Investigating Heterotopia and Post-Apocalypse in J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World (1962)

Abstract

The Foucauldian notion of heterotopia has been a debatable subject of study, especially when paired with other concepts and theories in literature. The present dissertation investigates how heterotopia matches perfectly with the concept of post-apocalypse when reading J.G. Ballard’s novel The Drowned World (1962). Furthermore, it explores the concept of post apocalypse in regards to its themes and characteristics. On the other hand, this dissertation also examines the Foucauldian concept of heterotopia and how it originated, with a study of the different sites that Foucault deems heterotopic. Hence, the current research undertakes an analytical approach to study the concepts of heterotopia and post-apocalypse in the novel due to the accessibility it offers in reading the setting of the novel and also to the protagonist and the other characters present in The Drowned World. This study ultimately concludes that because heterotopia is labelled a placeless place, in addition to its features listed by Foucault, provides a useful insight in reading the importance of the city of London in the novel, in addition to the new characteristics that can be analysed in relation to the protagonist