In this essay I will attempt to apply narratology to the novel Waterland by Graham Swift. ...
My starting point, and what will form the basis of this essay is the area of narrative structure and how through the examination of this, the other aspects of narratology previously mentioned are given meaning. ... 19-20)
In Waterland the story and discourse form an obvious distinction, this is basically due to the fact that the narrative we read is not the same chronologically as how the story would naturally unfold. ... However, it is deciphering the reasons and implications of this which makes applying narratology to this text such a broadly fruitful process. ... The text of Waterland is a relevant example upon which to apply this idea and is perhaps the most apt technical definition to explain the effect of the narrative structure on the reader. ... In Waterland we begin with Freddie Parr’s death, this is a sense of establishment, at least in the sense of establishing the initial problem and even the main characters. ... To this degree then such a simple concept fits Waterland, but this is here where the boundary of story and discourse is most palpable. ...
Characterisation is crucial to any novel and in Waterland this is through the concepts of traits, actions and attributes. ...
Characters are also developed through the use of metonyms in Waterland. ...
Setting bears relation to characterisation and also to the themes of a text as well as forming a platform for ideological implications. In Waterland we are staged with the one main setting of the Norfolk fens. ... 142-143)
I do not wish to talk about this in too much detail but I will briefly apply two of the codes to Waterland to illustrate the strength of them. The symbolic code organises the binary oppositions, in Waterland this includes clever and slow: Dick’s slowness creates Freddie’s death whilst Tom’s intelligence results in Dick’s death. ...
I have looked at how various aspects of narratology can be applied to Waterland using selected theories to illustrate the broad and difficult task of undertaking an analysis of such characteristics in any given text. In this I feel Waterland was a solid platform for such a topic, the forms raised interesting issues to try and define aspects of narratology a concept as slippery as the North Atlantic eels inhabiting the Ouse.
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