Investigating The Narrative Legibility Of Ulysses

Ulysses is a world-renowned literary masterpiece with intricate literary techniques.The novel was translated by Xiao Qian and Wen Jieruo in 1994 and Jin Di in the same year.In 2021,the novel was retranslated by Liu Xiangyu.Chapter 14 Oxen of the Sun is one the most difficult chapter to translate due to its complexity in form.This thesis compares the narrative legibility of the translations of Chapter 14 in the latest versions by the translators and explores the possible reasons for the differences.The current research on the narrative features of translations of the novel is not systematic and adequate enough.This thesis combines general investigation and systematic sampling to examine the heterogeneity,ambiguity and insufficiency of the translations,in order to evaluate their narrative legibility.The thesis also explores the possible reasons for the difference via paratextual examination.The research finds that Liu’s version best preserves the stylistic heterogeneity,ambiguity and insufficiency;Jin’s version best maintains the original effect of multilingualism and the ambiguity caused by perturbations in the referential system;Xiao and Wen’s edition is the most reader-friendly.In general,Liu’s retranslation is the closest to the original in narrative legibility,followed by Jin’s edition and Xiao and Wen’s translation.Through paratextual examination,the reasons for the different decisions in legibility might be ascribed to the gap in the translators’ priorities,their attitudes to readers and their storages of literary devices.