A Study On The Ethical Themes And Narrative Techniques In Nineteen Minutes

Jodi Picoult(1966 –), an American contemporary writer, is well known for her works characterized by moral controversies and ethical issues in this modern world. Under the background of an appalling school shooting, Nineteen Minutes(2007) tells the experiences of a couple of teenagers during their growth. By using multiple points of view and the theory of anachrony, the novel unveils the mystery of American teenagers’ real living conditions. This thesis will analyze this novel from the perspective of the theory of narrative ethics. And the thesis is divided into five sections:The first chapter briefly introduces Jodi Picoult, Nineteen Minutes, the existent studies of Jodi Picoult and Nineteen Minutes at home and abroad, the theoretical concept of narrative ethics and the significance and layout of this thesis. The second chapter probes into main ethical phenomena in the novel from the perspective of the story in narrative ethics. This chapter explores mainly the moral and ethical plight of teenagers in their growth, and the influences of the ethical environment as well. The third chapter analyzes the narrative techniques applied in this novel from the perspective of the discourse in narrative ethics. By the effective shifts of the omniscient point of view and the third-person character point of view, the writer builds a realistic and plentiful story world; and the writer can also adjust the narrative rhythm with the help of the nonlinear time order and diverse narrative speed, which helps the expression of the themes. The fourth chapter focuses on the interaction between narrative and ethics, primarily expounding the importance of narratorial intervention in the construction of narrative ethics in the novel. Narratorial intervention is a powerful tool for the narrator to convey the ethical meaning on the one hand, and is an important means for readers to comprehend the themes in this novel on the other. Through the detailed analysis of the omniscient narrator’s discourse intervention and character narrator’s story intervention, this chapter examines the ethical communication between the narrator and readers. The fifth chapter is the conclusion. The narrative strategies applied in this novel not only highlights its artistic value, but rather deepens its ethical significance. By taking full advantage of narrator’s ethical intervention, the shifts of points of view and the exquisite arrangement of temporal structure, Picoult dissects teenagers’ twisted values towards the crisis of identity, the existing parent-child relationship and the coldness at the heart of human. In this vein, the novel further causes readers’ thoughts about the teenagers’ growth in modern world.