The Spatial Narration In Another Country

Another Country(1962)is an excellent work written by Afro-American writer James Baldwin(1924-1987).This novel has been researched from various perspectives by domestic and oversea scholars since its publication.The racial problems are obviously showed in the text,but scholars often analyze it to show other themes instead of focusing on it only.It is obvious that the writer constructs some different kinds of spaces in the novel,but there are few researchers discussing the racial theme of the novel from the perspective of spatial narration.Therefore,this thesis will probe into the racial discrimination encountered by the characters in American society from the perspectives of topographical space,textual space and social space through using Gabriel Zoran's theory of space in narrative and Henry Lefebvre's theory of social space.The thesis is divided into five parts.The first part is Introduction,which briefly introduces James Baldwin and his novel Another Country,makes a literature review of the writer's works both at home and abroad,and then summarizes the space theories.Chapter One is mainly about the analysis of topographical space.The analysis of apartment spaces in the text shows the living predicament of black people and the severe racial discrimination in American society.Chapter Two mainly discusses the textual space of the text.The description of spaces shows Baldwin's selectivity of language,and the depiction of clear spaces stresses the doomed fate of the interracial couples.To highlight the racial contradictions between whites and blacks,the writer puts the important information of racial problems in analepsis parts.It,to some extent,may break the narrative linearity and make the textual space disconnected and multi-dimensional,but it helps to make the story more coherent and complete and draw readers' attention on racial problems.The former two chapters are mainly analyzed through Zoran's space theory,which mainly concerns with the spaces on the structural level.To have a deeper understanding of the text,Chapter Three focuses on another aspect of space,the social space,under the social space theory of Lefebvre.It is in the social spaces of Harlem streets and parks in New York City that white people's discrimination against black people is evident.Meanwhile,the writer attempts to create a new social space “another country” where black and white people are free from racial problems,showing his wishful thinking on racial relationships.The last part is Conclusion,which summarizes three kinds of spaces showed in the novel and the racial problems revealed by the writer in these spaces.The application of spatial narration theory highlights the racial theme and shows the writer's deep concern for racial issues,making readers have a better understanding of and a deeper reflection on severe racial discrimination in American society.