THE QUESTIONS OF THE POSTCOLONIAL AND THE POSTMODERN IN AMERICAN FICTION

The article discusses why and in what circumstances some examples of American literature constitute what might be referred to as "postcolonial literature". The argument is supported by the theoretical thought of L. Hutcheon. As an example of postcolonial literature in American context Junot Diaz's novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007) is analyzed. The analysis touches upon the problem of the decentered Self and "borderland experience" and their representation in the text. It also points to the employment of recursive structures in the novel as the presentation of the colonial and postcolonial past of the protagonist, which as "pagina en blanco" needs to be filled with the narration of "histoire".