Perspectives
Literary perspectives
The short story “Close to the Water’s Edge” by Claire Keegan was published in 2007 and fits the literary movement called postmodernism. In “Close to the Water’s Edge”, Keegan explores the topics of personal choices and social pressure, which fit the postmodernist movement, as postmodern works often focus on the individual’s experience and on how people are shaped by their circumstances.
In terms of typical postmodernist narrative techniques, the story uses symbols and a detailed description of the setting which hint at the main character’s internal conflict, which is not made explicit. Therefore, readers must interpret the details in the story to understand its deeper meanings, a feature that is typical for postmodernist literary works.
