Ce mémoire propose une analyse de l'enfermement identitaire présent dans les romans Lullaby et Survivor de l'auteur Chuck Palahniuk et montré en rapport au rôle que les personnages tiennent dans leur famille et à leur pratique d'habitation. En utilisant les théories de Baudrillard et de Foucault, l'imposition d'une identité par la société moderne s'explique en relation à sa domination par le capitalisme de consommation et par la présence médiatique. Les univers romanesques de cet auteur s'inscrivent dans la tradition américaine où, par l'emploi du langage littéraire, sont développées les notions de liberté et de libre arbitre au coeur de l'identité nationale américaine rendant possible la lutte contre les différents dispositifs de contrôle présents dans cette société (m'inspirant du projet de Weinstein). Cette étude ne porte pas seulement sur l'enfermement identitaire, tant individuel que culturel des personnages, mais aussi sur les problématiques de l'identité masculine et de la passivité dans ces deux romans. L'auteur tente de solutionner lesdits problèmes en brisant la solitude de ses personnages que ce soit parce qu'ils réussissent à faire partie d'une communauté les reconnaissant comme un sujet unique, parce qu'ils établissent une connexion grâce au partage de leur histoire personnelle ou parce qu'ils retrouvent les sentiments d'appartenance et d'amour liés à la famille. / This thesis focuses on the internalization of identity in Chuck Palahniuk's novels Lullaby and Survivor in regards to each character's role within their respective families and surroundings (environments). Using both Baudrillard and Foucault's theories, we can demonstrate that one's identity, created by our modern society, can be explained by its domination by the capitalist mantra and the mediatic presence. The literary universes created by Palahniuk are in the American style where literary language is used to develop the notions of liberty and free will within the American national identity, enabling the main protagonists to fight against the various control methods present within this society (inspired by Weinstein's project). This study does not fucus solely on the internalization of identity, both individual and cultural, but also on the problems related to the masculine identity as well as the character's passivity in both novels. The author attempts to solve these problems by breaking its character's solitude either by way of integrating them in a community that recognizes them as unique individuals, by establishing a connection based on the retelling of their personal history or by reconnecting with the feelings of filial love and belonging.

Ce mémoire propose une analyse de l'enfermement identitaire présent dans les romans Lullaby et Survivor de l'auteur Chuck Palahniuk et montré en rapport au rôle que les personnages tiennent dans leur famille et à leur pratique d'habitation. En utilisant les théories de Baudrillard et de Foucault, l'imposition d'une identité par la société moderne s'explique en relation à sa domination par le capitalisme de consommation et par la présence médiatique. Les univers romanesques de cet auteur s'inscrivent dans la tradition américaine où, par l'emploi du langage littéraire, sont développées les notions de liberté et de libre arbitre au coeur de l'identité nationale américaine rendant possible la lutte contre les différents dispositifs de contrôle présents dans cette société (m'inspirant du projet de Weinstein). Cette étude ne porte pas seulement sur l'enfermement identitaire, tant individuel que culturel des personnages, mais aussi sur les problématiques de l'identité masculine et de la passivité dans ces deux romans. L'auteur tente de solutionner lesdits problèmes en brisant la solitude de ses personnages que ce soit parce qu'ils réussissent à faire partie d'une communauté les reconnaissant comme un sujet unique, parce qu'ils établissent une connexion grâce au partage de leur histoire personnelle ou parce qu'ils retrouvent les sentiments d'appartenance et d'amour liés à la famille. / This thesis focuses on the internalization of identity in Chuck Palahniuk's novels Lullaby and Survivor in regards to each character's role within their respective families and surroundings (environments). Using both Baudrillard and Foucault's theories, we can demonstrate that one's identity, created by our modern society, can be explained by its domination by the capitalist mantra and the mediatic presence. The literary universes created by Palahniuk are in the American style where literary language is used to develop the notions of liberty and free will within the American national identity, enabling the main protagonists to fight against the various control methods present within this society (inspired by Weinstein's project). This study does not fucus solely on the internalization of identity, both individual and cultural, but also on the problems related to the masculine identity as well as the character's passivity in both novels. The author attempts to solve these problems by breaking its character's solitude either by way of integrating them in a community that recognizes them as unique individuals, by establishing a connection based on the retelling of their personal history or by reconnecting with the feelings of filial love and belonging.

While scholars have analyzed the masculinity crisis portrayed in American fiction, few have focused on postmodernist fiction, few have examined masculinity without using feminist theory, and no articles propose an adequate solution for ending normative masculinity’s dominance. I examine the masculinity crisis as it is portrayed in two postmodernist novels, David Foster Wallace’s novel Infinite Jest and Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Fight Club. Both novels have male characters that ran the gamut of masculinities, but those that are the most successful at avoiding gender stereotypes (Donald Gately in Infinite Jest, and the narrator in Fight Club) develop a masculinity which incorporates strong, phallic masculinity and nurturing, testicular masculinity, creating a balanced gender. At the same time, both novels examine postmodernist fiction’s future. Post-postmodernist fiction, similar to well-rounded masculinity, seeks to be more emotionally open with the reader while still using irony and innovation for meaningful effects, not just to be clever.

