Reorchestration of cultural consciousness in john barth’s giles goat- boy

This paper explicates the beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to the individual within his own social context. Right and wrong are culture specific; what is considered moral in one society may be considered immoral in another, and since no universal standard of morality exists, no one has the right to judge another society’s customs. The American society is multicultured, and there is no special culture to hang on. We can see an aching of past culture in most of the post modern writings. This paper reflects on the Barthesque dissemination of identity in terms of anonymity, pathology, control systems, fragmented society, and deflated myths. In Giles Goat-Boy John Barth explores how innocence versus ignorance and experience, the pejorative aspects of innocence, and ignorance is an illusion. The protagonist’s frail struggle constitutes identity resulting in psychological disintegration. This paper concludes the observations elucidate the tension between order and disorder in reality.