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1、Lost in the FunhouseJohn BarthJohnSimmonsBarth(bornMay27,1930)isanAmericannovelistandshort-storywriter,knownforthepostmodernistandmetafictionalqualityofhiswork.BarthwasaprofessoratThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityfrom1953to1965.DuringtheAmericanhighSixties,hemovedtoteachatUniversityatBuffalo,TheStateUn
2、iversityofNewYorkfrom1965to1973.InthatperiodhecametoknowtheremarkableshortfictionoftheArgentineJorgeLuisBorges,whichinspiredhiscollectionLostintheFunhouse.Literary workBarthbeganhiscareerwithTheFloatingOperaandTheEndoftheRoad,twoshortrealistnovelsthatdealwittilywithcontroversialtopics,suicideandabor
3、tionrespectively.Theyarestraightforwardrealistictales;asBarthlaterremarked,theydidntknowtheywerenovels.TheSot-WeedFactor(1960)wasinitiallyintendedasthecompletingnovelofatrilogycomprisinghisfirsttworealistnovels,but,asaconsequenceofBarthsmaturationasawriter,itdevelopedintoadifferentproject.Thenovelis
4、significantasitmarkedBarthsdiscoveryofPostmodernism.Barthsnextnovel,GilesGoat-Boyisaspeculativefictionbasedontheconceitoftheuniversityasuniverse.AboyraisedasagoatdiscovershishumanityandbecomesasaviorinastorypresentedasacomputertapegiventoBarth,whodeniesthatitishiswork.InthecourseofthenovelGilescarri
5、esoutallthetasksprescribedbyJosephCampbellinTheHerowithaThousandFaces.Barthkeptalistofthetaskstapedtohiswallwhilehewaswritingthebook.TheshortstorycollectionLostintheFunhouse(1968)andthenovellacollectionChimera(1972)areevenmoremetafictionalthantheirtwopredecessors,foregroundingthewritingprocessandpre
6、sentingachievementssuchasaseven-deepnestedquotation.ChimerasharedtheU.S.NationalBookAwardforFiction.InthenovelLETTERS(1979),Barthinteractswithcharactersfromhisfirstsixbooks.His1994OnceuponaTime:AFloatingOpera,reusesstockcharacters,stocksituationsandformulas.EssaysWhilewritingthesebooks,Barthwasalsop
7、onderinganddiscussingthetheoreticalproblemsoffictionwriting.In1967,hewroteahighlyinfluentialandtosomecontroversialessayconsideredamanifestoofpostmodernism,TheLiteratureofExhaustion(firstprintedinTheAtlantic,1967).Itdepictsliteraryrealismasaused-uptradition;Barthsdescriptionofhisownwork,whichmanythou
8、ghtillustratedacoretraitofpostmodernism,isnovelswhichimitatetheformofanovel,byanauthorwhoimitatestheroleofauthor.Theessaywaswidelyconsideredastatementofthedeathofthenovel.Barthhassinceinsistedthathewasmerelymakingclearthataparticularstageinhistorywaspassing,andpointingtopossibledirectionsfromthere.H
9、elater(1980)wroteafollow-upessay,TheLiteratureofReplenishment,toclarifythepoint.Lost in the FunhouseLostintheFunhouse(1968)isashortstorycollectionbyJohnBarth.Thepostmodernstoriesareextremelyself-consciousandself-reflexiveandareconsideredtoexemplifymetafiction.Frame-taleNight-seaJourneyAmbroseHisMark
10、AutobiographyWater-messagePetitionLostintheFunhouseEchoTwoMeditationsTitleGlossolaliaLife-storyMenelaiadAnonymiadBackgroundLostintheFunhousewasBarthsfirstbookafterthe1967TheLiteratureofExhaustion,anessayinwhichBarthclaimedthatthetraditionalmodesofrealisticwritinghadbeenexhaustedandnolongerservedthec
11、ontemporarywriter,butthattheexhaustionofthesetechniquescouldbeturnedintoanewsourceofinspiration.Barthcitedanumberofcontemporarywriters,suchasVladimirNabokov,SamuelBeckett,andespeciallyJorgeLuisBorges,asimportantexamplesofthis.Theessaylatercametobeseenbysomeasanearlydescriptionofpostmodernism.Barthha
12、sdescribedthestoriesofLostintheFunhouseasmainlylatemodernistandpostmodernist.StoriesThebookopenswithFrame-TaleastoryinwhichONCEUPONATIMETHEREandWASASTORYTHATBEGANareprintedvertically,oneoneachsideofthepage.Thisisintendedtobecutoutbythereader,anditsendsbeingfastenedtogether,afterbeingtwistedonceinaMb
13、iusstrip.Thisresultsinaregressusadinfinitum,aloopwithnobeginningorend.Night-SeaJourneyfollows,thefirst-personstoryofahumanspermatozoononitswaytofertilizedanegg.Thetaleallegoricallyrecapitulatesthestoryofhumanlifeincondensedform.InPetition,onehalfofapairofSiamesetwins,joinedatthestomachtohisbrothersb
14、ack,writesapetitionin1931toPrajadhipok,KingofSiam(nowThailand),protestinghisbrothersnotacknowledginghisexistence.InMenalaiad,Barthleadsthereaderinandoutofsevenmetalepticlayers.Menalausdespairsashisstoryprogressesthroughlayerafterlayerofquotationmarks,asonestoryisframedbyanotherandthenanother.Autobio
15、graphy,whichismeantformonophonictapeandvisiblebutsilentauthor,.Threeofthestories-Ambrose,HisMark;Water-Message;andthetitlestory,LostintheFunhouse-allconcernayoungboynamedAmbroseandmembersofhisfamily.Thefirststoryistoldinfirstperson,leadinguptodescribinghowAmbrosereceivedhisname.Thesecondistoldinthir
16、d-person,writteninadeliberatelyarchaicstyle.Thethirdisthemostmetafictionalofthethree,withanarratorcommentingonthestorysformandliterarydevicesasitprogresses.Life-Storyisanothermetafictionalcommentaryonitsowntelling.Inwhatisapparentlyanargumentbetweenacouplewithproblemsintheirrelationship,Barthrejectsgivingdetailsofnamesanddescriptions,insteadjustusingthewordsfillintheblank.Inkeepingwiththebookssubtitle-FictionforPrint,Tape,LiveVoice-theAuthorsNotebyBarthindicatesthevariousmediathroughwhichanumber
