Power relations in ričardas gavelis' novel "paskutinioji žemės žmonių karta" ("the last generation of the earth people")

This work investigates the power relations within Ričardas Gavelis novel The Last Generation of the Earth People within the perspective of disciplinary power and its impact on society. The theoretical section of the thesis refers to the notion that the reality is being socially constructed and deals with ideas drawn by Michel Foucault. In order to develop the Foucauldian thought, conceptions of power, discipline and subject are being employed. Such cohesion reveals how power techniques target individual’s body as well as behavior in everyday life. Eventually, the theoretical premises become the notional grid to interpret the novel. The following section of literary analysis demonstrates how relevant parts of the Foucauldian conceptions of discipline might be brought to bear on issues in fiction. Namely, to point out narrative techniques and to separate seven regions of the discipline within the plot. Proceeding from narrative technique, the emphasis is put on optics. The major feature of text structure demonstrates the asymmetric focal points, which enables the comparison between the novel’s organisation and architectural model of the Panopticon. As a result, the hierarchy between the text subjects is revealed. The argument of the thesis is structured along the development of Gavelis’ novel in terms of seven chapters, each representing different disciplinary infrastructures and its encounter with characters’ bodies. Finally, in a brief concluding section the findings are being summarized. The conclusion draws the general paradigm of characters’ bodies and the list of the disciplinary institutions