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RUNDOWNThe SchoolMajor ThemesGameDonald BarthelmeCold WarPostmodernism

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismWhat do you think is Barthelmes point about the value of life and death?Whatif anythingseems to make the most sense to you? The least sense?Why does Barthelme have the gerbil knock at the door at the end?

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismAbsurdity of two assumptions: that there is a structure, and that there is notMetafiction: Works which try to deal with and discuss the nature of fiction writing (and often their own composition) directly, even as they proceedCharacters: Struggle with failed structuresthe Church, fatherhood, marriage, psychiatry, government

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismInterested in the deterioration of the language machineRepresentative of the style of fiction of the 70sCharged with nihilism, solipsism

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameHegemonic ideal dominatesCold WarPostmodernismM.A.D.Mutual Assured DestructionSeries of escalations

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismWhat kind of character is our narrator? How is he similar to the narrator in The School? How is he different?Why do you think Barthelme chose to characterize the narrator as he did?What about the narrators obsession with forms?

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameSuch a catchall it may not have significance as a term anymoreCold WarPostmodernismBut here are some characteristics:The Absurd

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismSurreal

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismArt for arts sake

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismLanguage is impotent, corrupt, dangerous, outdated

What the President Will Say and Do

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismRise in subjectivityArt asks its consumers to take an active role in creating meaning.

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismIrreverence for reason

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The SchoolMajor ThemesGameCold WarPostmodernismDistrust of perfect form or perfection