The Narrative Art Of David Lodge's Small World

As a distinguished contemporary British scholar, David Lodge has achieved great successes in fields of both literary criticism and literary creation. Small World, as part of the Campus Trilogy, is one of Lodge's most highly acclaimed works. Considering his strong self-consciousness and his emphasis on the importance of narrative techniques, this thesis endeavors to approach the work on the basis of classical narratology, trying to identify the employed narrative techniques including various narrators, different narrative perspectives, external analepses, internal analepses, comic scenes, repetition and narrative structure and to analyze their functions in the formation of the novel's wholesome structure and comic style.The first chapter focuses on the narrators at different levels of the narrative. Emerged at the first level is the extradiegetic omniscient narrator playing effectively its narrative and communication functions, presenting complex and amusing plot with numerous characters through the omniscient knowledge and coincidences made by the character Summerbee and exhibiting critical and ironic attitudes on the novel. First person narrators including Swallow and Joy at the second level vividly reproduce his one-night-stand experience and psychological state, making the whole narrative objective yet fresh and impressive.The second chapter identifies the omniscient narrative perspective, third person inner narrative perspectives and first person retrospective narrative perspectives and analyzes their ironic effects. The former one faithfully exhibits the actions, thoughts and subtle relations of the characters and artistically reveals or conceals the characters'psychological state. Personal colored descriptions from inner narrative perspectives of Persse and Swallow entail the novel with an ironic touch. And first person retrospective narrative perspectives from Swallow ironically contrast the characters'behaviors and psychology in different periods.The third chapter explores the manipulations of narrative time from aspects of narrative order, speed and frequency. Relevant strategies include the background-presenting external analepses and internal analepses manifesting Swallow's lecture trip, comic scenes of academic conferences and repetitions of sound imageries, academic actions and incidences. All the strategies serve as vigorous stimuli for the interesting and zigzag development of plot with strong comic effects.The last chapter probes into the superficial chronological linear structure and the deep dualistic structure. The chronological linear development of the chasing-mode plot is constantly interrupted by juxtaposition of space, presenting a spatial form in the structure and exhibiting the comic and intertwined relations of characters around the world. Dualism of the intellectual's contrasting pursuits of spiritual and material values functions as the cornerstone of the novel. Yet the dualistic parties eventually achieve conciliation in an ironic and comic manner, leaving much room for serious pondering.