Practical class 7 Narrator and Narrative Techniques in the 20th Century Novel Texts

Iris Murdoch. The Black Prince — Мердок А. Черный принц.

John Fowles. The Collector —Фаулз Дж.Коллекционер.

William Faulkner. The Sound and the Fury — Фолкнер У. Шум и ярость

Ken Kesey. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest — Кизи К. Над кукушкиным гнездом.

Vladimir Nabokov. Lolita — Набоков В. Лолита

Narrative

The role of author / narrator in postmodernistic writings. What is the difference between author and narrator?

Name types of narrator. Provide each type with an example (try to remember books you’ve read)

Unreliable narrator. Functions. Opportunities of usage.

Narrative strategies.

Creative task*

Choose an extract from any novel (Texts). Copy it down. Rewrite this passage having changed the narrator.

Change narrators as follows: 3^rd person narrator in “The Collector”, Rachel in “The Black Prince”, Caddy in “The Sound and the Fury”, McMurphy in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, Lolita in “Lolita”.

Questions for discussion John Fowles “The Collector”

Characteristic of Clegg.

• Clegg’s biography (present only obvious and objective facts you know about the character)

• Psychiatric analysis of Clegg (imagine you are a psychiatrist and give some medical observations)

Clegg’s diary

• Flashbacks and forwarding

• Description of setting

• Description of himself

• Description of other people

Miranda’s diary

• The same events narrated from Miranda’s point of view

• Collector’s style and Butterfly’s style

Is “The Collector” a horrible book? Why?

Iris Murdoch “The Black Prince”

The entire novel is narrated by Bradley Pearson. Does his account of events appear to be true or untrue? Discuss the effect of his narration upon the novel.

Several different marriages are profiled in the novel with substantial commentary upon the nature of marriage. What is Murdoch's feeling on the subject.

Hamlet is referenced numerous times in the novel. How does that play relate to the plot of The Black Prince?. Which character in the novel most clearly appears to embody Hamlet's dilemma, and why?

Rachel and Arnold Baffin continually insist in the novel that Bradley is in love with Christian. How do you think that Bradley truly feels about Christian and why?

Discuss the character of Francis Marloe. What is his importance in the novel?

What exactly does the title of the The Black Prince mean?

William Faulkner 'The Sound and the Fury'

What is important about the title? Is there a reference in the novel that explains the title?

One of the complaints that readers voice about the novel is that the book is difficult. Did you find the book overly difficult? Did the difficulty level prevent you from finishing the book? Or, would you have finished the book if you were reading it outside of a classroom setting?

Does the story end the way you expected? How? Why?

Would you recommend this novel to anyone?

Faulkner has said that the character of Caddy was his “heart’s darling”—her character inspired him to write the novel. Why is Caddy driven to pitfalls? What do you make of Mr. Compson’s explanation that virginity is an ideal invented by men, which is utterly irrelevant to women?

Do you like the stream of consciousness style or do you find it confusing? Would you read another novel written in stream of consciousness style? Do you feel that stream of consciousness was an effective way of presenting Benjy? Quentin? Jason? Why do you think Faulkner did not use stream of consciousness for Dilsey’s section?

Perhaps the single most important theme in The Sound and the Fury is the presence of time in human life. How is that relationship explored throughout the four sections of the novel?