Comment déconstruire le système et le personnage ? La réponse outersienne
How to deconstruct the system and the characters: Outers’ answer

Summary/Abstract: The present paper focuses on the stylistic methods used by the Belgian author (of French expression) Jean-Luc Outers of deconstructing the “system” as perceived from the inside of working sphere. His novels are recurrently centered on everyday professional and personal rut, bringing forward characters that struggle with boredom, drama or unsettling situations. In fact, one of his earlier works, “Corps de métier”, is setting the background rules for most of his future works. Haunting here are images of offices, of uncanny co-workers, of absurd situations. We have divided our research into two main parts: description and derision of working places, the office per se, on one side, and portrayal of civil servants on the other. All that after briefly presenting the theoretical framework and the figures of speech we are about to tackle. The irony, for instance, is both used as self-inflicted, and to describe the topos. The rut, the humdrum, is as well emphasized. Another relevant part is the confrontation to the new technologies. Written in 1992, the novel is prescient almost. It encapsulates so well the conflicts and the alienation caused by new technologies; nowadays, we can understand this only too well. Last, but not least, the humor is a very important component of Outers deconstruction method. As readers, we follow the plot unveil and we immediately side with the author as soon as he’s humorously “punishing” his characters.

• Details
• Contents