Jumpers
The philosophy behind Jumpers is far more enlightening than are the techniques, as its points towards a fundamental criticism of both postmodernism and m odernism. George’s entire preoccupation is with the existence of a God, as without a Being of greater consciousness, moral absolutes dissolve into disarray. McFee, George’s opponent, is a mor al relativist, and proposes the opposite – ‘that moral judgements belong to the same class as aesthetic judgements’ (I, p. 43); morality is dependent on what society deems good or bad and is a reflection of contemporary sensibilities. Such a perspective on the world, George argues, is at odds with the ‘irreducible fact of goodness’ (I, p. 46) and is symptomatic of a pervasive moral emptiness and ethical chaos plaguing his world. 11 McFee’s ideology is strikingly similar to postmodernism, as the two suggest that objective truth, and thus objective morality, is a fallacy. On the other hand, both the ‘Rad - Libs’ and the other philosophers of his faculty brand themselves as ‘logical positivists’, or empiricists, and George’s revolt against both groups is therefore by proxy a revolt against modernist ideals of reason and rationality. These ideals are responsible in Jumpers for society’s lack of order, and ultimately the desire to land on the moon, which collapses Dotty’s psyche as her idealistic perception of the un iverse is disrupted. Even the Jumpers themselves are symbols of rampant moral gymnastics, 12 with their leader, Archie, embodying the insidiousness of seemingly arbitrary philosophy. Jumpers is an intrinsically critical play. Stoppard’s union of both moder nist and postmodernist dramatic technique is masterful, yet it doesn’t automatically define the text as belonging to either set. His implicit criticism of both ideologies suggests the play itself exists outside of either genre, using their techniques only as a platform from which Stoppard can more fluidly undermine them.
Bibliography
Billington, M. Jumpers. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2003/jun/20/theatre.artsfeatures1 Consulted: 21/08/21 Drake, T. Modernism vs. Postmodernism Modernism vs Postmodernism (uidaho.edu) Consulted: 21/08/21 Durham, W. (1980) ‘Symbolic Action in Tom Stoppard’s “Jumpers”’, Theatre Journal 32(2): 169-179 Hinden, M. (1981) ‘Jumpers: Stoppard and the Theater of Exhaustion’, Twentieth-Century Literature 1(1): 1-15 Kelly, K. (2001) The Cambridge Companion to Tom Stoppard. Cambridge Magical realism. magic realism | Definition, Authors, & Facts | Britannica Consulted: 22/08/21 Sarkar, S. Modernism: Definition, Philosophy, Characteristics, Examples in Literature. Modernism | Definition, Philosophy, Characteristics, Examples in Literature - All About English Literature (eng- literature.com) Consulted: 21/08/21 Sherif, A. Features of Literary Modernism. Features of Literary Modernism | Sherif Ali - Academia.edu Consulted: 21/08/21 Stream of consciousness. stream of consciousness | Definition, Authors, Books, Examples, & Facts | Britannica Consulted: 22/08/21 What is postmodernism? What are the characteristics of Postmodern Literature? What is postmodernism? What are the Characteristics of Postmodern Literature? | Literary Articles (literary-articles.com) Consulted: 21/08/21
11 See Durham 1980: 172. 12 See Durham 1980: 171.
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