Structure
and Structural Devices
Structure
Structure is not the same thing as
narrative sequence where you
make a list of what happens in
each successive part, chapter or
section of the book. The word
“structure” means the ways in
which the writer makes all the
different elements of the work
hang together or fuse into a whole
work. In other words, structure
and structural devices are the ways
in which the writer imposes unity
on his novel or short story.
Structural Devices
Continuous Narrative
Traditional prose use this
style where events
develop in a logical,
chrono-logical sequence.
Dialogue
Dialogue is very important
in most novels as it is of
great use to the author as
he develops his ideas.
Note the short piece of
dialogue from Sylvia
Plath’s The Bell Jar. The
narrator is Esther; she has
had a breakdown, and has
been to the hospital for
electric shock therapy but
has decided to stop it.
“I’m through with that Doctor
Gordon,” I said, after we had
left Dodo and her black
wagon behind the pines. “You
can call him up and tell him
I’m not coming next week.”
My mother smiled. “I knew
my baby wasn’t like that.”
I looked at her. “Like what?”
“Like those awful people.
Those awful people at that
hospital.” She paused. “I
knew you’d decide to be all
right again.”
The short dialogue offers a lot of information very briefly—in
particular about the mother, who has no idea of what Esther has
suffered in and out of the hospital and why she cannot face more
therapy. Esther’s mother clearly misunderstands the nature of mental
illness and sees it as a stigma—”those awful dead people.” She
obviously thinks that Esther has been play-acting and doesn’t seem to
care or to grasp that Esther has suffered so much. Also, we see that
Esther has tried to communicate with her mother, but failed.
“Another victim,” he said, like sighing.
“A victim of the modern age…”
“I think I know who you are,” he said …
“Are you the poor victim of this horrible
new technique?”…
Activity 1
“Now tell me about yourself.”
Read the extract from Anthony
Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange.
One speaker, Alex, has
committed horrible acts of
violence throughout the novel
for which he has been punished.
The other speaker is a
sympathizer, a do-gooder who
feels pity for the criminal and
interviews Alex.
“Little enough to tell, sir,” I said, all
humble. “There was a foolish and boyish
prank … There was no real harm meant.
Unfortunately, the lady strained her good
old heart in trying to throw me out,
though I was quite ready to go of my
own accord, and then she died.
Consider the events that have happened and the
way Alex explains them, the attitude and values
of the interviewer, Alex’s attitudes and values,
and what you think the writer might be
satirizing here.
Narrative Viewpoint
Narrative viewpoint is the point of view
from which the author allows the reader
to perceive the events within the text.
There are several ways of doing this:
• First-person narration occurs when the
central character tells the story through
her eyes.
• Third-person narration is the standard
form of many novels.
• Writing from the viewpoint of a child
can create interesting effects.
• Split narrative occurs when the story is
told through the eyes and voice of
more than one speaker.
• The use of letters offers another way of
varying viewpoints.
Setting
• Setting is always
important in establishing
structure.
• When a writer
establishes settings, he
creates more than a mere
backdrop to events.
Some settings allude to
other associations or
themes.
• Setting is also used to
establish mood.
Use of Repetition
•
Just as a novel’s settings
begin to have
associations for you as
you read, many writers
use repetition or
repetitive motifs in a
similar way, to provide
a brief memory flash
that illuminates themes
of the novel or short
story.
•
A motif is like a refrain
in music, a series of
images or symbols that
recur throughout a text.
TIME
There are two ways to depart
from traditional chronological
sequencing: flashbacks and time
shifts.
•
Flashbacks are common. The
author makes a character
reminisce about events in the
past; this takes the story back
in time without disturbing
the flow of the narrative.
•
Time shift is similar to
flashback, but it works
differently. Time may shift
backwards and forwards to
explore events in a wider
frame.
Appendices
Epilogues
Sometimes at the end of a
narrative, the writer may add
an appendix. Normally this
refers to sections added to the
end of a book, but some
writers use appendices to
create a particular effect on the
structure and therefore the
possible meaning of the a book
An epilogue may be a direct
address to the reader at the end
of a work.