scholarly journals The photography in the novel by Serbian writer Ivan Tokin “The Most Normal Man in the World”

2021 ◽  
pp. 344-352
Author(s):  
Yevgeniya V. Shatko ◽  

Tokin’s debut novel “The Most Normal Man in the World” was released in 2014 and has gone through more than ten reprints. Written in the first person, it resembles a diary describing certain events in the life of the main character. The novel consists of 49 small chapters, each of which is divided into 2 parts, the first is always designated by a sequential number, and the second with the same number with the letter “a”, for example, the first chapter consists of the parts “1” and “1a”. At the same time, the first part of each chapter is a detailed description of one photograph from the childhood (less often youth) of the hero, and the second is a deeply intimate story about the life of a Belgrade citizen. While at the beginning of the novel the photographs rather carry the function of lyrical digressions, or pauses in the main narrative, later they cease to be only descriptions of the images. They become micro-stories, explaining and complementing the main plot line. The article presents an analysis of the change in the narrative model in the “photographic” chapters of the novel.

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen de Hoop ◽  
Lotte Hogeweg

AbstractFor this study we investigated all occurrences of Dutch second person pronoun subjects in a literary novel, and determined their interpretation. We found two patterns that can both be argued to be functionally related to the de-velopment of the story. First, we found a decrease in the generic use of second person, a decrease which we believe goes hand in hand with an increased distancing of oneself as a reader from the narrator/main character. Second, we found an increase in the use of the descriptive second person. The increased descriptive use of second person pronouns towards the end of the novel is very useful for the reader, because the information provided by the first person narrator himself becomes less and less reliable. Thus, the reader depends more strongly on information provided by other characters and what these characters tell the narrator about himself.


Author(s):  
Varvara A. Byachkova ◽  

The article raises the topic of space organization in writings by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The object of analysis is the novel A Little Princess. The novel, addressed primarily to children and teenagers, has many similarities with David Copperfield and the works of Charles Dickens in general. The writer largely follows the literary tradition created by Dickens. The space of the main character is divided into three levels: the Big world (states and borders), the Small world (home, school, city) and the World of imagination. The first two worlds give the reader a realistic picture of Edwardian England, the colonial Empire, through the eyes of a child reveal the themes of unprotected childhood, which the writer develops following the literary tradition of the 19th century. The Big and Small worlds also perform an educational function, being a source of experience and impressions for the main character. In the novel, the aesthetic of realism is combined with folklore and fairy-tale elements: the heroine does not completely transform the surrounding space, but she manages to change it partially and also to preserve her own personality and dignity while experiencing the Dickensian drama of child disenfranchisement, despair and loneliness. The World of imagination allows the reader to understand in full the character of Sarah Crewe, demonstrates the dynamics of her growing up, while for herself it is a powerful protective mechanism that enables her to pass all the tests of life and again become a happy child who can continue to grow up and develop.


Author(s):  
Ekawati Marhaenny Dukut ◽  
Nuki Dhamayanti

The world of literature can be a medium of expressing the writer's expressions and ideas. Universal topics such as, love, death, and war often become subject mailers in the world of literature. In the novel, of The Color Purple. Alice Walker describes the oppression experienced by Afro American women in the female characters of Celie, Nellie, Shug Avery, Sofia, and Mary Agnes who faced sexual discrimina!ions in a patriarchal society. Womanhood, education, and lesbianism are factors that help the Afro American women to free themselves from traditional values. The Color Purple puts into words the process of its main character, Celie, who tries to reject and escape from the male domination of her world. The other Afro American women characters that help Celie to find her selfidentity represent the manifestation of the rejection of the traditional values. This article. which uses the socio-historical alld feminism approach. is intended to analyse the Afro-American women's rejection of traditional values by focusing on the major character of' Walker's The Color Purple. Celie. as she develops from being a victim of traditional values to the rejoiceful discovery of her selfidentity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (27) ◽  
pp. 180-189
Author(s):  
Lina Buividavičiūtė

