论短篇小说的叙述视角切换现象-以《加州人的故事》和《麦琪的礼物》为例_英语论文

Analysis of the Shifts of Point of View in Short Stories--A Case Study of “The Californian’s Tale” and “The Gift of the Magi” 

摘要

美国作家马克·吐温的短篇小说《加州人的故事》和欧·亨利的名篇《麦琪的礼物》有很多相似之处。从故事表层上看，两部作品都讲述了感人的爱情故事，但深入其中便可透视应用于两部作品中的极具特色的叙述手段。本文以叙述视角为切入点，分析了作者如何通过叙述视角之间的灵活切换来设置伏笔，构建悬念进而推动故事情节的发展，同时指出两部小说的戏剧性结尾这一文本效果与切换人物视角的叙述方法是紧密相关的，论证了叙述视角切换对营造反讽效果、揭示作品主题意义、强化审美效果的重要意义。

关键词  叙述视角 切换 悬念 《加州人的故事》 《麦琪的礼物》

Abstract

There are many similarities between “The Californian’s Tale” by Mark Twain and “The Gift of the Magi” by O·Henry. Both of them are about love ostensibly and their characteristic narrating strategies are worth studying. This paper aims, in the light of the narrative point of view, to analyze how the flexible shifts of point of view contribute to utilizing the foreshadowing, creating a suspense and promoting the development of story plot. It is pointed out that the effects from the dramatic ending are related to the shifts of the narrative point of view which is beneficial to the thematic significance, ironic effects as well as aesthetic clamor.

Keywords  narrative point of view  shift  suspense  “The Californian’s Tale”  “The Gift of the Magi”

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 “The Californian’s Tale” and “The Gift of the Magi” 1

1.2 Research Approach 2

2 Literature Review 3

2.1 Previous Research on Narration and Point of View 3

2.2 Conclusion of Previous Research and the Limitation 5

3 The Shifts of Point of View 6

3.1 Point of View 6

3.2 The Identities of “Narrating-I” and “Experiential-I” in California 7

3.3 The Shift of Della’s Omniscient and Limited Point of View in “The Gift of the Magi” 9

3.4 The God-like Narrator as An Outsider and An Insider of Della and Jim’s Daily Life 11

Conclusion 13

Acknowledgements 14

References 15