Narrative Art In Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier

Ford Madox Ford is an important English novelist in the early twentieth century. The rise and development of English modernist novel is closely related to him. As one of the pioneers in English modernist fiction, Ford innovates literary forms, experiments upon English novel and practices new narrative methods. That his masterpiece, The Good Soldier, has always been regarded as a masterpiece of modernist has something to do with the novel's narrative art. Foreign critics have done researches on the novel's narrative art from different perspectives. However, only a few papers on The Good Soldier are found in the large number of domestic academic journals. And Ford's narrative art in modernist fiction is well reflected in the novel. For example, Ford practices the narrative method of progression d'effet put forward by him and creates an excellent example of an unreliable narrator in this novel. They have not been touched upon by critics in China. And Ford exhibits his exquisite mastery of point of view in this novel. Therefore, this thesis deals with Ford's narrative art with a focus on the narrative method of progression d'effet, the first person narrative and Dowell as unreliable narrator to see Ford's narrative art in modernist fiction.Chapter one mainly discusses how the narrative method of progression d'effet is reflected in The Good Soldier.Chapter two mainly deals with Ford's success in the first person narrative. In The Good Soldier, Ford exhibits his superb mastery of narrative point of view. Like other modernist writers, Ford conscientiously keeps himself out of the novel and employs a narrator to deliver the story to the reader. In the novel, he chooses John Dowell, a character in the novel and a participant in the events, as narrator. And John Dowell's "I" as witness constitutes The Good Soldier, which obtains unique artistic effect through Dowell's selecting of the events and cleverly weaving his narration.Chapter three is about the unreliability of Dowell's narration. In John Dowell, Ford creates the model of unreliable narrator. The unreliability of Dowell's narrationmakes it difficult for the reader to tell the truth from the false. That is Ford's narrative strategy and the result of Ford's experiment upon English novel.In conclusion, these narrative techniques are all the results of Ford's innovation in novel forms and Ford's achievements in his experiments upon English novel. They lead to The Good Soldier an undoubted masterpiece of modernism and embody Ford's narrative art in modernist fiction.