An Analysis Of Narrative Focalization In Howards End

Edward Morgan Forster is regarded as the most distinguished British novelist,literary critic,essayist and humanitarian in the 20^thh century.He not only won the oldest British literary prize—The James Tait Black Memorial Prize,but also was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature for thirteen times.His fourth novel Howards End was published in 1910 and it could be considered as one of the most mature and wonderful novels in his early works.It not only brought Forster great success,but also laid the foundation of his status in the literary arena in the 20^th century.The novel tells a story about a quaint country house—Howards End.It describes the intricate relationships and entanglements among three families which are from different social levels.Forster profoundly reveals the hypocrisy of the British upper class in this novel,and presents various social contradictions of the British society under the impact of the industrialization and modern mechanical civilization in the early 20^th century.Combining with the narrative focalization theory of Gérard Genette,this thesis is devoted to analyzing the focalization embodiments and narrative effects of zero focalization,internal focalization and external focalization in Howards End.It attempts to probe into the profound meanings behind this novel from a comparatively new perspective,and the purpose is to highlight the thoughts and meanings that the author wants to convey.This thesis is composed of four chapters apart from the introduction and the conclusion.The introduction gives a brief introduction to Forster?s life experiences and his representative work Howards End.On this basis,it summarizes the literature review both at home and abroad.It also points out the innovation of this thesis,and elaborates on the central argument and the structure of the thesis.Chapter One is the theoretical foundation,which firstly presents the origin and development of narratology.Then Gérard Genette?s narrative focalization theory is expounded in detail.It also briefly reviews the development of narrative focalization theory.It can be said that the narrative focalization theory of Genette makes a vital contribution to the development of narratology.Chapter Two demonstrates the focalization embodiments and narrative effects of zero focalization in this novel.In zero focalization narrative,the god-like omniscient narrator knows the thread of the development of the story.He can penetrate into the inner world of the characters in the story as well.Chapter Three discusses the variable internal focalization in the novel,which mainly focuses on three important characters Ruth and the Schlegel sisters,and expresses the author?s thoughts and meanings through their perspectives.Next,it analyzes the narrative effects of variable internal focalization.It not only vividly depicts some distinctive characters but also deepens the themes of“connection”and“alienation”.Chapter Four analyzes the external focalization and its narrative effects in the novel.This chapter illustrates the focalization embodiments of the wych-elm tree,the country house Howards End and the Wilcoxes?motor cars,and digs up the symbolic meanings behind them.The application of external focalization truly shows the extremely unstable social environment in London.The modern civilization leads to the alienation both the relationship between man and nature,and between that and man.In such social predicament,Forster?s humanistic thought is particularly precious,arousing the British people to think about modern civilization and traditional culture.The conclusion briefly summarizes the main research findings and points out the inadequacies of the thesis.It is also expected that the study may provide a reference for subsequent researches to some extent.In Howards End,Forster expresses his love for the tranquil rural life,his yearning for the beautiful nature,and his anxieties about the social problems brought about by modern civilization through the three narrative focalization types of zero focalization,internal focalization and external focalization.Therefore,this thesis intends to arouse contemporary people?s concern and thinking about the social problems nowadays.