The four texts - The Floating Opera, The End of the Road, White Noise, and Vineland - both define and form a clear portrayal of developments undergone in America since World War II. Popular culture and popular mythology have increasingly become the foundation of the contemporary American social system, and this is progressively reflected in the four texts, which span the years 1956 to 1990. This period may be broadly termed as contemporary America, since the novels by Barth are more than a reflection of the period in which they were written, but relate directly to the two later novels. Indeed The Floating Opera and The End of the Road pre-empt many of the characteristics which have since been labelled post-modern.
And for this reason it is necessary, in the introduction to this thesis, to discuss post-modern theory as it relates to the four chosen novels and in particular as it relates to some of the key terms used in this thesis - popular culture, the mass media, post-war America, and the American Government (after defining the term “American Government” as it is used in this thesis). But I shall first offer some “serious” literary context to the chosen novels (with regard to the topic), and in particular the role of America prior to, during and after World War II.
CONTENTS
1. Preface
2. Introduction
3. Chapter 1 - The Floating Opera and The End of the Road
4. Chapter 2 - White Noise
5. Chapter 3 - Vineland
6. Conclusion
7. Bibliography
Download
The Role of Popular Mythology and Popular Culture in Post-war America
