John Ashbery's The Instruction Manual

Distraction is something everyone has had to deal with in his or her life, some more than others. John Ashbery’s poem “The Instruction Manual” follows the narrative of a man as he is pushed to the deadline of writing an instruction manual. This piece exhibits themes, literary techniques, and other elements that make it Postmodernist. Postmodernism is a broad literary movement that encompasses all kinds of media (art, philosophy, film, literature, etc.). Because Postmodernism encompasses a variety of media, it is not easily defined by one thing but several.
Looking at “The Instructional Manual” one can gain a better understanding of what Postmodernism is. Ashbery incorporates various Postmodernist themes into “The Instruction Manual.” The first

THe narrator uses color to describe everything he sees in the city. First he mentions the flower girls in beautiful dresses handing out flowers (“Instruction” 13). He then mentions the women selling green and yellow fruit (“Instruction” 14). Next, the narrator talks about the dapper parade leader dressed in deep blue and his wife with American style leather shoes and a colorful shawl (“Instruction” 16-20). Later in the poem, the narrator mentions a pair of young lovers in descriptive detail. The girl has a white dress and her long black hair is blown against her olive skin by the wind (“Instruction” 35). In the last part of the poem the narrator talks about all the different parts of the city and how each one has distinct characteristics. Ashbery does a great job using vivid imagery and description to display a hyperrealistic picture of the narrator’s daydream. Postmodernism often incorporates surrealism; “The Instruction Manual” is no exception to this rule. The imagery makes the reader question whether the narrator is actually in Guadalajara or if he just has a vivid imagination. Many Postmodernist writers, Ashbery included, utilize surrealism in their