A Narratological Study Of Alice Munro's Runaway

Alice Munro,the renowned Canadian short-story writer won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature,her writing is praised as “one of our greatest contemporary writers of fiction” or “Canadian Chekhov”.She has won the well-known reputation in the world for her unique narrative style.Since 1980 s,Munro has obtained substantial the international attention.Scholars abroad have attempted to analyze Munro' s art with reference to its themes and artistry from a wide range of perspectives such as narratology,anthropology,sociology,and psychology etc.Chinese research on Munro and her works,however,has started later.Since Munro won the Nobel Prize these past years have witnessed a rapid increase in the study of her fiction.In China many researchers have paid attention to the feminism or narrative art.So this thesis tries to analyze “Chance”,“Soon” and “Silence” that formed the core of the collection thematically and structurally in Alice Munro's collection,Runaway.According to French narratology Professor Gerard Genette and Chinese narratology researcher Shen Dan's narratological theories,this thesis adopts the close reading and induction as the main research methods to analyze the novel.From the analysis of non-linear sequence in narration,aiming to explore the flexible narrative time and characteristics of the protagonists and revealing the inner world of the character.Multi-perspective focalization includes zero focalization,third-person internal fixed focalization and third-person external Focalization,which examine the function in portraying the characters' features and the characteristic style in “Chance”“Soon” and “Silence”.Modes of discourse include the direct speech,indirect speech,free direct speech and free indirect speech.This thesis analyzes the narrative techniques from the non-linear sequence in narration,multi-perspective focalization and modes of discourse in order to appreciate excellent narrative techniques,which plays an essential role in displaying the characteristics of the protagonist.