KEY CONCEPTS
What is alienation?
Disconnection from society/self
Who wrote The Metamorphosis?
Franz Kafka
Which theme is central to modern literature: connection or isolation?
Isolation
Who wakes up as an insect in The Metamorphosis?
Gregor Samsa
What type of narrator cannot be fully trusted?
Unreliable narrator
What does individualism emphasize in modern literature?
Personal identity and inner experience
Which writer focuses on emotional and psychological individualism?
D. H. Lawrence
What major historical event influenced modern literature’s sense of instability?
World War I (and II contextually)
Who is Paul Morel emotionally attached to?
His mother (Gertrude Morel)
What is fragmentation in narrative structure?
Non-linear, discontinuous storytelling
What is meant by absurdity in Kafka’s works?
Illogical, irrational reality
Who is the author of The French Lieutenant’s Woman?
John Fowles
What internal conflict do Lawrence’s characters often experience?
Desire vs social expectations
Why does Gregor’s family reject him?
He becomes useless / loses human identity
What is narrative layering?
Stories within stories
What is metafiction?
Self-aware fiction that exposes its own construction
Which writer is associated with blending fiction, biography, and criticism?
Julian Barnes
What philosophical idea creates existential uncertainty?
Loss of absolute meaning (Nietzsche/existentialism)
What is Charles Smithson’s central conflict in The French Lieutenant’s Woman?
Social duty vs personal freedom
What is one major metafictional technique used by John Fowles?
Multiple endings / author intrusion
What is intertextuality and how does it function in literature?
Relationship between texts; references and transformations
Which author is known for intertextuality and dual narrative structure in Possession?
A. S. Byatt
What is the main difference between Kafka’s and Lawrence’s portrayal of alienation?
Kafka—external systems; Lawrence—internal emotional conflict
Why is Geoffrey Braithwaite’s search for the “real parrot” significant?
Shows impossibility of objective truth
How does postmodern literature redefine the role of the reader?
Reader actively creates meaning