On Narrative Strategies Of Dear Nobody

Dear Nobody, a novel written by Berlie Doherty, a British woman writer, tells a story of two senior high school students, Chris and Helen. Both of them, in the first-person point of view, recall the growing up pains in the process of facing the unpredicted pregnancy. This novel is one of the most representative works of Berlie Doherty and has won three international awards, the Carnegie Medal in 1991, Writers' Guild Award in 1991 and Sankei Award (Japan) in 1994.The narrative devices in Dear Nobody are quite special. The story is told by Chris'retrospect and Helen's 25 inserted letters. Through the insertion of letters, unique arrangement of time and the use of open-ending, Berlie displays teenage pregnancy and characters'initiation in the process of coping with this issue in front of readers in a unique way.Based on the narrative theories about narrative structure, narrative point of view and narrative techniques, this paper would analyze the narrative strategies of Dear Nobody from the three aspects to explore the uniqueness of narration and the impacts of narration on characterization and expression of the theme of initiation.The thesis consists of the following five parts:Part one gives brief introductions to Berlie Doherty, Dear Nobody, and the current research on the novel, and narrative theories adopted in this paper.Chapter One, in terms of narrative structure, analyzes the embedded structure and circular structure shown in the novel and their functions.Chapter Two analyzes the effect and artistic functions of the first-person point of view and the alternative first-person point of view.Chapter Three discusses other narrative techniques used in the novel from three aspects, namely, insertion of letters, the arrangement of time, and the use of open-ending.The conclusion summarizes the narrative features analyzed above and restates the viewpoint of this paper. Moreover, the value of the study is highlighted in the final part.