Richard Brautigan, William Gaddis and Don DeLillo, continually re-interpreted American fiction in regard to its Anglo-American tradition and explored the nature of Consumerism and Corporatism within American society and how such writers refuted the implications and ideals of the American Dream. Chapter Two, `English Postmodernism', examines the development of postmodern theories within English fiction. In particular it discusses the ideas of History and Myth, as employed by such writers as Ian McEwan, Graham Swift, Peter Ackroyd, Angela Carter and Christine Brooke-Rose. The chapter also discusses the part played by the Booker Prize in the rise in commercial popularity of these writers as well as the acceptance of postmodern writing within a wider readership. Chapter Three, `The Making of Liberty Horses', explores the ideas which went into the creation of my novel, namely the image of the circus, paranoia and social, political and sexual impotence, as well as the writers, including Patricia Duncker, Richard Brautigan and Don DeLillo and other artists, namely Andy Warhol, David Lynch and Wim Wenders, who directly influenced the work
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
2006
Recommended Citation
HUMPHREY, D. (2006) LIBERTY HORSES (A NOVEL): NARRATIVE AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS IN POSTMODERN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN TEXTS. Thesis. University of Plymouth. Retrieved from https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/foahb-theses-other/256
