Historicity And Fictionality:A Historiographic Metafictional Reading Of Let The Great World Spin

Irish-American author Colum McCann(1965-)is a rising star in contemporary American literature.He won the 2009 National Book Award for his masterpiece Let the Great World Spin which is famous for its ingenious structure and profound themes.Through two plotlines—the unnamed funambulist's performance between the Twin Towers and John Corrigan's tragic car accident,this novel depicts eleven main characters of different socio-economic and ethnic background that composes the social fabric of New York,and reveals that only human love and interpersonal communication can heal the trauma.This thesis is guided by Linda Hutcheon's theory of historiographic metafiction,which places an emphasis on the metafictional processes of reading and writing,and on its attempt to rewrite a history that includes the voices excluded by traditional texts.Let the Great World Spin is a typical historiographic metafiction.McCann revisits and reinterprets history by using parody,intextual reference and multiple points of view,and reconstructs alternative histories of the marginalized characters in New York.This thesis is comprised of three parts.The first part gives a brief introduction to Colum McCann and his work Let the Great World Spin,and summarizes the literature review of Let the Great World Spin by previous scholars at home and abroad.This part also elaborates Linda Hutcheon's theory of historiographic metafiction and the framework of this thesis.The second part consists of three body chapters.Chapter one explores McCann's application of parody and intertextuality to challenge the objective history.Through parodying the Holy Bible and Philippe Petit's autobiography,To Reach the Clouds,and alluding to The Great Gatsby and Mrs.Dalloway,McCann offers a different view of history that history has features of textuality and fictionality.Chapter two investigates how McCann subverts the linear narrative by adopting kaleidoscopic points of view and juxtaposition of the past and the present.Two main characters—Corrigan and the unnamed wire walker,around whom the structure of the novel is constructed,are analyzed from different points of view,revealing the unreliability of narration.In addition,this chapter exposes the relationship of the 9/11 attacks and other historical events mentioned in the novel.Instead of dealing with the 9/11 attacks directly,McCann rewrites other historical events to allude to it,because the trauma caused by the attacks is unrepresentable.Chapter three focuses on the reconstruction of alternative histories.This chapter analyzes the marginalized characters including the photographer of graffiti tags,the black prostitutes in Bronx and bereaved mothers in the Vietnam War to challenge the unified History.The theme of hope and redemption after trauma is also explored in this chapter.The last part is conclusion.Based on the analyses in the main body,the thesis concludes that McCann employs postmodern writing techniques and combines actual historical events with fictional characters in order to construct both historicity and fictionality of novel.As a historiographic metafiction,Let the Great World Spin blurs the boundary of history and literature,and reveals the alternative histories excluded by official history.Besides,this novel also gives some insights to the confused Americans after the 9/11 attacks:only through love and communication can human beings step out of trauma.