A Study On Folk Narrative In Ethnic Minority Novels Of “Seventeen-Year”

Folk custom,as a cultural form closely related to human life,plays an important role in the presentation of literary creation,as it provides fertile materials with various forms.In ethnic minority novels of “seventeen-year”,which is from 1949 to 1966,there are wide expressions on folk culture with both ethnic characteristics and territoriality,making folk narrative a prominent cultural phenomenon among the novels.These novels,as an organic component of the literature of socialist republic,have jointly taken part in the historical construction of a modern nation as well as taken the responsibility to propagandize socialist political ideology.Folk narrative in ethnic minority novels of “seventeen-year”aims at constructing a socialist cultural identity.In order to conform to the thematic requirements of the “Name of the Times”,authors take great efforts to arrange and integrate folk culture that used to be rustic and natural into a new form that is of marked political implication and distinctive socialist characteristic of the times.The thesis attempts to make an overall study on the folk narrative in ethnic minority novels of“seventeen-year”,starting from the relevant theoretical knowledge of folklore and narratology.And the creation of folk narrative in the context of the special times also tends to be explored.Based on the detailed study of the text,a further interpretation and analysis on existence and characteristics of folk customs and allusions in ethnic minority novels of “seventeen-year” would be provided.The emphasis is prone to be laid on the intricate relationship between folk narrative in the novels and national political ideology.The thesis contains three parts: introduction,main body and conclusion.The main body is divided into three chapters.The introduction includes the reasons for choosing the topic,the history and present situation of related study and the definitions of relative concepts.The first chapter mainly focuses on the relationship between the creation of folk narrative in the novels and context of the special times.The two elements are closely related to each other.First,ethnic minority literature is derived from the construction of“minority”,which enjoys a national subjective status.The implement of policies towards ethnic minorities not only ensures the subjective states but also largely promotes the development and prosperity of ethnic minority literature,which makes it possible for folk narrative to be created.Second,the creation is also related to the direction of national literary and art policies that emphasizes on folk culture,paving the way for the creation of folk narrative.Last but not least,ethnic minority authors recognize their own cultural identity,which serves as a subjective factor of the creation.The second chapter tends to talk about the transformation and new changes of folk custom.Folk narrative is a significant cultural symbol of ethnic minority novels of“seventeen-year”.Ethnic minority authors,in order to meet the need of propagandizing national political ideology and integrate the requirement of the “Name of the Times”,carry out dynamic narrative construction on traditional folk culture.Thus,it appears in the narrative reconstructed,to which great efforts have been taken,rather than appears with the original form.In this chapter,three particular forms of folklore are being taken as examples,they are belief,marriage and festivals in folklore.In-depth analysis on how the folk culture has realized political mobilization and national imagination through authors’ arranging and integrating meticulously would be offered.The third chapter pays attention to the folk narrative strategies and characteristics in ethnic minority novels of “seventeen-year”.The goal of constructing socialist identity is the universal theme in the narration of minority novels in the “seventeen-year”.Therefore,the construction is correspondingly the most prominent characteristic of the folk narrative in the ethnic minority novel of “seventeen-year”.Among several narrative strategies,the deification of “Portrait of Chairman Mao” and highlighting discourse of class in folklore narrative are likely to be effective strategies applied.The conclusion would talk about the significance of folk narrative in ethnic minority novels of “seventeen-year”.