Chess And Western Novels In The 20^th Century:A Narrative Approach

Chess is both a game and an art,and it is also the object of frequent description in Western literature.In the Western novels of 20th century,chess is not only a component of a novel's story,but also combined with the constantly innovating novel narrative art,presenting unique narrative features and aesthetic experience.From the perspective of post-classical narratology theories,this thesis studies the Western novels related to chess in the 20th ce1tury,analyzes the narrative function of chess in the novels,and further explores the relationship of chess and literature and culture.Chess has influence on several core elements of novel narrative,mainly in the aspects of character,progression and space.As a war game,chess mimics the arms of a real war.Each piece of chess has its own identity,forming a miniature structural model of human class society.This feature of chess affects the characterization of the novels.As far as individual figures are concerned,chess plays a role in positioning and characterizing the characters in the novels;in terms of the character system,chess has a structural significance for the setting of multiple characters in the novels.In terms of progression,chess constitutes the dual dynamics of both the text and the reader.In the aspect of textual dynamics,chess forms the basis of the development of a novel,with the story an explicit imitation of a certain chess game or a certain chess game as the deep structure of a novel.In the aspect of readerly dynamics,the special information formed by chess leads readers to make judgment and relevant responses to the development of events.Chess is also involved in the construction of the narrative world of the novels.It affects the story space and the spatial form of the text.The metaphorical story space constructed by chess becomes the characterization of the characters and contributes to the theme of the novel together with the characters.The rules of chess,on the other hand,are adopted by some novelists in the 20th century to construct unique spatial forms of the texts.In the Western novels of the 20th century,chess has a narrative function and presents different aesthetic features.The influence of chess on the narrative core elements of the novels is not only reflected in the forms of the texts,but also the inner game spirit,as well as its historical and cultural connotation.By participating in the narrative,chess and its cultural significance have influenced the meaning construction of the novels.