Schema Theory and Contemporary Literature: A Stylistic Study of Christopher Nolan's The Joker

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the effects of discourse deviations in contemporary literature on the schema of readers/viewers, and on other characters in a certain literary work. The paper explains how certain characters in literary works can be compelling, challenging, and intriguing due to the different schemata they possess and project on their readers\viewers, and on other characters in the literary work as well. Christopher Nolan’s The Joker character in his screenplay, The Dark Knight, is a significant sample of how these effects take place. This paper discusses what makes The Joker a challenging character to the audience and the protagonist, and the ways in which The Joker creates schema refreshments. The paper concludes that through constant discourse deviations, The Joker allows the audience and the protagonist to make constant schema refreshment by altering language schemata, text schemata, or both of them. Thus, allowing the world schema of an individual to change consequently. These deviations, and the resulting schema refreshments make The Joker an intriguing, challenging, and compelling character to the audience.