Throughout the reading process, a narrative text produces various sensations of immediacy or distance. One important reason for this is that a narrative will in some places present situtations from a particular perspective, with which the reader is implicitly invited to identify, while in other places it will describe situations as independent of any perspective. If a perspective (that of the narrator, or that of a character in the text) is introduced, the narrative reflects an individual's (potentially fallible) perceptions, attitudes or beliefs; and this creates the impression of perspectival immediacy. If no perspective is introduced, on the other hand, the narrative pretends to relate "objective facts" within the fiction; and this creates the impression of perspectival distance. Thus the contrast between perepectivally situated and perepectivally non-situated sentences in a narrative produces perspectival refractions. The difference between both types of sentences, however, is often felt to be recalcitrant to a full linguistic analysis. For example, it is generally assumed that the perspectival status of a sentence is determined by the presence or absence of aubject-oriented elements in the sentence. But although such elements play an important role in focusing perspective, they need not occur in a sentence for the sentence to be perspectivally situated. In Chapter 1 of this dissertation, we draw attention to an observation which has received very little attention in the existing literature on perspective: per pectivally non-situated sentences typically move narrative time forward (in the sense that the order of the sentences on the page mimics temporal progression on the imaginary time line of the narrative), while perspectivally situated sentences do not convey forward movement in time. In other words, there appears to be a relationship between temporal ordering and perspective. Our aim is to specify the precise nature of this relationship. To do so, we first of all try to establish what determines the temporal relationship between consecutive sentences in narrative. We take as the starting point for our discussion some recent theories in the field of formal semantics which define this relationship in terms of the aspectual type a sentence belongs to. In Chapter 2, we explore to what extent these theories enable us to explain the apparent correlation between temporal ordering and perspective in narrative texts. In Chapters 3-5, we propose a detailed analysis of the relationship between the aspectual properties of sentences and their perspectival characteristics. Our central claim is that sentences exhibiting a state profile always introduce a perspective into a narrative. We try to make explicit why this is the case. In Chapter 6, the conclusions of this analysis are integrated into a more general theory of perspective in narrative fiction.

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In this study, D.P.S. Monyaise’s Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Zakes Mda’s Black Diamond are analysed in relation to narrative perspectives on female characters. The main aim of this study is to show how cultural narrative perspectives apply in the comparative study in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Black Diamond, to determine how female characters, particularly Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, are portrayed. The argument maintained in this study is that, although Monyaise in his Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka gives his female characters an exceptionally strong voice, the social and literary perspectives in his novel still draw very sturdily on traditional frameworks. Monyaise’s narrative style and his narrative investigation of his main themes are evidently influenced by views informed by a traditional frame within which women occupy a culturally marginalized position. Mda, on the other hand, controversially challenges dominant views and consequent modes of behaviour, while also expanding the boundaries of creative writing. Research on the portrayal of female characters in Batswana literature is still lacking. This study makes a contribution in the sense that it is an explorative investigation from the perspective of postclassical cognitive narratology, which therefore attempts to approach Batswana literature from a fresh theoretical point of view. The intention is also to enrich the field of Batswana literature by adopting a comparative approach. In achieving this aim, this work adopts the following structure. Chapter one provides the aim and focus of the study. Chapter two discusses the theoretical framework and crucial key terms. Chapter three establishes a background with regard to traditional Batswana cultural views on Batswana women, with emphasis on stereotypical perspectives on women identified through the application of theoretical insights with regard to frames and scripts. The analysis of these traditional perspectives is carried out with reference to traditional Batswana women and the following: the work place; family life; legislation and leadership roles; education; religious belief; and traditional marriage. Chapter four is a comparative analysis with specific attention to the portrayal of the main female characters, that is Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, through application of the theoretical and cultural framework constructed in chapter two and three respectively. Chapter five provides concluding remarks. / MA (Setswana), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In this study, D.P.S. Monyaise’s Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Zakes Mda’s Black Diamond are analysed in relation to narrative perspectives on female characters. The main aim of this study is to show how cultural narrative perspectives apply in the comparative study in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Black Diamond, to determine how female characters, particularly Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, are portrayed. The argument maintained in this study is that, although Monyaise in his Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka gives his female characters an exceptionally strong voice, the social and literary perspectives in his novel still draw very sturdily on traditional frameworks. Monyaise’s narrative style and his narrative investigation of his main themes are evidently influenced by views informed by a traditional frame within which women occupy a culturally marginalized position. Mda, on the other hand, controversially challenges dominant views and consequent modes of behaviour, while also expanding the boundaries of creative writing. Research on the portrayal of female characters in Batswana literature is still lacking. This study makes a contribution in the sense that it is an explorative investigation from the perspective of postclassical cognitive narratology, which therefore attempts to approach Batswana literature from a fresh theoretical point of view. The intention is also to enrich the field of Batswana literature by adopting a comparative approach. In achieving this aim, this work adopts the following structure. Chapter one provides the aim and focus of the study. Chapter two discusses the theoretical framework and crucial key terms. Chapter three establishes a background with regard to traditional Batswana cultural views on Batswana women, with emphasis on stereotypical perspectives on women identified through the application of theoretical insights with regard to frames and scripts. The analysis of these traditional perspectives is carried out with reference to traditional Batswana women and the following: the work place; family life; legislation and leadership roles; education; religious belief; and traditional marriage. Chapter four is a comparative analysis with specific attention to the portrayal of the main female characters, that is Diarona in Ngaka, Mosadi Mooka and Tumi in Black Diamond, through application of the theoretical and cultural framework constructed in chapter two and three respectively. Chapter five provides concluding remarks. / MA (Setswana), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Nonlinear films display unconventional narratives that leave ambiguous endings that create rewatchability, making audiences want to rewatch and review the films. These films also create conversation on social media outlets and infiltrate discussion on popular culture. This rhetorical analysis examines narrative structure, narrative archetypes, and paratextuality of three nonlinear Christopher Nolan films: Inception, Interstellar, and Tenet. By examining how these different forms of narrative display the moral messaging and structure within each film, this analysis provides context in how nonlinear narratives promote rewatchability and create continuous paratexts. Through Nolan's films, nonlinear film styles create more than rewatchability as Nolan specifically uses narrative archetypes to create character archetypes. The character archetypes produce multiple narratives that allow different viewpoints for audiences. These three different films also explain that there is a thin line between ambiguous endings and rewatchability for these types of films.

