Mumbo Jumbo & Postmodernism
Published in 1972, Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo landed right at the beginning of the Postmodernism movement. Postmodernism marks a transformative period for art and culture as thinkers raised increasing skepticism towards modernism. Heavily influenced by the norms of its time, Mumbo Jumbo exemplifies postmodernist storytelling, both through its physical structure and plot.
The literal structure of the Mumbo Jumbo stands against modernist novel, appearing more like a collage. Interwoven between texts, Reed includes many drawings, newspaper clippings, photos, and historical documents. While some visuals extend from the plot, such as the image of the party invitation Earline shows Papa Labas, others appear randomly juxtaposed, like the drawing of two angels by the description of the spread of Jes Grew in America (Reed 27, 15). This deliberate inclusion of unrelated visuals disrupts the reader’s sense of coherence, mirroring the postmodernist idea of rejecting linearity in modernist narratives. In addition, the collage-like arrangement visually emphasizes to readers the chaos stirred by Jes Grew in America. The physical setup of chapters in Mumbo Jumbo also echoes postmodern ideas. The novel begins abruptly with chapter 1, inserting its title and tribute page between chapters 1 and 2. Chapters themselves also range in various lengths, with shorter ones around half a page and longer ones around sixty pages. Even a chapter, chapter 52, is duplicated in the novel. All these seemingly “literary errors” in the novel challenge the modernist idea of only embracing one single conventional literature. Reed’s writing echoes the postmodernist idea of the confluence of many narratives, meaning all “narratives exist together, side by side, with none dominating” (Docx 7).
The plot structure of Mumbo Jumbo also reflects elements of Postmodernism. Ending with the idea “Time is a pendulum, not a river,” the narrator pitches the idea of cyclical progression over linear (218). The notion that time and history move in loops instead of one-way arrows shows that truth is never singular or final, meaning that there are multiple possible versions of reality. This view on time undermines the modernist view of one and the world and embraces the postmodernist belief of “plurality of worlds” (McHale 27). In this way, Reed argues that cultural events like Jes Grew are so broad and multifaceted that they cannot be defined by a single linear progression. According to Papa Labas, “Jes Grew has no end and no beginning” throughout history (Reed 204). Jes Grew, even when suppressed in the 20th century, will return in the future and leave different impacts. The repetition of Jes Grew in the Mumbo Jumbo cosmology suggests the coexistence of multiple realities over a single bottom case.
The climax of the novel reflects the postmodernist idea of multiplicity and indefinability. The letter from Abdul to Papa Labas reveals that he has burned the sacred Text (201). The destruction of the sacred Text dissipates Jes Grew. This act may seem dreadful for the proponents of Jes Grew, yet it actually grants Jes Grew its nature to freely express and improvise. The Book of Troth contains the dance choreography of Jes Grew. If Jes Grew is truly an infectious, dynamic dance, it should take different manifestations, even without an instructional Text. The existence of the Text symbolizes a systematic attempt to codify a free, spontaneous cultural uprising. The Text, through teaching people a specific way of Jes Grew dance, will cause it to lose its vitality and become a rigid doctrine rather than a living expression. Then Jes Grew will become modernist rather than postmodernist.
Thank you for reading! Any feedback is appreciated :D
Toodles!
Works Cited:
Docx, Edward, "Postmodernism is dead." Prospect, 20 July 2011, 1-13.
McHale, Brian, Postmodernist Fiction, London and New York, Routledge, 1987.
Reed, Ishmael, Mumbo Jumbo. Scribner, 1972.
In many respects, I would consider _Mumbo Jumbo_ to be the "most" postmodernist novel in existence, both because it arrives right at the outset of the movement in American fiction AND because it flaunts its postmodern freedom from conventions of publishing in all these conspicuous ways. It also reflects specific ideas that were emerging within academic historiography at the time (Hayden White), in that the novel brazenly presents a *narrative* that contradicts conventional narratives of American history, while blatantly refusing to offer "evidence" for its story and even mocking the idea that such evidence would be necessary. It's remarkable how Reed is able to use the ancient voodoo concept of loas to contrast the organization of monotheism around "interpreting the world through one text"--this is almost a textbook illustration of the idea you cite from Docx, that in the postmodern view we simply have multiple competing and overlapping narratives, not one overarching "truth." It's maybe ironic that in this novel, we get the multicultural/multifarious "loa" perspective as being presented as MORE authoritative and true than the Atonist one. It's like Reed goes all the way in the opposite direction: Atonism has spent so much of its energies over the years discrediting and dismissing multiculturalism, African religion, anything that threatens its supremacy, in this novel, it gets to be the ONE cultural narrative that is decisively *discredited*. Does this represent "anti-Western bias" in the novel? Maybe--but Reed seems to think that's fair enough, give how much pro-Western bias has done to distort the picture over the years.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruijing!! I really like how to go deep into how the structure of Mumbo Jumbo reveals a lot about its involvement in postmodernist ideas. Its really interesting to highlight little details that Reed included in his novel that hint at the rejection of modernist narratives. It is also important that you explain how the content of the book adds to postmodernist ideas. Especially highlighting the progression of the books timeline, and the Text. In the end of Mumbo Jumbo I think that the destruction of the Text adds to the idea of Jes Grew and its significance. Really good job, and this could totally be a really good essay!
ReplyDeleteHi Ruijing! This is an incredibly in depth post that reveals a lot about the structure of Mumbo Jumbo, and how it adds to the postmodernist values of the book and its promotion of postmodernist ideas (especially at the time the book was made). I also really like the idea that the destruction of the Text caused Jes Grew to improvise and grow, yet again reiterating postmodernist ideas. This is such an awesome blog post!
ReplyDeleteHi Ruijing, I like how you describe all the aspects of the book which make it postmodern. Like you mentioned, there are many narratives throughout the book, a quintessentially postmodern thing, and that can make the story seem very chaotic. However, even with all of the book's chaos, I feel like we should give the book some credit, as Reed manages to wrap up the story in a logical and clear way, making the narrative somewhat coherent. Overall, nice post!
ReplyDeleteHi Ruijing! I like how you explaning how the novel's structure like the clippings and duplicated chapter visually represent postmodern chaos. I really like the sentence "If Jes Grew is truly an infectious, dynamic dance, it should take different manifestations, even without an instructional Text.” because you really hit the mark showing how Jes Grew becomes freer and more authentic without the sacred Text. Great job!
ReplyDeleteNice blog post, Ruijing!!! I think that saying that the book is more like a collage is an artistic way of describing the book's weird format. I really liked your description of how Jes Grew shows that there can be more than one reality. I really enjoyed your blog post. Good Job!!
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