John Barth Lost In The Funhouse Analysis

John Barth Lost in the Funhouse analysis.

To take everything into account, Barth as an author is well known for the use of postmodern techniques such as, intertextuality and self-referentiality. The purpose of this paper was to discuss the symbol of the funhouse. The first aspect was that funhouse can be seen as an absurd human experience, where the mirror image is very significant. Mirror maze represents Ambrose’s life and how he becomes a person and gets experience. Then another paragraph is about intertextuality, which is the reference to other texts, and how the funhouse can be as the text itself. Barth uses other texts to create a sense of a reality and by creating more expanded ideas he gives a meaning to the text. Finally, the last goal of a paper is about the protagonist as a young artist and self-referentiality. Reading the text we see that Ambrose constructs narratives, while searching for himself and at last he wants to become a creator of the funhouses for others and be a secret operator, here we can see the main story’s character as a young artist. Also, Barth uses the technique of the self-referentiality to show us the writing process and not what the text means but how. By implying these techniques, Barth makes a collaboration between the writer, readers and even characters.

Erten, M. U. 2012. Postmodern Structures in Lost in the Funhouse by John Barth. Denizli: Pamukkale University.

Seymour, T. 1979. One Small Joke and a Packed Paragraph in John Barth’s “Lost in the Funhouse”. Newberry: Newberry College.