A Study Of Spatial Narrative In Michael Cunningham’s Novels

Michael Cunningham(1952-)is a famous contemporary American novelist,screenwriter of films and TV series.His works have been awarded many times and landed on the best-seller list.Based on the spatial narrative theory,this thesis studies the spatial narrative characteristics in Michael Cunningham’s works.The author integrates the unique spatial experience into the text,divides the different narrative Spaces,and uses the spatial narrative strategy to present the spatial characteristics of the text,and further excavates the value of spatial narrative in the novel.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,this paper is divided into three parts.The introduction part sorts out Michael Cunningham’s domestic and foreign research review,and summarizes the theoretical framework adopted by this research,and on this basis,proposes the innovation of this paper.The first part of the thesis focuses on the narrative space in Michael Cunningham’s novels,and its role in the plot development and highlighting the theme.The narrative space of Cunningham’s novels is divided into physical space and spiritual space.The physical space is the space in which the characters’ activities and events develop in the novel,which is divided into public space and private space.Cunningham expresses the personal experience of the protagonist in the space through the physical space.Spiritual space refers to the space involved in the psychological consciousness activities of the characters in the novel.Cunningham explains people’s search for the value of self-existence through the spiritual tentacles of human and physical exploration into this space.These narrative Spaces not only promote the development of the story,but also highlight the theme of the novel.The second part of the thesis mainly discusses the spatial narrative strategy in Michael Cunningham’s novels.Michael Cunningham’s works do not follow the traditional narrative mode,but use a variety of spatial narrative strategies to make the works show the characteristics of space.This paper mainly analyzes it from three aspects: the interaction between space and time,the spatial narrative technique and the spatial transformation technique.The third part of the thesis focuses on the spatial narrative function of Michael Cunningham’s novels.This part mainly discusses the function and function of spatial narrative in Michael Cunningham’s novels from three aspects: works,readers and the world.Its function and function are firstly reflected in the text.The spatial narration highlights the "literariness" of the text.Secondly,it strengthens the constructive role of readers in reading and fills the blank of narrative.Finally,it is reflected in the relationship between the text and the world,and points out that the spatial narrative reveals the inner reality of the external world.The conclusion reiterates the spatial narrative features in Michael Cunningham’s works and points out that the spatial narrative can make us re-examine the literary value and significance of Cunningham’s novels.The research from the perspective of spatial narrative is more in line with the living situation of modern people.The interpretation of Cunningham’s works also provides a reference for people to solve the spiritual crisis,which is also the practical significance of this research.