EPOCHAL CHANGES IN CONTEMPORARY NARRATIVES? A PERFORMATIST ANALYSIS OF TRUST EXERCISE BY SUSAN CHOI

Abstract

Among various post-postmodern theoretical propositions to signal the end of postmodernism, performatism by Eshleman (2008) is also considered to be a significant development in the literary theory. It is not just a theoretical perspective but also a do-it-yourself manual that invites researchers to further explore and analyse literary works from performatism perspective. The current research paper is an attempt to analyse one of the current popular novel Trust exercise by Susan Choi (2019) from performatist perspective with the overarching research questions if various features of performatism are present in the literary work. The aim is to ascertain if performatism could stand out to be a suitable label to define the current crisis of literary theory in which researchers and scholars are trying to fill the gap that has arisen after the pronouncement of the death of postmodernism. The researcher has found that although there is monism, double framing and theism in the novel but complexity of subjects, ambiguity, and open-ended closures are still among the salient features of the novel. The deviation from postmodernism is there yet more features and works need to be explored in order to develop a comprehensive contemporary literary theory.