The reception of Ričardas Gavelis’s works still remains problematic. The conception of the author’s novels is controversial, balancing between theories of modernism and postmodernism. This article focuses on one of Gavelis’s most significant novels, Vilnius poker. The analysis is based on the assumption that the postmodern structure hides the modern conception of the novel. The aims of the article are to actualize a modernpostmodern poetics and to analyze the types of existence in the romance. The possibilities of an authentic existence are analyzed in contrast to the monological, postcolonialistic “broken human being”. The analysis of the concept of authentic being is based on the philosophies of Heidegger and Kierkegaard. The concepts of dialogical and monological being are based on the works of Bakhtin and Buber. The article is based on hermeneutic methodology and the theory of dialogue. The concept of authentic being is analyzed in the context of existentialism.In the theoretical part, the author describes the problems of authentic dialogical being in general, and analyses the context of existentialism and the differences between dialogue and monologue. In the first practical part, the types of the monological being in Vilnius poker are analyzed. In the second one, the concept of authentic being in Vilnius poker is analyzed.The article draws the following conclusions: the authentic being is dialogical, polyphonic, polemic; the non-authentic being is monologicalsolypsistic-not asking, not polemic, not questioning the secrets of being, and telling only one “truth.” The monological being of the novel Vilnius poker is typical of homo lituanicus and homo sovieticus existential characters. The authentic being characterizes the protagonist Vytautas Vargalys. The dialogism of true existence is expressed by rebellious, unmasking being, the polemic with himself, the gifts of the world (inner monologue), and the others (real dialogue). The authentic being of Vytautas Vargalys is created from the senses (smell), bodies (eroticism), speaking, and musical dialogues. Unfortunately, the main character is unable to fully express his authentic being: the monological atmosphere, broken identity, and non-telling language are the main impediments to living a true dialogical life.


2013 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Jaquette Ray

<p>This article analyzes Mark Haddon&rsquo;s 2003 novel, <em>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, </em>using a combination of both disability studies theory and ecocriticism.&nbsp; The author argues that the novel&rsquo;s main character, Christopher Boone, presents a social model of disability by challenging dominant society&rsquo;s treatment of him as &ldquo;not normal.&rdquo; Christopher is ostensibly diagnosed with Asperger&rsquo;s Syndrome, although the novel never explicitly labels him as disabled in any way. Through Christopher&rsquo;s views of nature, language, knowledge, and social constructions of disability, we learn that disability is an unstable category, and that dominant society can be disabling.&nbsp; Importantly, though, Christopher&rsquo;s critique of society is, as the author argues, fundamentally environmental. That is, Christopher&rsquo;s views of language, knowledge, and even the more-than-human world itself are central to his destabilization of the category of disability. Christopher&rsquo;s environmental sensibility and critique of society&rsquo;s disabling qualities emerge primarily through his discussions of language, which he finds suspect because it distances humans from the world it describes.&nbsp; Thus, the novel suggests that the disabling features of society that Christopher encounters are the same features that distance humans from nature, particularly through language.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><strong>Keywords:</strong> eco-phenomenology, ecocriticism, <em>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</em>, Asperger&rsquo;s Syndrome, nature, language, body, epistemology</p>


Author(s):  
Kseniya Sergeevna Oparina

The goal of this article consist in interpretation of the major metaphor in G&uuml;nter Grass&rsquo; novel &ldquo;The Tin Drum&rdquo;, &nbsp;and coverage of its interrelation with symbolism of the image of the protagonist Oskar Matzerath. The subject of this research is the metaphor of stopped time. The time stops for Oscar with regards to physical and emotional development. Special attention is given to the fact that the protagonist of the novel, who comes into the world with adult intelligence, deliberately stops his development at the age of three. Using the indicated metaphor, the author of the novel forms the key traits of the image of the protagonists: perpetual child, demiurge, trickster. The novelty of this research and special contribution of the author consists in revelation of direct correlations between the aforementioned traits of the main character of the fundamental problems of human existence. A child who refuses to grow up, symbolizes infantilism and denial of the generally accepted socio-ethical norms. At the same time, G. Grass describes dissolution of the surrounding world and blames specific nation in the crimes against humanity, endowing Oskar Matzerath with the traits of trickster and demiurge. The acquired results can be used in textbooks on the history of foreign literature and culturology; as well as in writing term and graduation theses by students majoring in the humanities.


