The Power Of Reminiscence Narration

Julian Barnes is one of the most distinguished contemporary English writers.Together with Martin Amis and Ian McEwan,he is regarded as one of the three giants in contemporary British literature.The Only Story,his latest novel published in 2018,returns back to his familiar writing of reminiscence.Compared with his previous novels,The Only Story takes reminiscence both as the form and the content of its narration.This thesis aims to analyze the reminiscence narration of this novel from the aspects of narrative perspectives,narrative time and narrative space,and maintains that Barnes not only adopts reminiscence narration to connect the past with the present,represent the images and individual growth of the protagonist,but also demonstrates the narrative vitality of reminiscence narration.As for the narrative perspectives of reminiscence narration,Barnes adopts three types of perspectives,including the first-person perspective,the second-person perspective and the third-person perspective in this novel to construct the image of Paul.With the first-person perspective,Barnes characterizes the rebellious tendency in Paul as a teenager.The second-person perspective is used to construct a direct communication between Paul and the reader,which highlights the helplessness of young Paul.Moreover,the third-person perspective helps to elongate the distance between the narrator and the story,forming the image of a subjectively-detached Paul.The narration of Paul from a rebellious teenager to a helpless young man and finally to a subjectively-detached adult is realized through the shift of narrative perspectives,which reveals the multidimensionality and complexity of personal growth.In another word,Barnes exerts the narrative capacity of narrative perspectives in a dynamic way of constructing characters.Concerning the narrative time of reminiscence narration,Barnes utilizes non-chronological time order,uneven time duration and unequal time frequency,all of which attribute to perform the function of reminiscence narration to communicate with the past.Non-chronological time order presents a comparatively integral past and connects the present with the past for the protagonist;while uneven time duration makes the story concise and focuses on their love story;with unequal time frequency,Barnes exposes the psychological distress of the protagonist,providing him with the possibility to reflect on the past.By a comprehensive usage of narrative time,Barnes fully mobilizes the narrative ability of reminiscence narration in communicating with the past.Moreover,Barnes selects typical suburbs of London in the 1960 s as the story space,which not only serves as the historical background and cultural context for the progression of plots butalso helps the expression of the theme.The shift of story spaces drives the development of plots,and symbolizes the personal growth and psychological transformation of the protagonist.Barnes takes Susan’s ward as a space for epiphany,which helps his hero achieve spiritual redemption and reconcile with the past.With the narrative strategy of adopting multi-dimensional time,Barnes has already ensured a communication between present and past.And it is by narrative space in reminiscence narration that Barnes finally realizes the reconciliation with the past.Barnes employs reminiscence as the narrative strategy to convey the story,and also exerts the power of reminiscence narration in this process.Narrative perspectives of reminiscence narration prove the power of reminiscence narration in self-construction.Furthermore,narrative time of reminiscence narration reveals the power of reminiscence narration in communicating with the past.In addition,Narrative space of reminiscence narration exemplifies the power of reminiscence narration in reconciling with the past.For Barnes,reminiscence narration is not only a narrative form,but also becomes his specialized way to conceptualize the world.In this way,Barnes outstands himself in his metaphysical contemplation of reminiscence and artistic representation of reminiscence narration in contemporary British literature.