An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization

Shang Guanghui

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16

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An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization

Shang Guanghui

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 9, Issue 1)

Received: 6 February 2021 Accepted: 18 February 2021 Published: 27 February 2021

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Abstract

Narratology constitutes a vital component of literary criticism and theory. A prime goal of narratology teaching is to build a systematic conceptual framework of key narrative concepts for students. A good command of the core concepts of narrative theory ensures profound narratological textual criticism. Taking focalization as a case study for Chinese college students, this paper analyzes the evolution and current state of focalization theory with the aim of helping them to acquire a systematic conceptual framework of focalization theory. This paper adopts both synchronic and diachronic approaches to examine the conceptual evolution of focalization, focusing on the early exploration of focalization, the focalization study in classical and postclassical narratology, and the analysis of nonhuman focalization. Focalization is an issue of “who sees” which is often conflated with the issue of “who speaks” in the early stage of its conceptual evolution. Genette has made a distinction between them, and scholars of classical narratology developed variegated focalization theories. Postclassical narratology made major improvements, emphasizing readers’ reception and the context of focalization. Nonhuman focalization, a distinctive dimension of focalization theory, also counts as an important interpretative perspective concerning focalization for students. An elaborate discussion of the conceptual evolution of focalization seeks to reveal to students a multi-dimensional conception of focalization as a way to enhance their ability to perform a narratological reading of literary texts.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16
Page(s)	34-39
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Narratology Teaching, Focalization Theory, Conceptual Evolution

References

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[2]	Brooks, Cleanth, and Robert Penn Warren (1979). Understanding Fiction. 3^rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 174.
[3]	Friedman, Norman. “Point of View in Fiction: The Development of a Critical Concept.” PMLA 70.5 (1955): 1160-1184.
[4]	Stanzel, F. K. (1984). A Theory of Narrative. Trans. Charlotte Goedsche. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 4-5.
[5]	Lubbock, Percy (1957). The Craft of Fiction. London: Jonathan Cape, 149-150.
[6]	Bal, Mieke (1997). Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative. Toronto: University of Toronto Press Incorporated, 150, 146, 148.
[7]	Rimmon-Kenan, Shlomith (2005). Narrative Fiction: Contemporary Poetics. 2^nd ed. Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Taylor & Francis e-Library, 76.
[8]	Genette, Gérard (1988). Narrative Discourse Revisited. Trans. Jane E. Lewin. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 65.
[9]	Flaubert, Gustave (2004). Madame Bovary. Trans. Margaret Mauldon. New York: Oxford University Press, 57-58.
[10]	Chatman, Seymour (1978). Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 151-152.
[11]	Chatman, Seymour (1993). Reading Narrative Fiction. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 130, 134, 134.
[12]	Jahn, Manfred. “Windows of Focalization: Deconstructing and Reconstructing a Narratological Concept.” Style 30.2 (1996): 241-267.
[13]	Jahn, Manfred. “More Aspects of Focalization: Refinements and Applications.” Jahn: Homepage. N. p., 4 Mar. 2000. Web. 18 February 2016.
[14]	Herman, David. “Hypothetical Focalization.” Narrative 2.3 (1994): 230-253.
[15]	Poe, Edgar Allan. “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. 3^rd ed. Ed. R. V. Cassill. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986. 1241-1257.
[16]	Crane, Stephen. “The Open Boat.” The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. 3^rd ed. Ed. R. V. Cassill. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1986. 335-354.
[17]	Richardson, Brian (2019). A Poetics of Plot for the Twenty-First Century: Theorizing Unruly Narratives. Columbus: The Ohio State University Press, 3.
[18]	Barnes, Julian (1990). A History of the World in 10 ½ Chapters. New York: Vintage Books, 3, 30.
[19]	Auster, Paul (2000). Timbuktu. New York: Picador USA, 168, 3.
[20]	Nelles, William. “Beyond the Bird’s Eye: Animal Focalization.” Narrative 9.2 (2001): 188-194.
[21]	Cohn, Dorrit (1978). Transparent Minds: Narrative Modes for Presenting Consciousness in Fiction. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 103.

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Shang Guanghui. (2021). An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 9(1), 34-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16

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Shang Guanghui. An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2021, 9(1), 34-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16

