On the Spatial Structures of the Narrative in Catch-22

Joseph Heller(1923-1999)’s celebrated novel Catch-22(1961)portrays the predicament of an individual,Captain John Yossarian of the 256th US Army Air Squadron,drifting apart in a helpless prodigious world.The absurdity and ludicrousness of the reconstructed world is strengthened by the elements of space in the narrative text.Drawing on Gabriel Zoran’s model of structuring of space within the fictional world,this essay analyzes the three levels of the structuring of space,namely the topographical level,the chronotopic level,and the textual level,and their functions in the novel.Topographical structures magnify the despair and deadly threats prevalent during wartime,whereas chronotopic structures underscore individual’s active endeavours and spiritual renewal in the face of institutional coercion.Textual structures,with three aspects of the text,the essential selectivity of language,the linearity of the text,and the point of view,bring forward the picture of the personal agony embedded in the grand establishment.

四川北部地区三次中强历史地震补充考证

四川北部地区位于南北强震构造带的中北段,区内活动断裂众多、构造关系复杂、历史及现今地震活动频繁。其中,早期历史地震因时间久远、史料记载简略等原因,其地震基本参数确定和发震构造分析难度较大,存在较大的不确定性。通过对地震史料的系统梳理和实地考证,对该区1900年以前的3次中强破坏性地震(公元638年松潘地震、1738年南坪地震和1748年松潘北地震)进行补充考证,对其震中位置、震级和烈度等基本参数进行重新核定,并综合分析其发震构造特征。研究结果对分析该区地震活动特征及判定未来强震危险区等均具有重要参考意义。