Perspectives

Literary perspectives

The short story “Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story” by Paul Auster belongs to the post-modernist movement. One post-modernist element is the questionable reliability of the narrator, and the narrative self-referencing itself (an element of metafiction): “As long as there’s one person to believe it, there’s no story that can’t be true” (ll. 216-217). This serves the purpose of constantly reminding readers they are reading a work of fiction, making them reflect on the difference between fiction and reality. 

The general ambiguity in the meaning of the story and the motivation of the main character is another post-modernist element. We cannot be sure if Auggie’s story is true or not. The open ending is another post-modernist ele...