Atonement genre Flashcards
1
Q
Atonement is a “hybrid” or “cross-genre” book. These books blend elements from different literary genres. What genres is the novel written in?
A
- Historical fiction
- Reflexive novel
- Country house novel
- Modernist (literature)
- Postmodern novel
- War novel
- Crime writing
2
Q
What is the country House novel?
A
- Narrative focus on grand country estates and the (relationships, social dynamics) of upper class families.
- Often set in the 19th century
3
Q
What does the country house novel focus on?
A
- Tradition vs modernity
- Bemoans the decline of the aristocracy.
- Tension between personal desires and societal expectations.
4
Q
What ideologies feature in country house novels?
A
- Traditional images of stability, old heirarchical England.
- “Squarley idenitfies egalitarianism as its foe”
- The country house is the iconography of the ruling class so its a symbol of power, heritage and cultural superiority.
5
Q
Modernist literature
A
- A literary movement (19th/20thcent)
- Characterised by a self-conscious separation from traditional ways of writing. (traditional continuity)
- Focus on the inner self and consciousness , the decline of civilisation, the cold machinery of capitalism.
6
Q
Postmodernist Literature (features)
A
- Metafiction
- Unreliable narration
- Exploration of storytelling and narrative construction
- Fragmented narratives that disrupt traditional linear storytelling.
7
Q
Metafiction
A
- Self-conscious about language, literary form, and story-telling
8
Q
Self-reflexivity
A
- Applied to literary works that openly reflect upon their own processes of artful composition.
9
Q
What is postmodernism?
A
- An intellectual stance or mode of discourse characterized by skepticism towards elements of the Enlightenment worldview.
- It questions the “grand narratives” of modernity, rejects epistemic certainty , stable meaning and identity and moral relativism
10
Q
War novels
A
- Novels that explore the effects, experiences and aftermath of wars are part of a wide literary genre.
11
Q
Crime writing novels
A
- A genre that deals with the committing, detection and impact of crime and criminal behaviour
12
Q
CRIME WRITING AND SOCIAL CLASS
A
- Atonement portrays the impact of crime within upper class society .
13
Q
CRIME WRITING AND SOCIAL CLASS (Examples)
A
- THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD= A classic crime novel. Features murder and suspicion falling on working class characters.
- MY LAST DUCHESS= Examines crime in high socety where privilege and power sheilds real perpetrators.
14
Q
Part 1: Genre and narrative
A
- Romantic style
- Traditional linear style.
- Country House novel
- Multiple perspectives
- Elusive and hazy quality. Readers see events through the “worn fabric of the visible world” like Emily
15
Q
PART 2: Genre and narrative voice
A
- War novel/ Historical fiction
- Modernist style
- Stream of conciousness
- One perspective
- Continous narrative
- The reader is carried along by the impetus of the action. “Like everyone else, Turner kept going”
