The Analysis Of David Lodge's Small World From The Perspectives Of Dialogism And Carnivalization

M. M. Bakhtin(1895—1975)is one of the most famous critics in the former Soviet Union in the 20th century. His theories of dialogism and carnivalization excite the strong interest of the international academic world. As a productive theorist, dialogism and carnivalization can be treated as his great achievements.According to Bakhtin, everyone can not leave from the other, the culture and the world, and exists lonely, so the dialogic relationship is formed. Any literary text doses not have a unitary voice, but multi-voices. The theory of dialogism changes the relationship between author and characters in traditional text theory and breaks its reasonable and drowsy world, presenting a carnival world. Characters are free from author and participate in the carnival world. Their words are full of freedom and absurdity and the whole text is in the atmosphere of carnivalization.David Lodge is a well-known contemporary British literary novelist and literary critic. He is famous for his study on structuralism and M.M. Bakhtin's theory in literary criticism circle. In 1990, he published his collection of After Bakhtin: Essays on Fiction and Criticism. In this collection, he studied carefully on Bakhtin's theories of dialogism and carnivalization. Lodge's writing skills happen to hold the same view with Bakhtin's theories of dialogism and carnivalization. On the one side, his creation presents the artistic characteristic of dialogism; on the other side, his creation also embodies the carnival spirit of text. As to the dialogism, Lodge's novels are different from traditional novels, for they break through all constrains from authority and multi-voices can be heard everywhere inside the text. As to the carnivalization, every literary scene is a carnival square. The characters take part in the carnival festival and play a game of crowning and decrowning. Then, the authority is subverted, achieving an effect of satire.Bakhtin's theories of dialogism and carnivalization break a new angle to the understanding of Small World. Compared with traditional criticisms, his theories should be treated as a new way of thinking. With the theory, we can have more intensive analyses and understanding to various literary texts which contain phenomenon of dialogue and carnival cultures.