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AMA Style

Shang Guanghui. An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization. Int J Lit Arts. 2021;9(1):34-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16,
  author = {Shang Guanghui},
  title = {An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {34-39},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20210901.16},
  abstract = {Narratology constitutes a vital component of literary criticism and theory. A prime goal of narratology teaching is to build a systematic conceptual framework of key narrative concepts for students. A good command of the core concepts of narrative theory ensures profound narratological textual criticism. Taking focalization as a case study for Chinese college students, this paper analyzes the evolution and current state of focalization theory with the aim of helping them to acquire a systematic conceptual framework of focalization theory. This paper adopts both synchronic and diachronic approaches to examine the conceptual evolution of focalization, focusing on the early exploration of focalization, the focalization study in classical and postclassical narratology, and the analysis of nonhuman focalization. Focalization is an issue of “who sees” which is often conflated with the issue of “who speaks” in the early stage of its conceptual evolution. Genette has made a distinction between them, and scholars of classical narratology developed variegated focalization theories. Postclassical narratology made major improvements, emphasizing readers’ reception and the context of focalization. Nonhuman focalization, a distinctive dimension of focalization theory, also counts as an important interpretative perspective concerning focalization for students. An elaborate discussion of the conceptual evolution of focalization seeks to reveal to students a multi-dimensional conception of focalization as a way to enhance their ability to perform a narratological reading of literary texts.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization
AU  - Shang Guanghui
Y1  - 2021/02/27
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 34
EP  - 39
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AB  - Narratology constitutes a vital component of literary criticism and theory. A prime goal of narratology teaching is to build a systematic conceptual framework of key narrative concepts for students. A good command of the core concepts of narrative theory ensures profound narratological textual criticism. Taking focalization as a case study for Chinese college students, this paper analyzes the evolution and current state of focalization theory with the aim of helping them to acquire a systematic conceptual framework of focalization theory. This paper adopts both synchronic and diachronic approaches to examine the conceptual evolution of focalization, focusing on the early exploration of focalization, the focalization study in classical and postclassical narratology, and the analysis of nonhuman focalization. Focalization is an issue of “who sees” which is often conflated with the issue of “who speaks” in the early stage of its conceptual evolution. Genette has made a distinction between them, and scholars of classical narratology developed variegated focalization theories. Postclassical narratology made major improvements, emphasizing readers’ reception and the context of focalization. Nonhuman focalization, a distinctive dimension of focalization theory, also counts as an important interpretative perspective concerning focalization for students. An elaborate discussion of the conceptual evolution of focalization seeks to reveal to students a multi-dimensional conception of focalization as a way to enhance their ability to perform a narratological reading of literary texts.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Shang Guanghui

College of Foreign Studies, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, China

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Shang Guanghui. (2021). An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 9(1), 34-39. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16

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ACS Style

Shang Guanghui. An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2021, 9(1), 34-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16

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AMA Style

Shang Guanghui. An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization. Int J Lit Arts. 2021;9(1):34-39. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16,
  author = {Shang Guanghui},
  title = {An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {34-39},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20210901.16},
  abstract = {Narratology constitutes a vital component of literary criticism and theory. A prime goal of narratology teaching is to build a systematic conceptual framework of key narrative concepts for students. A good command of the core concepts of narrative theory ensures profound narratological textual criticism. Taking focalization as a case study for Chinese college students, this paper analyzes the evolution and current state of focalization theory with the aim of helping them to acquire a systematic conceptual framework of focalization theory. This paper adopts both synchronic and diachronic approaches to examine the conceptual evolution of focalization, focusing on the early exploration of focalization, the focalization study in classical and postclassical narratology, and the analysis of nonhuman focalization. Focalization is an issue of “who sees” which is often conflated with the issue of “who speaks” in the early stage of its conceptual evolution. Genette has made a distinction between them, and scholars of classical narratology developed variegated focalization theories. Postclassical narratology made major improvements, emphasizing readers’ reception and the context of focalization. Nonhuman focalization, a distinctive dimension of focalization theory, also counts as an important interpretative perspective concerning focalization for students. An elaborate discussion of the conceptual evolution of focalization seeks to reveal to students a multi-dimensional conception of focalization as a way to enhance their ability to perform a narratological reading of literary texts.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - An Issue of “Who Sees” the Fictional World: Teaching the Conceptual Evolution of Focalization
AU  - Shang Guanghui
Y1  - 2021/02/27
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 34
EP  - 39
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20210901.16
AB  - Narratology constitutes a vital component of literary criticism and theory. A prime goal of narratology teaching is to build a systematic conceptual framework of key narrative concepts for students. A good command of the core concepts of narrative theory ensures profound narratological textual criticism. Taking focalization as a case study for Chinese college students, this paper analyzes the evolution and current state of focalization theory with the aim of helping them to acquire a systematic conceptual framework of focalization theory. This paper adopts both synchronic and diachronic approaches to examine the conceptual evolution of focalization, focusing on the early exploration of focalization, the focalization study in classical and postclassical narratology, and the analysis of nonhuman focalization. Focalization is an issue of “who sees” which is often conflated with the issue of “who speaks” in the early stage of its conceptual evolution. Genette has made a distinction between them, and scholars of classical narratology developed variegated focalization theories. Postclassical narratology made major improvements, emphasizing readers’ reception and the context of focalization. Nonhuman focalization, a distinctive dimension of focalization theory, also counts as an important interpretative perspective concerning focalization for students. An elaborate discussion of the conceptual evolution of focalization seeks to reveal to students a multi-dimensional conception of focalization as a way to enhance their ability to perform a narratological reading of literary texts.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download