SALINGER’S NARRATIVE STRATEGIES IN CONVEYING THE THEMES OF ALIENATION, LONELINESS AND DESPAIR IN THE SHORT STORY “FOR ESMÉ WITH LOVE AND SQUALOR”
Keywords:
narratology, narrative strategies, J. D. Salinger, composition of short story, stylistic means, themes of alienation and lonelinessAbstract
This article considers peculiarities of the unique style of Salinger’s short stories, several aspects of the language usage and narrative patterns aimed at speech portrayals of the characters. The paper explores the use of stylistic means and narrative strategies to convey the main themes of alienation, loneliness and despair in J. D. Salinger’s short story “For Esmé with Love and Squalor”. The authors dwell upon several aspects of the language usage and Salinger’s narrative strategies in developing these themes. The emphasis is laid on narratology as a method for analysis and interpretation of the short story themes. It has been proved that the most significant feature in Salinger’s works is the way in which his frequent use of tactile imagery leads to the development of character. This article is an attempt to analyze the accuracy of J. D. Salinger’s usage of major narrative strategies in developing the themes of alienation and loneliness. For this regard some of the most important aspects of narratology from Gerald Genette’s “A Narrative Discourse” are considered. In the focus of attention is Salinger’s uniqueness in using stylistic means of different levels and the original composition of the story which help to decode author’s message. It has been concluded that Salinger’s stories are completely founded on style.
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