Perspectives

Literary period

Published in 2014, the short story “What Anton Learns in the Queue” by Janis Freegard fits the literary movement we call Postmodernism, which defines most literature published since the 1960s. Postmodernist works can be recognised through themes, context, and narrative techniques. In her story, we notice that Freegard explores the themes of emotional awareness and looking past appearances, which are commonly explored by postmodernist writers.

In terms of postmodernist narrative techniques, “What Anton Learns in the Queue” focuses on describing the setting, the events, and the protagonist’s thoughts but does not express a clear message or draw a final conclusion.

In Freegard’s story, the deeper meaning of the events is implied and never explicitly stated, and therefore, the readers must obser...