TheNarrativeStyleandTechniquesinHemingway’sTheSunAlsoRises-2019年文档

1、The Narrative Style and Techniques in Hemingway s The Sun Also Rises: In the novel The Sun Also Rises, the charm of Hemingways narration lies in his expertise in controlling both the skills of dialogue and stream-of-consciousness under the principle of the iceberg theory within the canvas of the lac

2、onic narrative. The narrative s readiness and slowness is either accelerated by the speedy and rhythmic dialogue or slowed down by the lingering of the stream of consciousness. They contribute together to a perfection of form.In addition to its multiple themes such as personal loss, disillusionment,

3、 the death of love and so on, The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway s first and best novel, features “Hemingways ec onomical use of dialogue and physical description to expose the inner lives of his characters ”, (Mztuz: 188) which is later to“be praised by the NobelPrize Committee for itsforceful and style

4、-makingmastery of the art of modern narration ” .(Rovit & Brenner: 2). Jake Barnes, the narrator and protagonist in The Sun Also Rises, is not only a function of the style but also its source regardless of the suspicion of his trustworthiness. The bare and straightforward narrative for the setting,

5、together with the stream of consciousness constitute Jake s narration and display its style. The charm of Hemingway s narration lies in his expertise in controlling both the skills of dialogue and stream-of-consciousness under the principle of the iceberg theory on the canvas of the laconic narrativ

6、e. The narrative s readiness and slowness is either accelerated by the speedy and rhythmic dialogue or slowed down by the lingering of the stream of consciousness.The Sun Also Rises is narrated in the first person by Jake Barnes, an impotent newspaper man. Jake is constantly looking at or observing

7、the other characters, himself, the life in Paris, the scenery of Spain and the bullfights. However, not everything that occurs or comes within his view is narrated by Jake. In The Sun Also Rises, Robert Cohn is given the most description about his life experience before the start scene in Paris. It

8、s not until the climax in Pamplona that readers come to see“the scrupulous andsatisfying orchestration ” (Young: 195) of the over -all structure. As for other characters such as Brett Ashley,Mike Campbell, Bill Gorton and the Count, Jake spends less ink relating their early experiences but presents

9、their characteristics and personalities through their actions and dialogues, strictly sticking to the iceberg theory.After Jake and Brett first meet in the dancing-club, they take a taxi. In the cab, Brett refuses Jakes touch andsays: “I don t want to go through that hell again.”(Hemingway: 26) The

10、word “again ” informs that this kind of situation has happened more than once. It reminds readers to think more about their real relationship and enables them to picture their “hell ” past -time, although no more information is given. WhenJ ake returns to his room after leaving Brett, he is indulged

11、 in torturing meditation. The idea of “Probably I never would have had any trouble if I hadn t run into Brett when they shipped me toEngland. ” (Hemingway: 31) proves readers speculation on their unusual relation and deepens their understanding of and sympathy for their hopeless love.Besides the omi

12、ssion of his knowledge about their relation, together with those of other characters, Jake, the narrator, also avoids telling too much about his previous experience. Whats more, how Jake was injured in the war, what the war was like and what he experienced in the war is not conveyed to readers direc

13、tly except for such simply but thought- provoking sentences as “it was a rotten way to be wounded and flying on a joke front like theItalian ”. (Hemingway: 31) At the end of the novel, the cab scene in Madrid, structurally resonating the cab scene in Paris at the beginning of the novel, marks the fu

14、ll stop of the novel. Without a word of how Jake and Brett are going to live their life,“Isnt it pretty to think so?”(Hemingway: 247) subtly implies Jakes new view on hisrelation with Brett after going through the wash in the sea of San Sebastian. As a matter of fact, the loss of parents and phallus

15、, the isolated life not only force Jake to resort to the devotion to profession and immersion in outdoor sports, but also inspire Hemingway to conjoin “narrative style with moral style ” which is seemingly “a last -ditch strategy to cope with a world stripped of illusions where nada is omnipresent a

16、nd well- nigh omnipotent ”(Ro vit: 203).Jakes occupation as a newspaper man, and his impotence which fails him to enjoy the revels in Pariscafs and bars enable him to take a detached position in the novel and win him a role of narrator. Addicted to irony, he exerts a function of the style as well as

17、 its source.This style established on the Hemingway code and the sportsman s code is congruent with Hemingways icebergtheory. As the protagonist, Jake Barnes is one of Hemingway code hero. Actually, Hemingway creates a group of people sharing the same code in The Sun Also Rises. Brett, Bill, Mike, t

