A Study On Narrative Strategies In The Sympathizer From The Perspective Of Genette’s Narrative Theory

With his debut novel The Sympathizer,Viet Thanh Nguyen won many awards,including the 100 th Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and Mac Arthur Foundation Fellowship.The Sympathizer tells the story of a double spy between South and North Vietnam in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.In the novel,Viet Thanh Nguyen’s reflection on the Vietnam War calls for people to love peace and oppose war.Through ingenious and unique narrative strategies,Nguyen clearly shows the hardship of the refugees in the Vietnam War and the protagonist’s suffering.The narrative artistic style of The Sympathizer provides new ideas for the creation of Vietnamese American literature.Therefore,the research on the narrative strategies of The Sympathizer is of great academic value.Based on Gérard Genette’s Narrative Theory,this thesis analyzes the narrative strategies in The Sympathizer.From the aspects of Narrative Time,Mood and Voice,it explores how the author Viet Thanh Nguyen increases the aesthetic beauty,creates full and round characters and highlights the themes of the novel through his unique narrative strategies.The first chapter of this thesis is an introduction to the author Viet Thanh Nguyen and the novel The Sympathizer,as well as literature review both at home and abroad.The second chapter is the theoretical foundation,which explains the main viewpoints of narrative theories in Genette’s Narrative Discourse.The third chapter discusses the characteristics of Narrative Time in the novel.In terms of Order,the author’s flexible use of Flashback and Flashforword adds mysterious beauty to the novel.In terms of Duration,the author combines Ellipsis,Summary and Pause skillfully,which brings a harmonious and free sense of rhythm to the novel.In terms of Frequency,the author uses Repeating Narrative and Iterative Narrative,which greatly increases the vividness of the novel.They together increase the aesthetic value of the novel.Chapter Four,based on Narrative Mood,analyzes the strategies of characterization from the perspective of Narrative Focalization and Narrative Discourse.The author successfully creates the protagonist as a full and round character through the Internal Focalization.And the External Focalization skillfully gives life to other characters.The author constructs complex characters’ relationship through the use of Dramatic Dialogue and Interior Monologue.Chapter Five,based on Narrative Voice,explores the role of the author’s narrative strategies in highlighting the themes from the aspects of Narrative Level,Person and Narrator.The prominent establishment of Narrative Level plays the role of repeating the themes of the novel.The change of Person elevates the novel from personal experience to collective memory,and deepens the themes.The last part is the conclusion which summarizes the whole thesis.Through the analysis of the narrative strategies in The Sympathizer,this thesis is expected to attract more critics’ attention on Nguyen’s narrative strategies.Studying Viet Thanh Nguyen’s unique narrative style provides us with better understanding of the novel and Vietnamese American literature.