TJELLS | The Journal for English Language and Literary Studies

Post-digital Literature and Storytelling: Analysing Multimodal Narratives in Mark Z. Danielewski's Works

M. Vishnu — 2025-06-09

Mark Z. Danielewski is a pioneering figure in post-digital literature, redefining storytelling through his experimental use of text, visuals, and interactivity. His novels, particularly House of Leaves (2000) and The Familiar (2015 – 2017), exemplify multimodal narratives that challenge conventional literary structures. This study examines Danielewski’s narrative techniques, focusing on typography, fragmented storytelling, and transmedia elements, positioning his work within the broader context of post-digital aesthetics and media convergence.

By integrating digital aesthetics into print literature, Danielewski blurs the boundaries between physical and digital storytelling, aligning with theories of hypertext fiction (Hayles, 2008) and transmedia storytelling (Jenkins, 2006). His works transform readers from passive consumers into active participants, demanding interpretative engagement. This research paper explores the implications of his literary contributions to contemporary hybrid storytelling, emphasising the persistence of print literature amid digital advancements. Ultimately, Danielewski's work exemplifies the evolving nature of narrative forms, offering insights into the future trajectory of literature in the digital age.

The Memory-Fiction Nexus: Exploring Jhumpa Lahiri's Whereabouts

Mandeep Kaur — 2025-06-09

This study delves into the intricate relationship between memory and fiction in Jhumpa Lahiri's novel Whereabouts, posing a critical research question: How do the complex dynamics of memory, forgetting, and remembering intersect to shape the protagonist's narrative identity, and what role do these dynamics play in generating a sense of authenticity in the novel? Through a nuanced analysis of the narrative, drawing on memory studies and cognitive psychology, this research aims to excavate how memory operates as an agentic activity, entailing both the intentional recall of past events and the strategic forgetting of painful experiences.
By examining the intersections of memory, place, and identity, this study establishes memory and place as meaning-making enterprises that underpin the fictional process. The research demonstrates how the protagonist's memories of her past, her relationships, and her surroundings shape her narrative identity and how these memories are, in turn, shaped by the complex interplay between remembering and forgetting. Furthermore, this study explores how the politics of forgetting and remembering are wielded in the novel to generate a sense of authenticity, highlighting the tension between the protagonist's desire for self-definition and her need for connection with others. Ultimately, this research contributes to our understanding of the memory-fiction nexus, illuminating how fiction uses memory to generate a sense of authenticity and how this authenticity is shaped by the complex interplay between remembering and forgetting. By examining the memory-fiction nexus in Whereabouts, this study provides insights into the human experience, highlighting the significance of memory in shaping our narrative identities, our relationships with others, and our understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.

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The Search for A Man of Feeling within Sherlock Holmes in Praveen Radhakrishnan’s The Adventure of Black Drop

Dr. Sharmi Rachel C. M. — 2025-06-09

In answering the why is and why nots of a pre-existing story, a new story is born. Such stories are independent because of the author's penmanship, but they do live under the shadow of either original or popular existing versions. The Adventure of Black Drop (2011) by Praveen Radhakrishnan is an extension of Arthur Conan Doyle's detective collection featuring the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes. The story records the complex life of the detective with crimes and chaos by showing him as a man of feeling against his clichéd representation as a man of brain games. Even though this novel is exclusive, it is not the first literary piece that tries to animate Holmes as a man of feeling. In addressing the problem of anxiety of influence in literature, the answer that the researcher arrives at by tracing the inventiveness of stories in the timeline of English literature is thought-provoking, as this transition is evident in almost all genres, including non-fiction. Even when this novel is seen as a tale that owes its credit to Doyle, its story stuff does define the authorcraft of Praveen and claims him a place in the literary world.