Breaking Up the Form of the American Twentieth-Century Novel: A Comparative Analysis of The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday and Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Abstract

The normative form of the novel follows a certain structure of the text which is necessary in order for the reader to orientate himself. However, many writers experiment with this orientation and want to direct the focus of the reader not only to the textual aspects of the text but also to the visual ones. According to this thesis, experimentation with the form of the text through the use of visual devices can open up new ways for knowledge to be presented. By analysing and comparing the novels, A Way to Rainy Mountain and Breakfast of Champions, this research proves that these visual devices incorporate postmodern techniques such as the use of metafiction, satire, and intertextuality that invites the reader’s active participation and defamiliarizes the form of these novels. This is in order to create a space in which commentary on the American identity within the twentieth century can be presented. Using Hutcheon’s historiographic metafiction, I will show that both novels try to situate themselves within historical discourse through their use of form while also acknowledging that history is not a singular truth but constructed by both texts and textual remainders.