A Narrative Analysis Of If I Forget Thee,Jerusalem

William Faulkner is one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, and also a great experimenter of modern fiction writing techniques. He never stops the innovation of writing techniques, such as stream of consciousness, transformation of narrative perspectives, timing reverse and counterpoint structures. These ingenious writing techniques together with profound thoughts establish Faulkner’s remarkable position of the literary world.If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem, his eleventh novel, is one of non-Yoknapatawpha novels. He mixes two seemingly unrelated stories in one novel, and such kind of writing technique provokes great discussion since it has published. The narrative strategies of the novel are very special which are worthy of our exploration.The author of this thesis, based on the theory of Narratology and starting from the narrative situation, narrative time and counterpoint structures, attempts to discuss the narrative effects and functions of the novel.The author concludes that by transforming the narrative focus, Faulkner creates a living environment of the leading characters and shapes lifelike figures; by using the sequence, duration and frequency of narrative time, he emphasizes the main plots which catch readers’attention and make the novel more readable; by applying the counterpoint structures, the two stories are united naturally as well as independent to each other, and this kind of arrangement not only produces a more attractive novel, but also helps readers to think more profoundly about life. Through the applications of the unique and ingenious narrative strategies in If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem, Faulkner presents readers with great tension and penetration power endowed by narrative arts, and more importantly, inspires readers to think profoundly about the eternal themes such as responsibility, love and freedom.