신경심리ㆍ신경생리 소설-R. 파워즈의 『황금벌레 변주곡』,『갤러티어 2.2』와 D.F. 월러스의『끝없는 농담』

Novels of Neurophysiology and Neuropsychology: R. Powers"s Galatea 2.2, The Gold Bug Variations, and D. F. Wallace"s Infinite Jest

  With the advent of 20th century the significance of the discourse of materials and materialities has been steadily indicated. Such a significance is obviously found in the fields of authentic literary theories, criticism, and cultural theories along with philosophy of science.   In this paper I will first propose the genealogy of the discourses of materials and materialities in Western literature and thoughts, then explain or bring forth in details what are the characteristics of materials or materialities and how they are shown in Richard Powers"s Galatea 2.2 and The Gold Bug Variations, and David Foster Wallace"s Infinite Jest.   In Galatea 2.2 there are doublings of characters: author/narrator and Helen as a character/IMP H as a doppelganger of Helen. In presenting the characterization of the real human, Helen and the perfect artificial network, IMP H, the author shows the difference between Helen and IMP H in terms of presence and absence of cognition and consciousness. That is, IMP H has no consciousness despite her real existence. Further, it becomes the criteria of the distinction of human and posthuman in the novel.   The Gold Bug Variations deals with, in short, what is the relationship of pure information to noise. Like proving it, Jan, the main character of the second plot of the novel, plays word- order game like a puzzle. At first, she does not recognize the meaning of the sentence. For the third letter "c" in the sentence is dropped. However, late the meaning of the sentence is finally and automatically restored by the function of cerebral neurons.   For another instance, Restler is reminiscent of his past school days, and, to his surprise, he finds it does not exist in a single way, but it has some relationship to other affairs or events.   For Jan"s playing game and Restler"s memory function, the author alludes and uses "chaos theory" as metaphor, Though the edge of chaotic state is very sensitive and complicated like the cases of Jan"s missed letter site and Restler"s memorable scene of his past school days, but like as order comes from disorder or chaotic state in ‘chaos theory’, such a physical and a psychological malfunction and distortion are solved and restored by the mysterious sparks of the protean (materials and materialities) in the human brain..   Also as an another example does the author indicate strong responses of deep emotion to the stimulator, crack and "Entertainment" together with the role of Madame Psychosis in Infinite Jest.   Thus, such materialistic presence in the novels will help us with the strict evaluation and lead to the exact understanding of the real nature of materials and materiality in literature and literary theories.