《爵士乐》的叙事特点及意义

Narrative Choices and Their Significance in Jazz

从对《爵士乐》的叙事结构、叙事视角的分析可以看出,作品在细节叙述中显示了"效果延迟"的特点,这一特点对表达小说主题———理解黑人生存现状必须认识他们的历史———起到了重要的作用;第一人称叙述声音背后叙述者身份的递进式变化,又显示出作者对于小说创作本身的思考,给《爵士乐》打上了"元小说"的印记;而第三人称叙事视角的变化则丰富了小说内容的表达。

This essay attempts to identify and analyze narrative techniques of Jazz and their contribution to the understanding and interpretation of the novel. 'Effects of delay'bring the unaccountable fragments back into their historical context, and looking backward is in fact indispensable to interpreting the present conditions of AfroAmericans; changes in the firstperson narrative voice draw readers' attention to the creation of the novel itself; shifting of the focus of perception in the thirdperson narration helps enrich the expression of the content. The essay comes to the conclusion that formal elements are indeed part of the content of a novel.