A Study On The Literary Cartography Of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Novels

The study of literary text from the perspective of literary cartography can not only transform the language and the narrative text into a visually perceptible spatial form on the whole,but also bring a new method of literary reading and interpretation,which helps us to understand the text with spatial and visual thinking mode.This paper focuses on the later novels of Kazuo Ishiguro and the corresponding mapping practice,trying to make a new interpretation of the theme of the novels.Based on the four representative works of four representative works of The Unconsoled、When We Are Orphans、Never Let Me Go and The Buried Giant as the main research object,through the correlation analysis of the map visualization and spatial imagery of the text,we will unfold the connection between spatial representation and character survival dilemma,especially self-construction,in the narrative of the novel.In this way,we can further reveal Kazuo Ishiguro’s concern on how individuals reshape and construct themselves under the impact of the drastic changes of the times and the new world.On the theoretical and practical level,this paper mainly draws on the spatial literary critical thinking of figurative drawing emphasized by Robert Tally in the study of literary cartography to analyze the cartographic features of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel narrative and the corresponding spatial representation.In addition,as a useful supplement to Tally’s emphasis on figurative maps while ignoring physical maps,this paper also makes use of digital geography technology and Guo Fangyun’s cartographic method to draw flat maps.This paper tries to make a new interpretation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel creation in the process of combining the two critical methods.Specifically,this paper focuses on the text analysis from the perspective of "double cartography".It not only focuses on how the author draws a metaphorical spatial map and expresses his understanding of the world through narration in his writing,but also devotes himself to "re-drawing" the literary map drawn by the author,that is,drawing a spatial map for the novel created by the author through digital technology to interpret the novel text.The former emphasizes the spatial interpretation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels with the critical thinking mode of literary drawing.The latter,as a useful supplement to the figurative map constructed by the author with words,further presents the spatial representation of the narrative in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels by drawing a visual and intuitive physical digital map,analyzes the geographical information and spatial relations in the novels and excavates their metaphorical meanings.This paper consists of three parts: introduction,text and conclusion.The introduction mainly introduces the research status of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels and the core elements of the theory of literary drawing.At the same time,it illustrates the adaptability and feasibility of analyzing the creation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novels from the perspective of literary cartography.The first chapter starts from the connection between narrative and drawing,and discusses the cartographic characteristics of Ishiguro’s novels.This chapter takes the novels The Unconsoled and When We Are Orphans as examples,focusing on the spatial construction and spatial writing in the narrative of novels by Kazuo Ishiguro.Firstly,the isomorphic relationship between spatial representation and characters’ living condition is revealed by analyzing the labyrinthine public space construction and the alienated private space construction.Secondly,the author’s narrative intention is further revealed by analyzing the narrative strategy of distortion of time and space in the novel.The second chapter,as a link between the preceding and the following,takes The Buried Giant and Never Let Me Go as examples to analyze the dual metaphorical attributes of literary maps.By discussing the metaphorical reference of map to power and identity,this paper aims at deeply exploring how the author integrates space,map,literature,history,identity and power imagination into one novel creation practice.The third chapter,as a supplement to the metaphorical map research focused on in the first two chapters,interprets the spatial relations and their implications in the novel through the drawing of spatial models such as digital maps.The first is to draw a map of the movements of characters in Kazuo Ishiguro’s single novel and analyze its metaphorical meaning.The second is to analyze the evolution of Ishiguro’s narrative form and main idea by drawing an overview map of his whole novel creation.In addition,Ishiguro’s total fiction work includes eight novels and a collection of short stories.This paper selects four novels in the transition period of his novel creation as the research object.Although other works are not the main object of analysis,they may be used as supplementary arguments in the course of the thesis.