My thesis discusses male identity in contemporary culture in relation to work by Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Palahniuk. Such work reflects the problems, anxieties, and dilemmas of the masculine subject in American culture. The characters in my six selected texts, namely, Ellis' Less Than Zero, American Psycho, and Glamorama, and Palahniuk's Fight Club, Survivor, and Choke, symbolize a generation with no discernible future. Each male protagonist finds himself in a place of no time and no meaning because image and illusion have supplanted essence. These characters combat culture-prevalent emptiness in the sense that each ironically re-asserts his so-called individuality against the dogmas of the establishment. Each, furthermore, is aware that his existence is not subject to a higher order or preset goal: traditional morality thereby has no meaning. My selected texts feature masculine subjects struggling with their own contingencies once stripped of given privileges (gender, class, race, and otherwise). To examine the notion of masculinity, I emphasize the role of power relations in gender construction. Bret Easton Ellis characterizes a world of appearance defined by particular styles. Chuck Palahniuk's males are empty--they do not have any definitive meaning. Judith Butler challenges the proposition of a fixed identity, or an essential permanent masculinity or femininity as structured and reified by social norms. Therefore, we should not view masculinity as a cohesive and homogeneous category. Following Foucault, I examine the relationship between masculine subjects and social practices. At stake here, is how the performative articulation of proper masculinity disempowers and imprisons the masculine subject in a material form over which he has no control. The body becomes the object of desire and thus the vehicle/preserve of the sense of powerlessness that the masculine subject experiences daily within a hegemonic culture. Power is exercised through a dominant presence. This presence structures as a binary classification serving to underscore differences and ensure particular privileged social positioning. The proposition of a fixed identity, or an essential permanent masculinity or femininity, is structured and reified by social norms. Masculinity as a cohesive and homogeneous category is historically represented as an unstable center from which all other identities are defined.

This thesis examines the issues of body, embodiment and indentity in relation to the novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. The duality between speech and embodiment is explored in depth, both in the story of the novel and in the author's narrative style. Furthermore, the issue of power in relation to the society as well as towards one's own identity is discussed.

No description available.

På papiret virker Fight Club [1999] som et sikkert stikk. En litterær adapsjon utført av en kjent regissør (David Fincher) med solide stjernenavn på plakaten(Brad Pitt, Edward Norton). Men Chuck Palahniuks debutroman fra 1996 er et vanskelig verk, preget av mørk satire, flere lag med ironi og radikal subjektivitet. For å oversette en slik fortelling til film trengs ikke bare dristigheten til å fortelle om kontroversielle tema, men også oppfinnsomheten til å oversette en utpreget psykologisk roman til et audiovisuelt språk. Det er nettopp oversettelsen jeg skal undersøke i denne oppgaven, hvordan romanens kildemateriale har blitt gjenskapt i filmmediet. For å gjøre dette så konkret som mulig, snevrer jeg først inn undersøkelsen til filmens voice-over, som er basert på romanens tekst. Hvordan har bokas fortellerstemme blitt adaptert til en fortellende voice-over i filmen? Jeg skal ta for meg denne prosessen i tre deler, basert på tre stadier i adapsjonsprosessen hvor filmskaperne har hatt anledning til å kreativt bearbeide romanens tekst. Første del er voice-overen sett som skriftlig tekst, manusstadiet. Hva er kuttet, forandret og lagt til romanens tekst? Andre del er voice-overen som stemme, innspillingsstadiet. Hvordan forandres skriften i manus, og dermed også romanens tekst, idet en den blir til uttalte ord? Hvilke virkemidler har filmskaperne her benyttet seg av? Tredje del er fortellerstemmen i møte med resten av filmspråket, klippestadiet. Hvordan påvirker bildene og den øvrige lyddesignen vår opplevelse av fortellerstemmen, og hvordan er påvirkningen den andre veien? Deretter skal jeg utvide perspektivet igjen, og undersøke hvilke implikasjoner bruken av voice-over har for filmen som helhet. Hva kan en film kommuniserer Fight Club på denne måten? Tema blir ironi, upålitelighet, subjektivitet, karakterengasjement og kronologi. Anvendte teoretikere inkluderer Linda Hutcheon, Sarah Kozloff, Thomas Elsaesser, Gerard Genette, Seymour Chatman, André Bazin, Murray Smith og Lars Thomas Braaten.

