The Construction and Comparison of Narratives in Jonathan Stroud's The Amulet of Samarkand
Wilkko, Åsa (2020)
2020
Kielten kandidaattiohjelma - Bachelor's Programme in Languages
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-04-27
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004243725
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004243725
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this study is to define the different narrative strategies utilized in Jonathan Stroud’s The Amulet of Samarkand (2003), and how these differences help distinguish the main characters’ personal characteristics. I use Mieke Bal’s narrative theory and Mark Currie’s postmodern narrative theory to compare and analyze the differences.
Narrative theory is concerned with the study and analysis of narrative. Bal divides a narrative text into three layers: text, story and fabula. The text layer refers to the entirety of the narrative text and it is the first layer the reader encounters upon opening the book. The story layer consists of characters, events, and ordering. The fabula layer is the reader’s impression of the text after reading. These layers have different functions and elements, and these include the narrator, focalization, and chronology. These are the three features of most importance to this thesis. With the introduction of the postmodern, metafictional elements become evident and affect the narrative strategies of Stroud’s novel through footnotes and reader engagement.
Stroud’s novel has two main characters, the spirit Bartimaeus and the magician Nathaniel. Bartimaeus’ narrative has a first-person narrator, he is the focalizer, and the chronology of his narrative is linear with the exception of footnotes. Nathaniel’s narrative has a third-person narrator, he is the focalizer, and his narrative is chronological.
The differences in these strategies show the constricting effect the spirit Bartimaeus experiences as he enters the human world. He utilizes his abilities as a spirit to resist this physical imprisonment, which is mirrored in his use of footnotes and reader engagement. Nathaniel is only restricted by the fact that he is not the narrator of his own story, which mirrors the constricting effect the government and the magicians hold over the world.
Narrative theory is concerned with the study and analysis of narrative. Bal divides a narrative text into three layers: text, story and fabula. The text layer refers to the entirety of the narrative text and it is the first layer the reader encounters upon opening the book. The story layer consists of characters, events, and ordering. The fabula layer is the reader’s impression of the text after reading. These layers have different functions and elements, and these include the narrator, focalization, and chronology. These are the three features of most importance to this thesis. With the introduction of the postmodern, metafictional elements become evident and affect the narrative strategies of Stroud’s novel through footnotes and reader engagement.
Stroud’s novel has two main characters, the spirit Bartimaeus and the magician Nathaniel. Bartimaeus’ narrative has a first-person narrator, he is the focalizer, and the chronology of his narrative is linear with the exception of footnotes. Nathaniel’s narrative has a third-person narrator, he is the focalizer, and his narrative is chronological.
The differences in these strategies show the constricting effect the spirit Bartimaeus experiences as he enters the human world. He utilizes his abilities as a spirit to resist this physical imprisonment, which is mirrored in his use of footnotes and reader engagement. Nathaniel is only restricted by the fact that he is not the narrator of his own story, which mirrors the constricting effect the government and the magicians hold over the world.