stream-of-consciousness.docx - Meriwether Brandi November...

Meriwether Brandi
November 19, 2011
Stream of Consciousness: What It Is and How It Works
in Katharine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”
Stream of consciousness is a method of narrative representation of random thoughts
which follow in a freely-flowing style. Predominantly related to the modernist movement, stream
of consciousness is a form of interior monologue which claims as its goal the representation of a
lead consciousness in a narrative (normally fiction). This representation of consciousness can
include perceptions or impressions, thoughts encouraged by outside physical incentives, and
fragments of random, disconnected thoughts. Stream of consciousness writing often lacks
"correct" punctuation or syntax, favoring a looser, more incomplete style.
"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Porter is a classic study in stream of
consciousness. The literary term refers to events chronicled not in a chronological or linear
manner, but the way the character perceives things through their inner thoughts. This is often
applied to works where characters are either dying, mentally ill or under great sense where their
thoughts jump from one idea to the next without pattern or motive. The setting for “The Jilting of