English Honors Papers
Document Type
Restricted
Advisor
Julie Rivkin
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
The settler-colonial project requires the construction of a national narrative, one which obscures the conditions of its own production. In America, this means manipulating a version of history that erases the violent and brutal nature of our past, and overwrites the voices of those whom it oppresses. The perpetuation of this narrative has permeated American cultural memory. This is in large part because of the fact that narratives and stories shape how individuals make meaning; of themselves, others, and even the world around them. As such, other stories—narratives which both undo these constructed lies and offer different, more true, versions of the past—can help fix the problem.
The central aim of this thesis is to analyze the ways in which four contemporary American novels use experimental narrative techniques to reframe constructed American historical metanarratives. The four novels discussed (in the order in which they are analyzed) are The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange, Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward, and Sing, Unburied, Sing, also written by Jesmyn Ward. Over the course of this thesis, I examine and analyze a variety of different experimental techniques. These techniques can be categorized into three general groups: experimental techniques that relate to perspective, unusual form, or temporal distortion.
Chapter One analyzes two novels which pertain to stories of Indigenous peoples’ past and present. Chapter Two examines stories of slavery in the United States; not only during the pre-emancipation period, but also how the legacy of racialized oppression and exploitation continues even now. Chapter Three provides the relevant context regarding settler-colonial theory, and then considers the ways in which the novels all express an interest in the power of storytelling in resisting falsified American narratives of history.
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Lyla J., "Resistance Through Reading: Experimental Narratives in Contemporary American Novels" (2026). English Honors Papers. 83.
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/enghp/83
The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.