POSTMODERNISM

The book “Oranges are not the only fruit” is a typical postmodern novel.

Postmodernism developed during the Sixties and its main tenets are:

-It does no longer believe in the concept of truth;

-It puts therefore the question of authority into doubt;

-It does no longer believe in the concept of a centre as it generally happens in all the previous generations (Medioevo-->Dio)

If modernism (that covers the first three decade of the 20ie^th century) was still looking for a centre, for  a point of reference and put the question and the research on art at the centre.

Postmodernism questions all that and comes to the conclusion that there is no longer one single centre since  saying that there is no absolute truth, also implies that there is no meaning.

There is no longer one centre but many centre and therefore meaning is always differed: there is a continuous slipping of meaning because it is never stable.

The concept is connected to the relationship between: 1. SIGNIFIER

                                                                            2. SIGNIFIED

The position of the reader is the privileged/best one because it is the reader he or she who makes one of the possible meaning.

Perfect examples of Postmodernism are:

-“Oranges are not the only fruit” which relies on and restructuring on the Bible structure in a new context. INTERTEXTUALITY

- David Lodge “Nice Work” (ottimo lavoro)

There is a woman and a man. The woman is Robyn Penrose, Robyn reminds  Robin Hood and so the reader can probably think the woman to be as idealistic as Robin Hood. Her surname, too (Penrose) suggests that probably the woman is a writer or a teacher.

The man is Victor and so it claims victory, power.