Author(s):  
Sunahnik Fitauli ◽  
Linusia Marsih

Abstract. This study discusses about body image undergone by a seventeen year old boy named Troy, the main character in K. L. Going’s novel Fat Kid Rules the World. The study focuses on Troy’s perception of his body. Qualitative research is applied in this study due to the fact that this study provides understanding into the problems through description. In addition, psychological approach is employed as this study deals with the psychological motivation of the main character in the novel. From the analysis it is found that Troy has negative body image which consists of three areas, namely belief in being heavy, belief in look, and feeling about how people regard his physical structure and look. His negative body image is caused by his negative thoughts and feelings about the size of his body which he believes is huge and ugly so that people always look at him and make fun of his size. Based on the analysis it can be concluded that negative body image could be avoided by developing positive thought and feeling about one’s body . One should not value oneself on the basis of physical appearance but on the basis of achievement. Keywords: body image, perception, Fat Kid Rules the World


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-514
Author(s):  
Nita Maya Valiantien ◽  
Setya Ariani

This study aims to provide an overview of heroic traits shown by the character Bujang in Tere Liye's novel Pulang. The method used in analyzing the data is qualitative method because the data collected and analyzed are in the form of narratives and dialogues in the text related to the heroic traits possessed by Bujang as the main character in the novel. Furthermore, this study uses descriptive techniques to define the heroic traits found in Bujang character. From the results of the analysis, it was found that eight heroic traits possessed by Bujang in the novel Pulang. The traits include caring, charismatic, inspiring, reliable, resilient, selfless, smart, and strong. This finding shows that heroic traits can be found in characters who are involved in the world of crime and also in literary works that use the setting and themes of the criminal world. By having these eight heroic traits, Bujang is a representation of a hero even though he is a character who has a role in the criminal world he lives in the novel.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 229-247
Author(s):  
Elena Masolova

The article is devoted to the revealing of the seasons semantics in Tolstoy’s novel “Resurrection”. Having examined the events happening to the characters of Tolstoy’s novel during 15 years of their life we came to the conclusion that in the “Resurrection” the depicted seasons are associated with reconstruction of humanity’s steady movement towards God. The description of spring at the beginning of the novel is a parable-like prologue that affirms the idea of mankind’s future spiritual resurrection. In spring, 29 year-old Nekhlyudov decided to redeem himself in front of Maslova. When the main character recollected the spring of his youth, he realized social ill-being and the need to find the lost harmony with the world thus, he abdicated from his right to the land ownership. Student Nekhlyudov saw in summer nature a source of inspiration; in summer, escorting prisoners to hard labor, the character understood the roots of social evil, and prisoner Maslova returned to her original pure self. The spiritual spring of Nekhlyudov takes place in a calendar spring, and his spiritual resurrection happened in autumn; Maslova’s spiritual spring coincides with a calendar summer. The character comes to the adoption of Christianity in fall reading the Gospel. In the finale of the novel, early winter “rushes” the earth’s renewal; Nekhlyudov’s enlightenment is predetermined by changes in nature and by the indisputable rightness of God’s Word which had been revealed to him. In the “Resurrection”, the seasons become the markers of being and gain the ontological significance. Spring symbolizes future moral enlightenment of the mankind; summer is a symbol of life; fall “strengthens” Nekhlyudov’s religious searches, “convincing” him to build life according to God’s covenants; winter is a cleansing preparatory period that precedes the spiritual resurrection of people. The epic character by Tosltoy emerges due to the correlation of natural calendar with the semantics of seasons developed in Old Russian literature. The novel “Resurrection” is an artistic work of Christian realism that continues the tradition of Old Russian literature.


Author(s):  
Nadezhda I. Pavlova

The article is to study a mythological subtext of the novel “Children of mine” by G. Yakhina, which appeared at different levels: composition, plot, construction of the system of characters ' images. Main character of the novel, Jacob Bach, and his beloved Clara are reunited into a single whole, not only as lovers, but also as representatives of two interrelated and complementary principles of German culture-folklore and literature. The interaction of this pair of heroes should be considered in this symbolic context. Thus, the novel develops a fundamentally significant for its conception motif of prophecy, which implies a subtext about the creation of the world-Logos, which is further developed in the narrative, when the image of the main character fulfills the function of guardian of the cultural memory of the Volga Germans. At the same time, the act of creativity is synonymous with creation, which allows us to grasp in a complex novel whole the repeatability of components of a closed cycle of “myth-life”, fully realized in its narrative structure. Mythological world surrounding Bach is in opposition to the space of Soviet history, embodied in the image of the agitator Hoffmann. There is an inverted picture of the world: historical world as dead and the world of culture as a living world. Thus, in the novel, the poles of life and death exchange places in relation to the present and the past. In view of this conception, one can read a deep intention of the writer representing the word of culture as giving immortality and life in eternity.


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