As a top-ranking novelist in contemporary America, E. L. Doctorow is distinguished at his literary innovation of juxtaposing historical and imaginative texts, and is acknowledged as a “postmodern author”. However，after surveying his creative doctrines and artistic concept, we may perceive a kind of spiritual ring that is out of tune with postmodern literature, but quite compatible with Gnostic principles. The Gnosticism emphasizes the “intuitive process of knowing” which can be reflected in Doctorow’s novelistic creation. This study intends to prove that in Doctorow’s fiction there exists an ongoing drive to relate the story which stems from the author’s Gnostic consciousness; the power of Doctorow’s narrative right derives from human desire to reestablish the lost spiritual connection with other human beings by means of mysterious signs and symbols of language. The endeavor to interpret Doctorow’s literary creation with the help of Gnostic spirits and attitudes may bring dynamics to Doctorow criticism, inspire the appreciation of Doctorow’s works, and attempt to redress his stereotypical title as a “postmodern writer”.
| Published in | International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 8, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12 |
| Page(s) | 316-319 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Doctorow’s Fiction, Gnosticism, Gnostic Narration, Postmodern Context
| [1] | Bergström, Catherine Walker. (2010), Intuition of an Infinite Obligation: Narrative Ethics and Postmodern Gnostics in the Fiction of E. L. Doctorow. Frankfurt: Peter Lang GmbH. |
| [2] | Bi, Jiancheng. (2018). A Traditional Novelist Who Writes in Postmodern Context: The Stylistic Intention in the Fiction of E. L. Doctorow. The 2018 Northeast Asia International Symposium on Linguistics, Literature and Teaching. Vol. B: 320-324. |
| [3] | Chen, Junsong. (2016). Every Book Has Its Own Voice. A Collection of Studies on British and American Literature. 24 (spring): 17-26. |
| [4] | Collado-Rodrigues, Francisco. (2017). The Holy Fool’s Revelation: Metafiction, Trauma, and Posthumanity in E. L. Doctorow’s Andrew’s Brain. Papers on Language &Literature. 53 (4): 383-414. |
| [5] | Doctorow, E. L. (2006). Creationists. New York: Random House. |
| [6] | Guo, Yingjie. (2014). Ragtime: A Non-Novel in the Mist of History. Cross-Linguistic & Cross-Cultural Studies. 5 (1): 125-130. |
| [7] | Gussow, Mel. (1975). Novelist Syncopates History in Ragtime. The New York Times 11 July: 12. |
| [8] | Hassan, Ihab. (1999). Globalism and Its Discontents: Notes of a Wandering Scholar”. Profession 99. New York: Modern Language Association: 59-67. |
| [9] | Jonas, Hans. (2001). The Gnostic Religion. Boston: Beacon Press. |
| [10] | McCaffery, Larry. (1999). A Spirit of Transgression. Ed. Morris. Conversations with E. L. Doctorow. Jackson: U P of Mississippi: 72-87. |
| [11] | Naydan, Liliana M. (2017). E. L. Doctorow and 9/11: Negotiating Personal and National Narratives in "Child, Dead, in the Rose Garden" and Andrew's Brain. Studies in American Fiction. 44 (2): 281-297. |
| [12] | Parks, John. (1991). E. L. Doctorow. New York: Continuum. |
| [13] | Prescott, Peter S. (1984). All-American Classics. Newsweek. 104 (1 Oct.): 87-94. |
| [14] | Roxburgh, Natalie, Anton Kirchhofer, and Anna Auguscik. (2016). Universal Narrativity and the Anxious Scientist of the Contemporary Neuronovel. Mosaic. 49 (4): 71-87. |
| [15] | Steven, Mark. (2018). Community and Apostrophe in the Novels of E. L. Doctorow. Studies in American Fiction. 45 (1): 119-140. |
| [16] | Yang, Renjing. (2001). E. L. Doctorow: An American Postmodernist Writer Concerning History and Politics. Foreign Literature (5): 7-11. |
APA Style
Bi Jiancheng. (2020). The Gnostic Drive for Narration in the Fiction of E. L. Doctorow. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 8(6), 316-319. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12
ACS Style
Bi Jiancheng. The Gnostic Drive for Narration in the Fiction of E. L. Doctorow. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2020, 8(6), 316-319. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12
AMA Style
Bi Jiancheng. The Gnostic Drive for Narration in the Fiction of E. L. Doctorow. Int J Lit Arts. 2020;8(6):316-319. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12,
author = {Bi Jiancheng},
title = {The Gnostic Drive for Narration in the Fiction of E. L. Doctorow},
journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
volume = {8},
number = {6},
pages = {316-319},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20200806.12},
abstract = {As a top-ranking novelist in contemporary America, E. L. Doctorow is distinguished at his literary innovation of juxtaposing historical and imaginative texts, and is acknowledged as a “postmodern author”. However，after surveying his creative doctrines and artistic concept, we may perceive a kind of spiritual ring that is out of tune with postmodern literature, but quite compatible with Gnostic principles. The Gnosticism emphasizes the “intuitive process of knowing” which can be reflected in Doctorow’s novelistic creation. This study intends to prove that in Doctorow’s fiction there exists an ongoing drive to relate the story which stems from the author’s Gnostic consciousness; the power of Doctorow’s narrative right derives from human desire to reestablish the lost spiritual connection with other human beings by means of mysterious signs and symbols of language. The endeavor to interpret Doctorow’s literary creation with the help of Gnostic spirits and attitudes may bring dynamics to Doctorow criticism, inspire the appreciation of Doctorow’s works, and attempt to redress his stereotypical title as a “postmodern writer”.},
year = {2020}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Gnostic Drive for Narration in the Fiction of E. L. Doctorow AU - Bi Jiancheng Y1 - 2020/11/19 PY - 2020 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12 DO - 10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12 T2 - International Journal of Literature and Arts JF - International Journal of Literature and Arts JO - International Journal of Literature and Arts SP - 316 EP - 319 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2331-057X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20200806.12 AB - As a top-ranking novelist in contemporary America, E. L. Doctorow is distinguished at his literary innovation of juxtaposing historical and imaginative texts, and is acknowledged as a “postmodern author”. However，after surveying his creative doctrines and artistic concept, we may perceive a kind of spiritual ring that is out of tune with postmodern literature, but quite compatible with Gnostic principles. The Gnosticism emphasizes the “intuitive process of knowing” which can be reflected in Doctorow’s novelistic creation. This study intends to prove that in Doctorow’s fiction there exists an ongoing drive to relate the story which stems from the author’s Gnostic consciousness; the power of Doctorow’s narrative right derives from human desire to reestablish the lost spiritual connection with other human beings by means of mysterious signs and symbols of language. The endeavor to interpret Doctorow’s literary creation with the help of Gnostic spirits and attitudes may bring dynamics to Doctorow criticism, inspire the appreciation of Doctorow’s works, and attempt to redress his stereotypical title as a “postmodern writer”. VL - 8 IS - 6 ER -
Information
Email: