The Concept of Death in Postmodern Thinking as Depicted in Postmodernist Fiction

Death is a fundamental concept in Western philosophy. Undoubtedly, many distinguished philosophers have tried to examine this notion and share their insights. In this essay, we briefly present views of thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger and Norbert Elias and then attempt to enter the realm of postmodern thought through pre-modernist and modernist notions. In order to limit the scope of postmodern discussion in this essay, postmodernist literary novels have been taken into consideration. To this purpose, two important works of this genre, in which the concept of death is central, namely In Watermelon Sugar by Richard Brautigan and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, were analyzed. Also, in the Iranian story section, a short story by Yaqoub Yadali entitled "Hamhameh"(Uproar) has been discussed. Findings suggest that to postmodernists, the meaning of death is significantly different from that of modernists. Their point of view also affects their reader’s mentality and provides them with a new outlook on death. Postmodern readers come to the understanding that death is a simple and unique experience.