A Study Of The Narrative Space In Winesburg Ohio

With the changes of belief and emotion during the1920s, a group of writers who came from relatively closed, predominantly agricultural Midwest leaped to the literary world, and formed a unique scenery in the history of American literature. Growing up in Ohio, Sherwood Anderson caught people’s eyes because of his representative work Winesburg Ohio which has became a significant part in the literary map of the whole world with its vivid and specific images. The rising of space theory not only has a significant influence on the thoughts of art field, but also provides a new perspective for literary study. According to the characteristics of this novel, the narrative space is divided into" topographical space","social space" and"spatial form".First of all, from the topographical space aspect, space is regarded as "the place of action" presenting the view of the small town which is the combining site of urban-rural and social-economic way of life, and also the collision point of social and cultural conflicts and the contradiction of power during the period of transition. As the "acting place", space is the marker of time suggesting the perception and passing of time, while it has also became a topic of its subject matter, witnessing, recording, and telling about the change of Winesburg’s appearance and stories of the people under the industrial wave.Second, from the social space aspect, Anderson focused on constructing the natural space and urban space which launched on the relationship between people and nature, people and society, people and people. Natural space is the bailment of people living in the town which is going far away from their life gradually. While urban space is silent, on the one hand, the public space indicates the transformation crisis, on the other hand, the metaphorical description of the private space reveals the loneliness of grotesques’ inner world, they were stick to their tradition and selves, maintained a pure and simple heart.Finally, spatial form is based on the features of space art. The protagonist of one or more segments to the scene in the unique life course recreates the rhythm of life and prospects the truth of life. Anderson also used "topic-juxtaposition" narrative mode with a variety of hints, symbols, images, connections for reference, and the unity of theme which puts the25stories into a whole with spatial relation, so as to realize the spatial structure of the narration of the novel. In conclusion, the narrative space of Winesburg Ohio shows multiple dimensions and rich ideological connotation. Space is not only the meaning symbolic system of the novel, but also an important dimension of modern novel narrative art, which fully embodies Anderson’s sense of modernity, and provides a new way to understand his distinctive narrative aesthetics.