On The Narrative Time In Ian McEwan's Atonement

Ian McEwan is one of the highly respected contemporary British novelists.His writing career began in the 1970 s and has undergone profound thematic and technical transformations.The obsession of taboo subjects in the early stage gave him a “shock horror” label.However,in his later works,McEwan abandoned the exploration of grotesque and disturbing themes and focused more on characterization and narrative techniques.Atonement,published in 2001,is a masterpiece of McEwan's later writing style,which has attracted considerable attention from readers and critics alike.The intricacy of the novel leads to the diversification of critics' interpretation.The studies mainly focus on the themes and narrative devices.Although there are a few studies mentioned the narratology in the novel,the issue of “time” has not received sufficient attention.This thesis aims to investigate Atonement from the perspective of narrative time.By applying Gérard Genette's theory of narrative time,respectively order,duration,frequency,this thesis explores the time shift processes and its narrative effects in the characters' portrayal,plot development,and themes advancement.First of all,the thesis gives an in-depth study of McEwan's frequent uses of anachronies(prolepsis and analepsis).McEwan uses anachronies to uncover the personalities and destinies of the main characters.Then,by the close analysis of uneven narrative duration,the thesis discusses the role of plot development.McEwan utilizes acceleration and deceleration of narrative speed to makes the plot more mysterious and intriguing.And finally,by discussing the narrative frequency phenomenon in Atonement,the thesis demonstrates that McEwan creates repeated events and statements to highlight the themes.The thesis concludes that McEwan's tactful manipulation of “narrative time” in Atonement not only works to shape round characters,create an intricate plot and build multi-layered themes,but also contributes to his unique form of storytelling.