Postmodernism in the Modern World - Essay Example

Sherman Alexie has extensively explored postmodernism in his narrative ‘Do not gentle’. It is relatively hard to define the word postmodernism when used independently.
The setting the narrator chooses is a perfect match for postmodernism. The narrator’s baby stuck his face between the mattress and crib, therefore, suffocating him. The suffocation was so severe that the baby’s lungs were tight and the baby’s face almost turned blue. As any parent would, the narrator and his wife rushed their little blue baby to the hospital. While in the hospital, the narrator’s baby was attached to a million dollars worth of machines and equipment that helped the baby to breathe, feed, and even pass out body waste. The narrator cannot possibly figure out if the whole of his extended family can raise the money equivalent to the value of the equipment in the hospital. Through these multimillion machines and equipment, the reader gets the true feel of postmodernism. This is unlike in the past when there was little advancement in medical technology when all a patient could get is a few injections to help him or she alleviate the ailment. Times are changing fast and technology is shaping up the new face of medicine and how ailments are easily countered by postmodern machines like the ones in the children's hospital where the narrator’s baby was admitted (Alexis 1678).

Finance is another contributing factor to postmodernism but the narrator deliberately chooses to use it nobly. After taking turns sleeping and watching over their baby, the narrator decides to take a drive and perhaps buy some child toys for his ailing baby son. When the narrator reaches the toy store, he is amazed to find out that the toys on sale were not the toys he had initially thought of. Nevertheless, he walks all around the store, allowing his eyes to scrutinize all the vibrators and dildos that he saw. This brings the reader to another aspect of postmodernism. (Alexis 1679). In the past, there was no such thing as vibrators and dildos. Women were fully satisfied sexually by their male partners. In today’s postmodern world, where women do not even want to get married or have any sexual affair with a man, vibrators have been designed to help these kinds of women achieve and satisfy their sexual desires (Loeb 75).
Irony
The reader gets a wide variety of irony from how the narrator chooses his words. One such instance is when the narrator compares the life support machines that are worth millions of dollars in his opinion, to the value of the total worth of his extended family. His extended family includes his uncles, aunts, and grandparents. The narrator curiously sums up all the money he could collect from his extended family to 512 dollars. The curiosity of reader questions why the narrator, whose family is worth a mere $512, would decide to take his ailing son to a hospital equipped with multimillion machines. Anyone would expect him to pay a lot more money than $512 as a hospital ball for his son. The narrator drives to the toy store. No one would expect a person with a low worth to be driving. The narrator’s main aim in using irony is to contrast the sharp differences between social classes and their effect on society (Sim 234).
Symbolism
Though not a prominent writing style used in the story, the narrator brings it up on one or two occasions. Mr. Grief. Many would think that Mr. Grief is a physical person. The narrator chooses to use Mr. Grief to symbolize the unfortunate luck or misfortune that befalls his baby. At the beginning of the story, the narrator often mentions the powers of Mr. Grief. (Alexis 1678) Read More