Ron Currie Junior’s debut novel God is Dead is a humorous work of fiction outlining what would happen in a world devoid of God. Its plot unfolds to become a playground for the postmodern critic. However, what is postmodernism? A true definition has yet to be determined. However, a work that is postmodern is said to have come after the modern movement of the late twentieth century. Postmodern theorists and critics, however, have come to some agreement as to what characteristics a postmodern piece of literature should contain such as black humor, pastiche, and temporal distortion. Currie’s piece God is Dead contains all of these through his combination of both fictitious and non-fictitious events, his satirical view of religion and God, and through his use of multiple narrators and a non-linear plot line.
Pastiche, by definition, is a postmodern writing technique that fuses a variety of styles, genres, and story lines to create a new form (Theatre Glossary). In Currie’s work, the pastiche is a combination of fictitious and non-fictitious events to create a larger work of fiction in which God has died. The first short story in the set of nine which make up the novel is set in “a refugee camp in the North Darfur region of Sudan” (Currie, 3). The chapter outlines the efforts of God who has manifested Himself as a "young Dinka woman" in His endeavors to atone to humanity for His sins. As He embarks on this journey, we are made aware of the "Janjaweed raiding parties" and their "slashing machetes"(Currie, 3). Being that the genocide in Darfur is a concern of current events, it cannot be argued that this portion of the novel is non-fictitious. Furthermore, the genocide happening in Darfur is a result of the Janjaweed, an Arab rebel group, whom have specifically targeted the Dinka people. Michael Garang, a forty-two year old Dinka, responded to the genocide by saying, “When the Janjaweed came to our village, they wanted to kill the Dinkas” (Thibodeaux). The word ‘Janjaweed’ translates to ‘men on horseback’, however, being that we now have modern forms of transportation they also travel in vehicles. This is also true of the Janjaweed in Currie’s novel - “God, still paralyzed, could only lie in the grass and listen at the mass of horses and Land Rovers rumble closer” (Currie, 4). Lastly, the Janjaweed are held responsible for the brutal raping of countless Darfurian women. Currie, commenting on this writes, “His paralysis saved Him from the Janjaweed; had He been able to rise and run, they would have captured him easily, and seeing in Him not the creator of the universe but rather a slender Dinka woman with a long, elegant neck an almond shaped eyes, they would have raped Him over and over.” (Currie, 4). Evidently, though Currie’s work is largely that of a fictitious world in which God has inexplicably died on Earth, the novel contains some events which have, in reality, occurred.
Moreover, Currie’s work does not only contain non-fictitious current events, is also contains characters whom have somewhat of a celebrity status in today’s society. Colin Powell, for example, former Secretary of State serving under George W. Bush between 2001 and 2005, is one such character. Being that the war in Darfur began in 2004, not only was Powell still in office, he actually commented on the events taking place there, and brought major attention to the events taking place in Darfur during his time in office. “Colin Powell hid from an angry sun in the air-conditioned interior of his Chevrolet Suburban” (Currie, 6) after being sent to a Darfurian refugee camp for a press conference. Whilst there he gave a speech; “We are anxious to see the end of militarism," Powell said. "We are anxious to see the Janjaweed brought under control and disbanded so people can leave the camps in safety and go back to their homes” (Currie, 9). The real Colin Powell traveled to a refugee camp located in Darfur in late June 2004. “Powell said after a fifteen minute walking tour, “We are anxious to see the end of militarism, we are anxious to see the Janjaweed brought under control and disbanded so people can leave camps in safety and go back to their homes.” “(Kessler). Clearly, the use of actual people as characters in Currie’s piece is only further evidence of his use of pastiche to create a larger work in his novel God is Dead.
Black humor, an element of many works regarded to be postmodern, occurs when events, objects, and/or topics that are generally regarded to be taboo such as death and religion, for example, are treated in a satirical or humorous way. When used as a basis for plotline in literature, it can usually found alongside a society in an unhealthy state much like the apocalyptic society depicted in God is Dead. The novel creates a world in which God has died, and the humorous repercussions of that. This topic may be considered taboo by theologists and the religious community. Therefore, this type of humor can be considered black humor. After God’s demise, society in Currie’s novel is left with a spiritual void. Looking to fill that void, they began searching for a new idol.
