زهراء عدي حاتم البو عارض

Abstract ​This paper analyzes the concept of irony in postmodern literature through Peter Sloterdijk’s “cynical reason.” Unlike traditional false consciousness—where ideology operates as an illusion that hides material reality from an unknowing subject—Sloterdijk’s “enlightened false consciousness” describes a more resilient and insidious condition. In this state, individuals fully recognize the falsity of ideological claims and the gap between discourse and practice, yet they remain complicit, acting as if they believed. They know, but they do nothing. This paradox renders conventional critique powerless, for one cannot simply “expose” what is already known. The paper argues that postmodern fiction does not merely reflect this ironic condition but actively attempts to subvert it. Through key narrative strategies—metafiction, critical parody, and the destabilization of irony—postmodern texts force readers to confront their own detached knowingness. Using case studies of Don DeLillo’s White Noise and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse‑Five, the analysis demonstrates how these works employ self‑reflexive form and exhausted irony to push through cynical paralysis. Rather than offering easy resolutions, they demand an uncomfortable reckoning with the mechanics of narrative construction, thereby opening a space for renewed ethical and political awareness. The “cynical turn” in literature thus signals not a retreat into nihilism or apolitical play, but a strategic effort to root out ideology from within—an effort that remains urgent in our own era of saturated irony and performative knowingness. Keywords: Cynical reason; postmodern fiction; irony; false consciousness; Sloterdijk; ideology

COVID-19 pandemic significantly interrupted the chronological, emotional, and sensory distance that has typically permitted novelists to represent terrible events. The purpose of this essay is to investigate the impact that the collapse of narrative distance had on the manufacturing of fiction during the pandemic. Ali Smith's speculative distance in Companion Piece 2022) and Gary Shtengart's hyper-domestic emphasis in Our Country Friends 2021) are two examples of strategic approaches that are compared and contrasted in this essay. In the study, references are made to Mikhail Bakhtin's (1981) criticism of historical enclosure, Cathy Caruth's (1996) theory of traumatic belatedness, and Gérard Genette's (1980) concept of narrative distance. The essay argues that effective pandemic fiction actively creates distance by fracturing narratives, distorting genres, and lowering them. This contrasts with the traditional approach of merely reducing the geographical dimensions to zero. The initial attempts at "instant realism" were unsuccessful due to the fact that they reduced the distance between the characters without making any aesthetic adjustments. By demonstrating that prose fiction can process continuous collective suffering in real time, the study challenges the widely held idea that literary representation must be temporally distant.

Abstract Digital technology is becoming an increasingly important motif in modern English literature and a structural force shaping narratives. In light of the post-digital age, this article examines how two well-known authors, Tom McCarthy and Jennifer Egan, reorganize classic plot components. The analysis employs McCarthy's Satin Island (2015) and Egan's The Candy House (2022) to demonstrate how technological paradigms, such as data aggregation and algorithmic logic, generate new story cements. including distributed points of view, fractured temporality, and the breakdown of causal plot sequences. The authors fail to portray technology as an afterthought; instead, they weave its syntactic and architectural principles into the very fabric of their story. According to Hayles (2012), the computing environment changes the capacities and symbolic significance of narratives. The study uses a comparative narratological paradigm to identify similarities and contrasts in tone and epistemology, including strategies like database-driven narration and untrustworthy digital awareness. According to the results, narratives in English fiction written in the twenty-first century undergo more adaptive mutation due to technological development than a rejection of old patterns. As we reach the age of generative Al, the implications for reading habits and the future of the novel are examined in the conclusion.

Abstract The aim of this article is to trace the development of English literary structures over time and examine how narrative forms and media environments have intersected. This study applies the theory of media ecology to long-term media developments, such as the shortening of stories for telegraphy and the popularity of print serials, that impact story structure. This article portrays media technologies as active, hidden factors that impact literary language, calling into question their neutrality. An episodic framework was created by serialized print, which was common throughout the first Gazette era, most notably in Dickens's novels. The second is the "iceberg theory" period, popularized by Ernest Hemingway; the third is the "television era," characterized by disjointed plotlines, such as those in Don DeLillo's White Noise. Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill and No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood symbolize the fourth period of digital social media, sometimes called the GIF era. The period values instantaneous emotional impact more than conventional, sequential story progression. In its final section, the article posits that media are not neutral but rather set the stage for narrative grammar to function. The medium has dictated story structure throughout the two-hundred-year-long canon of English literature. Keywords: media ecology, narrative form, Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Don DeLillo, Patricia Lockwood, Jenny Offill, serialization, telegraphic style, television, digital media, postmodern literature

One of the most important reasons for the flourishing of American science fiction in the last century is its proximity to scientific facts and its highlighting the impact of technology on human life. American science fiction in the 20th century discussed many topics that were often related to the zeitgeist. For instance, Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1999) is considered as one of the essential American products within this genre. Arab science fiction and Sci-Fi movies have been influenced by Western science fiction, especially the American ones. This idea can be exemplified by Sami's The End (2020), the recent adaptation of Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. This paper aims to discuss the historical background of these works—ie., America in the 20th century and the Arab World in the 21st century—to reveal how the context of both American and Arab science fiction highlights their roots, roles, and popularity.