The Studies Of Unnatural Narrative In André Brink's Philida

André Phillipus Brink(1935-2015)is a famous contemporary South African novelist,playwright,literary critic,translator,scholar and social activist,and one of the most influential writers in South Africa.Philida is his 21 st novel.It tells the story of the cruel oppression and extreme suffering suffered by the female slave Philida,who persistently resists and gains independence and freedom at last.Through the detailed textual analysis of the novel,this thesis mainly explores how Brink uses the unique writing techniques of unnatural narrative to rebel against South Africa's grand historical narrative,rebuild the identity and history of the marginalized others,and rewrite the true historical existence of the marginal groups.The thesis consists of five chapters:Chapter One is composed of the brief introduction to the author and his life experiences,the content of Philida,literature review,the theoretical points and the structure and significance of this thesis.Chapter Two conducts a deep analysis on the unnatural narrators and storytelling way in Philida,including the multi-person narrators,the frequently shifting character narrations of homodiegetic narrators,and the authorial narration of heterodiegetic narrator.All of these are the unique unnatural techniques that Brink uses to reconstruct the history and subject identity of the marginalized groups.Chapter Three focuses on the unnatural time and spaces,including the retrogressive time lines,disordered speech time,fused spaces blending past and present and the coexistence of the living and the dead.All of these are the important focal unnatural temporalities displayed in the work.Chapter Four elucidates the unnatural minds and impossible scenarios,namely,the unnatural unreadable minds and some impossible descriptions.It demonstrates the persistent and tenacious resistance of the others.Chapter Five is the conclusion: Brink's Philida is a powerful practice of unnatural narrative skills in the text.By describing Philida's life trajectory,Brink rewrites the real existence of marginal groups in the grand history of South Africa,and realizes the reflection of South African history.It definitely has a positive impact on the real rapprochement between the blacks and whites in the post-apartheid era.At the same time,all of these highlight that Brink is a writer who always has a strong sense of social responsibility and historical mission.