Postmodern thinkers frequently describe knowledge claims and value systems as contingent or
socially-conditioned, describing them as products of political, historical, or cultural discourses
and hierarchies. Accordingly, postmodern thought is broadly characterized by tendencies to
self-referentiality, epistemological and moral
relativism, pluralism, and irreverence.
Postmodernism relies on critical theory, which considers the effects of ideology, society, and
history on culture. Critical theory and postmodernism commonly criticize universalist ideas of
objective reality, morality, truth, human nature, reason, language, and social progress.
Postmodernism is often associated with schools of thought such as deconstruction,
poststructuralism, and institutional critique, as well as philosophers such as Jacques Derrida,
Umberto Eco and Fredric Jameson.
One of the most important works written in the direction of postmodernism is Paulo Coelho’s
The Alchemist. This work is a work that narrates the concept of “my own destiny”, a key
concept at the heart of the shepherd boy Santiago’s travels. The fact
that the work is written in
a narrative style, like our folk tales, that the path of Santiago begins and ends in itself, like
Maliksiddiq’s Master Khidr, meets in different ways on the path of Santiago. It is also a
popular work due to its closeness to the spiritual world and beliefs of our nation.
Postmodernism is a way of understanding and explaining current real events, that is, the world.
It is also the way of literature, the way of art, the
way of understanding the world, the way of
feeling. However, it is not the last resort. As long as there are people, societies, their
worldviews, aspirations and needs do not stop there. Human is always looking for a new way
for himself and he is always on the lookout. As long as he is alive, the search will always
continue. I would like to add that postmodern research can be seen not only in world literature
but also in Uzbek literature, especially in prose. For example, in the works of O. Mukhtor, H.
Dostmuhammad, N. Eshonkul and many other similar writers there
are various manifestations
of postmodernism. Hence, postmodernism has been, and continues to be, the most flourishing
period of world literature in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Modern world literature and
Uzbek literature are very diverse, mixed and complex phenomena, and the debate about it and
its future is still ongoing.