Date of Award
2000
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Geography and Anthropology
First Advisor
M. Jill Brody
Abstract
This dissertation develops a new approach to the analysis of narratives by combining the analysis of narrative structure and character analysis. Through the in-depth analysis of two stories of a collection of 32 Nanzi stories (from Curacao), which are spider/trickster stories in Papiamentu, I develop a method to analyze the structure of the Nanzi stories. My method is based on the determination of narrative division into (1) episodes, organized as macro-propositions under a macro-structure (Van Dijk 1982; 1992); (2) different sections (six), based on narrative and free clauses (Labov 1972); and, (3) major events (Barthes 1975; Chatman 1978). By applying several theories of character analysis to one of my sample stories: Hasan's -er/ed roles (1989), combined with Halliday's process analysis (1997); narration and focalization (Bal 1991); interrelationship of characters (King 1992), I demonstrate (1) how an all-round image of human-like characters is created in the Nanzi story; (2) why the characters in the Nanzi story convey such a vivid impression to the reader.
Recommended Citation
Mondada, Joke Maaten, "Narrative Structure and Characters in the Nanzi Stories of Curacao: a Discourse Analysis." (2000). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 7214.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/7214
ISBN
9780599853379
Pages
271
DOI
10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.7214