Graphon as a method of graphic-accented modification of a word in Paul Beatty’s novel “The Sellout”

Postmodernism appears as characteristics of certain mentality, way of world perception, as a clearly new approach, reaction to universal world view in modernism. Innovations in fiction are seen in audacious experiment, disorder of logical sequence of events, parody of traditional forms, multivalence of interpretation; texts are involved into a language play and the truth is created verbally, in the process of text formation. American postmodernism in literature is especially prominent, as it is does not only reflect politics, domestic history, but reconsiders basic concepts which the American society is grounded on. The characteristic feature of this movement is its graphic form, that dominates the contents and that is implemented in heterogeneous elements. Graphon, as one of the forms of writer’s modification of a text, its unique visualization, causes the appearance of new connotations, intensifies author’s evaluation or emotion, highlights “other” words, helps to create comic effect, increases depiction and expressiveness of communication, fixates graphically individual phonetic peculiarities of a speaker, etc. The works of Paul Beatty expose severe social problems, the main of which is racial discrimination. The author’s outlook reflects not only the existing world depiction but in specificity of his individual style with dark humor - an essential component of postmodernism. In Beatty’s novel the changes in writing reveal the additional information about cultural and educational level of protagonist, physical and emotional peculiarities, characterize him as a member of a separate social milieu.