| As we all know that the narrative perspective is a significant subject in the investigation of novels. In this thesis, the author strives to elaborate on the narrative perspective from sevral aspects on the basis of summarizing the research fruits of the previous scholars. The thesis is constituted of five parts: the introduction part, the conception and classification of narrative perspective, the functions of the narrative perspective, the shift of narrative perspective and the conclusion part. In the introduction part, by introducing the current status and the theoretical support of narrative perspective, the author shows the necessity to do an in-depth investigation of narrative perspective and the space left for further study. The first chapter to the third chapter is the main body of the thesis. In the first chapter, the author puts forward the conception of narrative perspective by discriminating the question of "who sees" and "who says" related to the conception which has confused us for quite a long time: narrative perspective is not only the angle from which the narrator and the characters view the story, but includes also the perspective which the novelist takes in his creative process. That is to say, narrative perspective is not only a study subject of narratology but an important part in the study of rhetoric as well. As to the classification of the narrative perspective, there has been a great divergence all long. In this thesis, based on the classification conducted by Genette, the author expounds every type of the narrative perspective so as to show a distinct image of its meaning. In the second chapter, the two major functions of narrative perspective are shown:the rhetorical function and the ideological function. In discussing the rhetorical function, the author, by taking Aristotle's and W·C·Booth's theories as the basis, points out that the choice of a certain perspective is a rhetorical means that the writer uses to pursue an optimum rhetorical effect. After this macro-analysis, proceeding from the perspectives of suspense and defamiliarization, the author begins to elaborate on the micro-rhetorical points of narrative perspective and further gives full demonstration of the rhetorical function of it according to some specific works. The discussion of the ideological function of narrative perspective is a difficulty in this thesis. In doing it, at first the author gives the concept of ideology, then lists the current situation and the achievements of the study of ideology, and finally expounds the relation between narrative perspective and ideology from two perspectives, namely, the influence of ideology on narrative perspective and the presentation of narrative perspective for ideology. What needs to be pointed out is that B.A.Uspens's study on narrative perspective serves as a theoretical support and a methodological reference for this part. The third chapter is a key point in the thesis, which concerns about the shift of narrative perspective in novels. In this chapter, the author points out that, firstly, there are mainly two kinds of shift mode:the shift between the perspectives outside the narrator and the perspectives of the characters; the shift of narrative perspectives among the characters themselves. Secondly, the shift strategies are usually the choice of words and the skillful use of narrative discourse. By reference to some specific works, the author discusses the above argumentations. Having realized the actual shift of narrative perspective, then it is necessary for us to anylise the reason why it comes into being. The shift of narrative perspective is a result comes along with the natural process of novels, so it is not an abrupt result in the diachronic development of novels. The reason for the shift is mainly internal. From my point of view, the reason why there exists such shift is that every type of perspective has its own strong points and shortcomings. The zero perspective, the internal perspective and the external perspective all show their strengths and defects in their using course, which provides space for other types of perspective. On the other hand, we don't ignore the external factors'influence on narrative perspective in the diachronic development of novels. What's more, as we all know that the Motion Picture Arts and Bakhtin's polyphony theory both have certain implications on the writer when he does perspective shift. Therefore, the author, in this thesis, will give it a plain introduction in order to provide a sufficient answer and summarization for the reason of perspective shift. |