People everywhere were casting about for something to place their recently orphaned faith in. Agnostics joined the atheists and put their money on science, but they were, as always, hopelessly outnumbered. Many people, including most of the population of Africa, built temples dedicated to the dogs who had feasted on God’s flesh, churches where the hymnals consisted entirely of barks and whines transcribed phonetically onto the page. And here, out of the swamps of Louisiana’s Atchafalaya basin and into this burgeoning chaos came a sort of secular evangelist known as The Child. The Child was just that - a boy of three or so, serene and flawless, with cocoa skin and a vocabulary so rich it seemed he must have swallowed an Oxford English Dictionary. His message, delivered
first in town halls and opera houses, and later, as his popularity grew, in arenas and baseball stadiums, was simple : God has abandoned us. The way to salvation is through the child (Currie, 62).
In creating these new religions the author comments on the absurdity of religion as a whole generalizing that worshiping God is no different that idolizing a child or dog. Currie ridicules religion, and religion being that the majority of the population is devout to one religion or another, could offend many people. Therefore, this ridicule of religion could be considered black humor.
Furthermore, Currie writes of the suicides of clergymen and nuns as if their death has meant nothing. In the short story entitled The Bridge Currie examines how the death of a priest might affect society in a godless world. Dani, the narrator, “saw that the man on the wrong side of the railing was in fact a priest”(Currie, 33). “When she looked back the priest was gone. For a long moment, everything was frozen just like that. And then the sun came out from behind the cloud, and the Earth brightened, and things started moving again” (Currie, 35). The text allows the reader to see that their deaths are humorous in the aspect that these men and women are no longer needed in a society devoid of God. Currie then juxtaposes the deaths of these people of the church the purchase of food. “Suicide among nuns and clergy reached epidemic proportions, as did the looting of stores for comfort foods such as Little Debbie snack cakes” (Currie, 61). This apathetic attitude with regard to a serious matter such as death is synonymous with the definition of black humor.
Temporal Distortion, recognized in text by fragmentation of plot and non-linear narratives, is also a characteristic of works generally considered to be of the postmodern movement. Being that Currie has chosen to create a novel that is a compilation of many short stories, the plot line is intrinsically fragmented. Each short story ends, and the next begins seemingly disconnected from the first with the only link being that each takes place in a world without God. The first story takes place in Darfur where God dies, while others take place in America and even Europe. Though the novel is a set of short stories, an individual story could not stand on it’s own as each builds on the knowledge obtained from the prior stories. Therefore, the plot can be said to be fragmented amongst many overlapping plots, and thus, is postmodern in context.
As was previously discussed, Curries novel God is Dead has been composed of a series of short stories producing a fragmented plot. As such, being that each story has links to the prior stories, but a different set of characters and plot it would make sense that the narrators would also change. This is the case being that the narrator in the first of the series of short stories, God, dies. Dani, a young woman, takes over the narrative in the second story, and so on. As this non-linear narrative pattern is characteristic of postmodern pieces of literature, it is evident that this element of Currie’s work draws from the postmodern school of thought.
Evidently, as has been outlined, Ron Currie Junior’s God is Dead can be classified as a postmodern piece of literature - that which has occurred after the modernist movement of the nineteenth century. Though what makes a work postmodern is a topic that has been heavily debated, critics and theorists have agreed that certain elements are unique to works that are postmodern. These elements are pastiche, black humor, and temporal distortion. Being that Curries work contains events both fictional and non-fictional, satirizes religion and ridicules the death of people of the church, and is a novel composed of short stories told by multiple narrators, it contains all the characteristics of a work of postmodern literature. Thus, the novel can be considered a piece of literature of the postmodern movement.
Bibliography:
Text:
Currie, Ron. God is Dead. New York: Penguin Books, 2008.
Web Documents:
Kessler, Glenn. "Powell, in Sudan, Presses for Action ." The Washington Post 01 Jul 2004. 16 Oct 2008 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17471-2004Jun30.html>.
Thibodeaux, Raymond. "Displaced to Darfur, Dinkas fall victim to two Sudan wars." The Boston Globe 19 Dec 2004. 16 Oct 2008 <http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2004/12/19/displaced_to_darfur_dinkas_fall_victim_to_2_sudan_wars?pg=full>.
Unknown. “Postmodernism.” Wikipedia. 2008. 16 Oct 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmodernism>.
Unknown. "Theatre Glossary." FilmPlus. 2004. 16 Oct 2008
Unknown. “War in Darfur.” Wikipedia. 2008. 16 Oct 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darfur_conflict>.
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