Snow White Essay Questions

What is one way Barthelme includes metafiction (defined as "fiction in which the author self-consciously alludes to the artificiality or literariness of a work by parodying or departing from novelistic conventions") in the novel? How does this technique subvert fairytale or narrative tradition?

The quiz at the end of Part I is a form of metafiction because it acknowledges the reader by directly addressing the reader. When Snow White explicitly acknowledges that there is a reader, it brings attention to itself as a piece of fiction. The novel realizes it is being read. When the novel becomes metafictional, it departs from the notion that a fairytale is a set, repeated story. In a fairytale, every plot point is predictable and the reader knows what comes next. However, Barthelme's retelling gives agency to the reader.

What is one way that a character departs from their original role in the Snow White fairytale? What kind of effect does this have on the reader?

The dwarves differ from their traditional portrayals in many ways. One significant way is their tendency towards violent actions. At the end of the novel, they put Bill on trial, question him, and hang him. The dwarves in the fairytale are benevolent figures that save Snow White and never exhibit any violence. When the reader sees the dwarves being violent, they are forced to reckon with the possible outdated nature of the fairytale. If the fairytale was set in contemporary society, as it is in Barthelme's retelling, the dwarves would be perverted by modern structures: work, the desire to make more money and ascend, and power. As a result, their actions would become more drastic and reflect modern attitudes of punishment and retribution. The reader experiences discomfort as the beloved traditional dwarves turn towards violence and this discomfort pushes the reader to re-evaluate the relevancy of a fairytale structure.

How is Barthelme's novel postmodernist? Name formal details that make it postmodernist and analyze how they enhance or communicate the novel's themes.

One postmodernist feature of Snow White is its use of irony and satire. Barthelme repeatedly uses humor and irony, especially verbal irony and situational irony through understatement or exaggeration. For example, when Paul debates whether to embrace his role as a prince, he decides to avoid his role and runs away to a monastery instead. This decision is an example of situational irony: rather than conforming to the expected outcome, which would be to save Snow White and act like a prince, he runs away to the monastery and transforms into a monk. It is also ironic because a monk is devoid of romantic feelings, desires, or attraction. The monk is devoted to God—not to women. By including this ironic scene, Barthelme satirizes the rigid fairytale form. He allows his characters to depart from these roles and reverses the expectations of the reader.

Snow White contains many figures that commit evil or cruel actions. Choose one character or set of characters and explain why they are the antagonist. Use specific examples to support your claim.

The dwarves, with the exception of Bill, are the antagonists of Snow White. As the novel progresses, they commit acts of violence against many other characters. The most extreme act of violence occurs when they hang Bill. They murder one of their own for a seemingly minor reason: "vatricide." Bill has committed no significant atrocity. Instead, he has lost motivation, which does not directly harm the dwarves themselves. Their reaction is further exaggerated by the ending, where they refer to Bill as a "skyhero." This label implies that Bill has gone to heaven because he has ascended into the sky, thus juxtaposing him as the "good" character who has earned a passage to heaven while the dwarves committed a sin by murdering Bill. Framing the dwarves as antagonists is another way that Barthelme rewrites the fairytale and goes against the tradition that fairytales must be appropriate for children or portray benevolent, flat characters.

Discuss one of the societal, historical, or narrative structures that Barthelme criticizes. Use examples.

Barthelme criticizes American politics by including the President, who is an allegory for the failure of the American government. He does nothing and stands by the window, even though he is aware that his country is suffering. "Is nothing going to right?" he asks, and yet, remains static and takes no action to help his country. Barthelme frames the American government and the president as impotent figures that fail to help the American people.