Rhizome

The present paper seeks to argue that the opposing roles Paul Auster has devised for his protagonists in Invisible (2010) evolve around metamorphosic changes in their behaviors in terms of Deleuze and Guattari’s rhizome theory. While the protagonist undertakes a Deleuzian Bocoming to be a villain, the antagonist possesses a radical form of a Body without Organ. This study thus defines its main assignment to find the relevant Deleuze-Guattarian flickers within the novel. Deleuze and Guattari launch their notions of Becoming and BwO within their theory of Rhizome. To substantiate this, six principles of the rhizomatic expansion (including connection, heterogeneity, multiplicity, a signifying rupture, cartography, and decalcomania) are examined vis-à-vis Invisible. The story’s main characters would thus exhibit their rhizomatic and nomadic inclinations while the novel’s narration and setting would add to the multiplicitous dimension of the story. Ultimately, through such rhizomatic praxis, this paper identifies radical de-territorialization – or breaking free from social norms – as a major Austrian technique to portray the predicaments of contemporary American lifestyle.

The issue of masculinity has always proved radically challenging. In Tobias Wolff’s “Hunters in the Snow” (1981), each character, constantly exercising their masculinity, attempts to gain the upper hand over his peers. As the story unfolds, the volatility of this concept causes each character’s masculinity to undergo minor to major transformations. In this state of flux, the current research analyzes Wolff’s short story via the lens of Connell’s model of gender and Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s schizoanalysis to trace the manifestations of different masculinity types and study their transformations respectively. Raewyn Connell’s three-fold model of gender is based on power, production relations, and cathexis, thus the present research initially studies each masculinity type in the world of Wolff’s three male characters as a certain rhizomatic zone in society and, then, how they are swapped in a process of deterritorialization to establish new ones (reterritorialization). At the opening of the story, each one of Wolff’s characters (Kenny, Frank, and Tub) represents a certain type of masculinity; while Kenny exercises dominance by bullying others (hegemonic), Frank serves as his accomplice in taking advantage of Tub (complicit and marginalized respectively). However, as the story reveals, these long-held rhizomes are de/reterritorialized in a moment of role reversal, leading to a tragic ending. The findings indicate that the two extreme ends of the masculinity hierarchy can be equally harmful to society as the experience of abuse adversely affects both the abuser (hegemonic and complicit) and the abused (marginalized), leading to corruption and devastation.