The world inverted : Chuck Palahniuk's fiction as a challenge to neoliberal capitalism : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Simple item page
dc.confidentialEmbargo : Noen_US
dc.contributor.advisorPaul, Mary
dc.contributor.authorBerry, Louisa
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-30T00:10:06Z
dc.date.accessioned2021-02-10T21:55:32Z
dc.date.available2020-07-30T00:10:06Z
dc.date.available2021-02-10T21:55:32Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractIn 2019, neoliberal capitalism and its practices appear to be so well-established in Anglo-American countries as to be almost incontestable. Much academic discourse has focused on delineating the features of neoliberal capitalism and diagnosing the effect it has on its human subjects, with many theorists arguing that it produces subjects who are individualistic, competitive and isolated. This thesis aims to determine what role, if any, fiction can play in the wider project of challenging neoliberal capitalist subjectivities. More specifically, it asks: To what extent can the work of one contemporary writer, American author Chuck Palahniuk, challenge his reader’s understanding of their own society and even prompt a transformational impulse within them? This thesis analyses nine of Palahniuk’s novels through the lenses of Marxist theory and contemporary theories of neoliberal capitalism in order to consider how fiction can alter a reader’s understanding of their society. Looking beyond representational content alone, I argue that Palahniuk’s use of stylistic features such as hyperbole, metaphor, symbolism and satire work to unveil and exaggerate aspects of neoliberal capitalism to the reader that have become so normalised that they are often viewed as inevitable or ‘common sense.’ At the same time, inbuilt moments of existential crisis and ambiguous endings work to break through the reader’s routine assumptions as to what is inevitable or important and create moments of uncertainty and doubt about neoliberal capitalism. The thesis thus argues that any transformational impulse ignited in the reader by Palahniuk’s fiction is best understood as a result of the dialectic work of content and form in tandem.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10179/16063
dc.publisherMassey Universityen_US
dc.rightsThe Authoren_US
dc.subjectPalahniuk, Chucken
dc.subjectCriticism and interpretationen
dc.subjectNeoliberalism and literatureen
dc.subjectCapitalism and literatureen
dc.subject.anzsrc470523 North American literatureen
dc.titleThe world inverted : Chuck Palahniuk's fiction as a challenge to neoliberal capitalism : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English at Massey University, Albany, New Zealanden_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
massey.contributor.authorBerry, Louisaen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineEnglishen_US
thesis.degree.grantorMassey Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
BerryPhDThesis.pdf
Size:
1.61 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Collections
Theses and Dissertations