A Narrative Study Of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner is a prominent modern American writer who is courageous enough to explore unique writing styles.On account of his unparalleled artistic fulfillments,he received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1949.His novel As I Lay Dying is considered as one of his masterpieces.It fully demonstrates his unique and exquisite narrative techniques,genuinely reflecting the living condition of poor peasants after American Civil War.Narratology was established in the 1960 s and was first proposed by Todorov of France in 1969.Influenced by Russian formalism and structuralism,this theory has become an independent subject with rapid development.In the 1980 s,due to the lack of attention to the author and the background of the era,classical narratology only focused on the internal research of the works.In this case,classical narratology combined with other disciplines and began to pay attention to factors outside the text,and post-classical narratology emerged.As classical narratology turns to post-classical narratology,people pay more and more attention to the changes of time and space in literature.As a result,many narrative space theories have been formed and novelists use space as a narrative technique to interpret texts.This thesis aims to study Faulkner’s narrative techniques in As I Lay Dying on the basis of Zoran’s narrative space theories,Genette’s narrative time theory and Lancer’s narrative voice theory.The thesis makes up of introduction,the main body and conclusion.Introduction provides a brief account of Faulkner’s relevant life experience,the background of his writing career and narrative theories.It summarizes the main domestic and foreign researches on As I Lay Dying.The main body includes three chapters.Chapter One discusses diversified narrative space from the three aspects: topographical space,chronotopic space and textual space separately on the basis of Zoran’s narrative space theory.The topographical space portends the various living conditions of people in different spaces.The chronotopic space demonstrates the living state of southern peasants and their plights in the rising of modern civilization.The textual space displays Faulkner’s unique writing style and narrative techniques.Chapter Two focuses on the non-linear narrative time,analyzing anachronic time order,unequal time duration and time frequency through repetition on the basis of Genette’s narrative time theory.Chapter Three analyzes the multiple narrative voices on the basis of Lancer’s narrative voice theory.It discusses authorial voice,personal voice and communal voice respectively.Authorial voice displays the inner thoughts of the characters through an omniscient perspective.Personal voice indicates female protagonist,Addie’s women consciousness through describing her life.Communal voice reveals the common predicament of southern peasants and even human being.The conclusion summarizes the main arguments of this thesis,pointing out that Faulkner’s use of multiple narrative techniques highlights his concern over the poor peasants’ living state,spiritual dilemmas and human destiny as well.