A Study Of Text Coherence Of Beloved From The Perspective Of The SPGU Model

The SPGU model is an important branch of theoretical research of discourse analysis.According to the theoretical research of discourse analysis, the SPGU model is a significantpart of schematic knowledge and coherence, which subordinates the analysis of contextualsystem that belongs to the research system of coherence.(See figure3,4,5,6) The SPGUmodel is one of the most integrated and famous models of schema theory in the research fieldof Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is used for interpreting the process of psychologicalcomprehension by cognitive psychologists and stored in one’s long-term memory at ahierarchal level. It can deal with the information by the top-down model or the bottom-upmodel, and then it can cause a couple of activation patterns. During the process of textunderstanding, to a large extent, readers need to apply the given knowledge, activate andconstruct relevant information by the SPGU model, which can lead to the interpretation oftext coherence. The SPGU model can actively promote the interpretation of text, which makesthe SPGU model play a remarkable effect in the text understanding and discourse analysis.Toni Morrison is the first Afro-American woman writer who wins the Nobel Prizelaureate for literature (1993), and she gains national prominence and reputation. So far,Morrison has published nine representative novels. One of the most famous works is Beloved.Once it has been published, it resonates around the American literature. The books andarticles which review on Beloved are published endlessly by scholars at home and abroad. Thenarrative order of Beloved does not follow the traditional liner pattern like other novels, butdescribe the stories from various intertwining angles according to the present experience andthe past recollection of different characters, which make readers confused about the structureof Beloved, and readers think that Beloved is not coherent. Just because of the particularity ofthe structure of Beloved and positive function that the SPGU model plays in textunderstanding, the study of text coherence of Beloved based on the SPGU model is ofsignificance.This thesis makes research into the text coherence of Beloved mainly from two aspects based on the SPGU model. On the one hand, this thesis analyses the scripts, plans, goals andthemes of Beloved on the basis of certain characters’ roles and active information undercertain scenes, which assists readers in understanding Beloved from a macro-angle; On theother hand, due to the characteristics of dynamic hierarchy of the SPGU model, this thesisutilizes the SPGU model to show certain characters’ roles and behavioral information undercertain situation through the schemata. Readers can grasp the narrative structure of Belovedintuitively and clearly, which promotes the understanding of narrative structure of Beloved.These relevant schemata can be naturally connected with each other by a dynamic andhierarchical way. The connections of schemata of Beloved constitute clues to text coherenceof Beloved. This thesis combines the theoretical interpretation with text analysis, on the onehand, this thesis provides a new perspective for the interpretation of Morrison’s Beloved, anddeepens the understanding of the text for readers. On the other hand, this thesis demonstratesthe feasibility of the SPGU model in the text analysis, which has reference function in thefield of the SPGU model to make analysis of the text, and the field of application of thetheory is widened.