Tesis

This master's thesis is devoted to the study of the manifestation of the phenomenon of transgression in the novels of the contemporary American postmodernist writer Chuck Palahniuk. The object of the study is the forms, features and techniques that can be characterized as transgressive in the selected novels of Chuck Palahniuk. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a new approach to the study of the work of Chuck Palahniuk, namely the substantiation of the nature of his poetics as transgressive. The practical value lies in identifying new criteria for transgressive postmodern prose that can be used in the analysis of texts, as well as in the teaching process to build courses on literary theory and the history of foreign literature. Based on the study, it was concluded that the characters, issues, plot and structural features of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel work correspond to the characteristics of transgressive literature and are manifestations of the poetics of transgression. / Данная магистерская диссертация посвящена изучению проявления феномена трансгрессии в романах современного американского писателя-постмодерниста Чака Паланика. Объектом исследования являются формы, особенности и приемы, которые можно охарактеризовать как трансгрессивные, в выбранных романах Чака Паланика. Научная новизна исследования заключается в новом подходе к исследованию творчества Чака Паланика, а именно обоснование характера его поэтики как трансгрессивной. Практическая ценность заключается в выявлении новых критериев трансгрессивной постмодернистской прозы, которые можно будет использовать при анализе текстов, а также в процессе преподавания для построения кусов по теории литературы и истории зарубежной литературы. На основании проведенного исследования были сделаны выводы о том, что герои, проблематика, сюжетные и структурные особенности романного творчества Чака Паланика соответствуют характеристикам трансгрессивной литературы и являются проявлениями поэтики трансгрессии.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise démontre la continuité du mythe de la frontière dans la littérature américaine produite après la Seconde Guerre mondiale et il identifie le concept d'hyperréalité de Jean Baudrillard en tant que nouvelle frontière américaine. L’hyperréalité désigne un monde produit par la simulation et le simulacre que la population perçoit comme étant réel. J’analyserai les poèmes « Howl » (1955), « A Supermarket in California » (1955) et « America » (1956) d'Allen Ginsberg ainsi que les romans Mao II de Don DeLillo (1991) et Survivor (1999) de Chuck Palahniuk afin d’expliquer de quelles manières chacune de ces œuvres dénonce le climat socio-culturel qui produit l’hyperréalité et comment, du même coup, celles-ci récupèrent des éléments du mythe de la frontière. L’organisation chronologique des chapitres me permet d’établir que l’hyperréalité a joué le rôle de nouvelle frontière dans la psyché américaine à partir des années 50 jusqu’à la fin des années 90. L’opposition dialectique entre un Ancien Monde corrompu et un Nouveau Monde utopique, un élément fondamental du mythe de la frontière, est au cœur de chacune des œuvres étudiées. De plus, dans chacune d'elles, le ou la protagoniste parvient à redéfinir le sens de sa réalité en traversant la frontière entre l’Ancien et le Nouveau Monde ce qui évoque la fonction d’autodétermination attachée à la frontière. L’argumentaire de ce mémoire repose sur la notion que l'hyperréalité correspond à l’Ancien Monde et que celle-ci voile l’existence possible d’un Nouveau Monde. Dans les œuvres de Ginsberg, DeLillo et Palahniuk que j’ai choisi d’analyser, la société américaine est assujettie à une hyperréalité qui est omniprésente. Dans cet Ancien Monde, la population s’identifie et se définie par rapport à des images et des produits à la fois fabriqués et célébrés par les médias et la culture de masse. Les protagonistes de ces auteurs s’opposent tous à l’idéologie conformiste et déshumanisante de la société de consommation. Je définis ce rejet comme une réactualisation du mythe de la frontière puisqu’il symbolise le passage entre un Vieux Monde hyperréel et un Nouveau Monde. Dans ce nouveau paradigme, les protagonistes de Ginsberg, DeLillo et Palahniuk sont en mesure d’affirmer leur individualité. / This thesis demonstrates the persistence of frontier mythology in post-WWII American literature and identifies Jean Baudrillard’s concept of hyperreality as the new American frontier. Hyperreality designates a world fabricated through simulation and simulacra that people have accepted as real. Through close-reading analyses of Allen Ginsberg’s poems “Howl” (1955), “A Supermarket in California” (1955), and “America” (1956) as well as Don DeLillo’s Mao II (1991) and Chuck Palahniuk`s Survivor (1999), I explain how the critiques of the socio-cultural climate that produces hyperreality present in each of these works recuperate elements of frontier mythology. My chapter organization allows me to establish the persistence of hyperreality as the new frontier in American consciousness from the 1950s to the late 1990s. The dialectical opposition between a corrupt Old World and a utopian New World, which is fundamental to frontier mythology, is central in each the studied works. Also, in each of them, crossing the frontier between the Old and the New World allows the protagonist to re-define the meaning of his/her reality according to his/her vision, which is evocative of the empowering function the frontier. This thesis is founded upon the idea that hyperreality corresponds to the Old World and, as such, that it veils the existence of a possible New World. The American society depicted in Ginsberg’s, DeLillo’s, and Palahniuk’s chosen works is one where hyperreality is omnipresent; in this Old World, individuals identify with images and products both fabricated and celebrated by media and consumer cultures. These authors’ protagonists all oppose the conformist and dehumanizing ideology such cultures endorse. This thesis conceptualizes their rejection as a re-actualization of frontier mythology that symbolizes their passage from the hyperreal Old World to the New World. In this new paradigm, the protagonists can then re-define themselves and their realities based on their own self-determined visions and ideals rather than on those disseminated in media and consumer cultures.