Lost in the Funhouse Questions and Answers
Lost in the Funhouse
Why and how does John Barth use parody in Lost in the Funhouse?
John Barth might be using parody in Lost in the Funhouse for an innumerable number of reasons. Let's try and think through some of them. Remember, parody typically means to make fun or imitate a...
Lost in the Funhouse
Which elements of postmodernism can be found in "Lost in the Funhouse"?
"Lost in the Funhouse" by John Barth contains a number of elements that are common to postmodern literature. Perhaps the most obvious is the way that the narrator remains self-aware throughout the...
Lost in the Funhouse
What is the function of parody and metafiction in John Barth's postmodern novel Lost in the Funhouse?
Barth's story is crammed with metafictional devices from the first paragraph on. These devices are a kind of running commentary on his writing technique and on the technique of others. In the midst...
Lost in the Funhouse
How does John Barth use humor in Lost in the Funhouse?
In the Author's Note, John Barth tells us that Life in the Funhouse is "neither a collection nor a selection" of short fiction. Rather, it's a “series” of “items.” Indeed, part of the fun or humor...
Lost in the Funhouse
These are my tasks...Anything would be useful... 1. Summarize each story and apply Barth’s “The Literature of...
2. "Night Sea Journey," an imaginative allegory typical of John Barth, is the interior monologue a spermatozoan swimming toward an ovum. In typical Barthian style, there is a nesting of ideas that...
Lost in the Funhouse
How is schizophrenia described in relation to Lost in the Funhouse? What is the relevance of love and narration in...
In the title story, "Lost in the Funhouse," the funhouse serves as an analogy to the way the story is constructed. We have a narrator writing a story about a young boy named Ambrose. We don't know...
Lost in the Funhouse
What are examples of humor in the stories "Night Sea Journey" and "Petition"? Please explain why John Barth uses...
What makes us laugh? The following are elements that can create humor. Incongruity: Something is out of place or goes against our expectations. Surprise: Something happens unexpectedly, out of...
Lost in the Funhouse
To what extent does John Barth depict Ambrose as a character type in “Lost In The Funhouse”?
John Barth depicts Ambrose as a character type only to some extent. In the story, Ambrose is portrayed as a loner; he is often ignored and relegated to the margins of family life. His older brother...
Lost in the Funhouse
What were some examples of Ambrose's views of romance and sex in the story "Lost in the Funhouse"?
For Ambrose, sex is a methaphor for language. "Sex, in fact, is the ‘‘whole point . . . Of the entire funhouse!’’ Everywhere Ambrose hears the sound of sex, ‘‘The shluppish whisper,...
Lost in the Funhouse
How does Barth employ metafiction to examine ordinary life?
Certainly the story is about Ambrose. But, the story's central project is the exploration of the process of writing and the compensations of imagination. The story's constant metafictional play...
Lost in the Funhouse
What does Ambrose imagine his father saying to him about people on Boardwalk in “Lost in the Funhouse”?
In “Lost in the Funhouse,” John Barth employs a third-person narrator who usually, but not always, presents things from Ambrose’s perspective. By using this method, Barth challenges the reader to...