18、he Count and even Romero, all of them belong to the us-group sharing or understanding the code while Cohn is not “one of us ”, who will not go away when Brett is done with him, cries and proclaims his love for Brett publicly. On the basis of the support of this us-group and the contrast of the not-o

19、ne-of-us, the style of the novel is realized and strengthened. Jakes narrative, whichfeatures plain words, few adjectives, simple sentences, and frequent repetition, or in a word understatement, matches the code and his image of a tough man, and complies with the iceberg theory.Hemingways special se

20、nsibility for Spain and strong adoration for bullfights is transferred to Jake Barnes, the partially autobiographical character. If Jake exerts a function of the style, the“sportsmans code” also constitutes an important element influencing the narrative style besides the Hemingway code (it refers to

21、 Hemingways ethic code). The Hemingway code a nd the sportsman s code interact with each other.As an aficionado, Jake pays a high tribute to Romeros performance in the bullring in his description. As an aficionado, Jake has the sportsmans code as well as theHemingway code. Thus, in his narrative, Ja

22、ke intuitively imitates the skill and spirit Romero displays in bullfight ?C his thoughts pen is “all so slow and socontrolled ” and his narration is so close to the reality that readers will astonishingly find that the act of Romero and the narration of Jake become one. Meanwhile, the undercurrent

23、in Romeros heart while facing the danger of death and the complicated feelings of Jake for Romero are kept under the water. Only sensitive readers can taste the profound emotions and meanings between the ironic lines.The Sun Also Rises is regarded as Hemingways most wholly satisfying book by most cr

24、itics, for its narrative tone and its famous understated ironic prose style. Hemingway excels in using short and precise dialogue to tell his story and make the people live and act, using itto enrich and develop characters from without, and using it to strengthen the theme. Hemingways dialogue has f

25、our major functions. Firstly, Hemingways dialogue is direct speech which is more lively and straight, compared with the other three forms of speech. Secondly, Hemingway employs dialogue to showing the story instead of telling the story which makes the narrator stands aside and gives the floor to oth

26、er characters. Thirdly, Hemingways dialogue canaccelerate the narrative speed of the novel and make his story move with intensity. At last, Hemingway uses plenty of colloquial words in his dialogue, through which obscures the distance between the narrator s language style and the other characters （张

27、薇 : 57-61）. Hemin gways efforts to put down the real action and emotion are rewarded for his accomplishment in the narration including dialogue, both of which share the common feature of understatement with profound connotation. The conversation between Jake and Bill in the fishing scene is such a s

28、ample dialogue. It indicates their understanding with each other and consolidates Bills important function in the novel.On the contrary, Jakes stream of consciousness taken into account, Hemingway achieves the perfect form a novelneeds in The Sun Also Rises. If reading The Sun Also Rises carefully,

29、readers can find that Hemingway also utilizes the skill of the stream of consciousness to deplore the inner world of Jake, the representative of the lost generation. Jakes strea m of consciousness, which amounts to a considerable part, can be picked up when the narrative speed of the novel needs to

30、be slowed down, for example, the one after Jake returns tohis home the night when Jakeand Brett meet again in Paris; the one in the Catholic Church, and the one in the fiesta, etc. It invites readers to stop for a while, and then loose them on their journey in the land of the twentieth-century Ameri

31、ca ?C the waste land of fun but with no hope. (Young: 195) Hemingwaysstream of consci ousness is different from Joyces. Thestream of consciousness of Hemingway s code hero Jake abides by his philosophic perspective and the principle of iceberg theory. Jake s mind would not go everywhere aimlessly, b

32、ut go somewhere aimlessly; not go too much deeply, but go to a certain depth. His pain is so much that he does not allow himself to pouring out his heart. His thoughts are controlled as gracefully as his actions and words do. Jake s stream of consciousness complements and merges into the narrative f

33、or setting and dialogue. Those elements work together and consummate The Sun Also Rises with its special narrative style and techniques.Hemingway notes down his ideal of writing in Death in the Afternoon that “If a writer can make people live there may be no great characters inhis book, but itis pos

34、siblethat his book will remain as a whole; as an entity; as a novel. No matter how good a phrase or a simile he may have if he puts it in where it is not absolutely necessary and irreplaceable he is spoiling his work for egotism. ” (Rovit & Brenner: 145) From the above quotation, readers can understand where the organic quality of Hemingwaysfiction derives from. The Sun Also Rises