The Narrative Communication And The Generation Of Subject In Rushdie’s Works

In Salman Rushdie’s novels,the powerful narrative voice of the narrator is in sharp contrast to the breaking of its body and the breaking of the body of the text.Proceeding from the first-person omniscient narration,which makes the narrative voice strong,it is found that the omniscient narration of the character-bound narrator is in conflict with its limited perspective.In addition,Rushdie also uses traditional storytelling techniques.His works usually have a pair of visible character-bound narrator(teller)and character-bound narratee(listener),which form a link of narrative communication in the text.The communication between the narrator and the narratee not only causes the shift of the subject position of the two,but also changes the static balance of the text,making the text in a dynamic balance.The characters in nested stories cross the narrative content level to the narrating level,and compete for the "narrative right" with the narrators and narratees in the frame stories,thus causing the irreversible division of the narrative subject.Starting from the reading experience,this paper mainlyanalyzes the form of the works,and studies the change of the subject position whose narrators,narratees and the characters in the metadiegetic,caused by the intervention of the narratee in the storytelling,and explore the contradiction between the powerful narrative voice and the broken textual body in Rushdie’s novels.First,focus on the character-bound narrator.In the process of telling his family history to the character-bound narratee,the character-bound narrator presents the omniscience.On the one hand,the character-bound narrator knowsevents that he shouldn’t know,and he tellsseveral eventsin the same time but different places.On the other hand,he intervenes in the hearts of other characters and reveals their mental activities.In a word,he knows much more than he should know.However,his absence contradicts his omniscient narration,the details of the text present a fragmented and inconsistent state,and the textual body also gives the reader fragmented and disordered feelings in the non-linear narration process.The first chapter mainly demonstrates character-bound narrator drags the distant past into the present through false omniscient narration,so as tocreate his ideal self,obtain the identity of himself and the character-bound narratee.However,the details show his unreliability,and prove that this is merely his subjective illusion.Secondly,it focuses on the narrative communication between the narrators and the narratees.In Rushdie’s novels,the narrators have a strong desire to tell stories,and storytelling has become a way for them to keep on their life,while "narration" itself has become a place for them to pursue the object of desire.In the process of narration,the desire of the narrators is transferred to the narratees,and the triangle of desire is formed among the narrators,narratees and desire.The narrators and the narratees constantly change the object of desire because they agree with different subject positions in communication,so that the subject is in the process of generation.The second part mainly analyzes how the narrators and narratees become the subjects of desire in the process of narration and communication.Finally,focus on the charactersin the metadiegetic."Characters" here refer to the characters in the story told by the character-bound narrators,that is,the characters in the nested story.In fact,these characters and their narrators and narratees are in a distinct narrative level.In violation of narrative conventions,Rushdie let the characters cross the narrative content level to the narrative behavior level and speak.The following two situations occur in his works: one is that the character’s discourse and the narrator’s discourse cooperate with each other,and the narrator’s authority is not damaged;the second is that the character denies the narrator’s speech,and the identitythat the narrator pursues is destroyed by the character.In fact,in Rushdie’s works,narrative stratification has already implied the division of the narrative subject itself,with the "narrator-I" in the narrative content level and the "character-I" in the narrating level.The former keeps pursuing the latter while the latter keeps fleeing from the former,both of which show the division of the narrative subject.This chapter mainly discusses the problem of the division of character subject and narrative subject,caused by narrative levels and transgression narration.This paper analyzes the relationship between narration and subject in Rushdie’s novels by means of close reading,narrative theory and knowledge of subjectivity.This thesis argues that the omniscient narration of the narrator in the novel is false omniscient caused by the illusion of the subject.The narrator himself is a subject of desire,and his narrative communication with the narratee leads to the subject of desire being generated,and the subject of the narratee occupies the other’s position and becomes a variable of possible events.Narrative stratification conceals the division of the narrative subject and character subject.The characters’ transgression which leads to the irretrievable division of the narrative subject reveals the rebellious power of the characters.Transgression of the narrators shows the control of the narrators,resulting in the multiple selves of the characters.Although the narrative voice in Rushdie’s novel is strong and powerful,the textual body presents a broken state.The opposition between the two shows the irreducibility of language to the body and its desire.