Metafiction Narrative Structure and the Role of the Reader

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Metafiction Narrative Structure and the Role of the Reader Reflective Statement If on a winter’s night a traveler, written by Italian journalist Italo Calvino, is often described as a cleverly written metafiction novel. Unlike typical novels, it comments on literary concepts and fiction itself. However, it was often criticized for constantly disrupting the flow of reading and making the book less enjoyable to read. Despite some reviewers criticize this aspect, most reviewers still find the work innovative and insightful overall. Since the book was written in the 1970s, it was heavily influenced by the start of the postmodern era in the 1960s. At the time, there was much debate on literary theories and the formation of meaning, due to the clash between modernist and postmodernist interpretations of literature. The modernists believe literature has a general formula for finding meaning, and the author knows the key to understanding his works. The postmodernists, on the other hand, believe that there is no one theory that fully explains the text, and all explanations leave a remainder, or a section of the text that does not support the theory. The reader has the power to pick what they believe the meaning should be, and multiple explanations are valid. If on a winter’s night a traveler makes a direct reference to the clash between the two theories by describing the conflict between the “Archangel of Light” and the “Archon of Shadow”, who both search for the ideal book to prove their theories. It also discusses a conflict between critics who analyze the book mechanically using word counts or concrete viewpoints to find author intention, and casual readers who read to enjoy or understand the novel in their own way. Though the novel references both theories, it supports the postmodernist theory by ultimately putting the power of meaning in the
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