Hinterland Revisited

This study aims to display how Carol Shileds’s short story Hinterland subverts the fundamental aspects of the classical definition of literature. Via parody, the story deconstructs the mediums that are peculiar to the concept of literary art. Moreover, Shileds does not only question central truths, but she also renders the reader to open a new perspective by revising the grand narratives of literature. Through transgressing the boundaries, Sheilds elucidates the gaps in these narratives, and judges absolute notions such as the almighty author, reality and time. Hence, the deconstructive aspect of parody becomes a means of questioning the strict norms that are the integral constituents of traditional literature.