<p>Berättelsen och berättandet har under de senaste årtiondena som kunskapsform fått en allt mer erkänd plats i vetenskapliga sammanhang. Narrativ forskning betyder förenklat berättelseforskning och beskrivs sedan mitten av åttiotalet som ett tvärdisciplinärt forskningsfält på framfart. Syftet med denna c-uppsats var att utifrån tre äldre kvinnors livsberättelser, narrativ teori och metod synliggöra berättandet och livsberättelsens påverkan på identitetsskapandet samt upprätthållandet av den egna självbilden. Metoden som legat till grund för undersökningen har varit av deduktiv, kvalitativ art med viss inspiration från hermeneutiken. Datainsamlingen har skett genom halvstrukturerade intervjuer. Som teoretisk referensram för arbetet ligger åttonde steget i Eriksons teori om jagutvecklingen liksom Tornstams gerotranscendensteori och Antonovskys salutogena hälsomodell. Resultaten som framkommit i undersökningen visar att berättandet och livsberättelsen upptäcker och skapar självets identitet samt bidrar till upprätthållandet av den egna självbilden. De aktuella kvinnorna har genom att delge sin livsberättelse förstärkt sin kulturella tillhörighet som samhällsmedborgare, vilket i sin tur ökat kvinnornas förutsättningar att bekämpa ev. angrepp på den egna personligheten i form av den ålderism som finns i vårt samhälle.</p> / <p>During the past decades the story aswell as the storytelling has got a more recognized place in scientfifical connections. Narrative research means more simply research about stories and has since the 90:s been described as a mulitidisciplinary research discipline on advance. The purpose with this essay was to, according to three elderly women’s life stories, narrative theory and method, make storytelling and the life stories influence on the identity making and the maintaenance of the own self-account visible.The used method has been of the deductive, qualitative kind with some inspiration from the hermeneutics.The data has been collected by using semi-structured-structured interviews. As a theoretical frame of reference for the essay lies Erikson’s “the eight step“, “ the gerotranscendence theory” by Tornstam, as well as the KASAM theory by Antonovsky. All three has been used to interpret the results from the investigation shows that telling and life story discovers and creates the self-identity and contributes to the maintainance of the own self-image. The women in this case have by admitting their life story empowered their cultural belonging as a citizen of the society. This has order increased their conditions to fight possible attacks on the own personality by the negative view of aging that exist in our society.</p>

Berättelsen och berättandet har under de senaste årtiondena som kunskapsform fått en allt mer erkänd plats i vetenskapliga sammanhang. Narrativ forskning betyder förenklat berättelseforskning och beskrivs sedan mitten av åttiotalet som ett tvärdisciplinärt forskningsfält på framfart. Syftet med denna c-uppsats var att utifrån tre äldre kvinnors livsberättelser, narrativ teori och metod synliggöra berättandet och livsberättelsens påverkan på identitetsskapandet samt upprätthållandet av den egna självbilden. Metoden som legat till grund för undersökningen har varit av deduktiv, kvalitativ art med viss inspiration från hermeneutiken. Datainsamlingen har skett genom halvstrukturerade intervjuer. Som teoretisk referensram för arbetet ligger åttonde steget i Eriksons teori om jagutvecklingen liksom Tornstams gerotranscendensteori och Antonovskys salutogena hälsomodell. Resultaten som framkommit i undersökningen visar att berättandet och livsberättelsen upptäcker och skapar självets identitet samt bidrar till upprätthållandet av den egna självbilden. De aktuella kvinnorna har genom att delge sin livsberättelse förstärkt sin kulturella tillhörighet som samhällsmedborgare, vilket i sin tur ökat kvinnornas förutsättningar att bekämpa ev. angrepp på den egna personligheten i form av den ålderism som finns i vårt samhälle. / During the past decades the story aswell as the storytelling has got a more recognized place in scientfifical connections. Narrative research means more simply research about stories and has since the 90:s been described as a mulitidisciplinary research discipline on advance. The purpose with this essay was to, according to three elderly women’s life stories, narrative theory and method, make storytelling and the life stories influence on the identity making and the maintaenance of the own self-account visible.The used method has been of the deductive, qualitative kind with some inspiration from the hermeneutics.The data has been collected by using semi-structured-structured interviews. As a theoretical frame of reference for the essay lies Erikson’s “the eight step“, “ the gerotranscendence theory” by Tornstam, as well as the KASAM theory by Antonovsky. All three has been used to interpret the results from the investigation shows that telling and life story discovers and creates the self-identity and contributes to the maintainance of the own self-image. The women in this case have by admitting their life story empowered their cultural belonging as a citizen of the society. This has order increased their conditions to fight possible attacks on the own personality by the negative view of aging that exist in our society.

This study examined four different settings in Selma Lagerlof’s novel Jerusalem, part I and II. The aim of the study was to analyse the narrative perspective in the four selected scenes of the novel, and also to investigate whether the narrator’s tone in any of the passages could be said to express orientalism. The material consisted of four text passages describing the novel’s two main geographical locations (the district of Dalarna and the Holy Land). Literary theories used for the study were narratology and postcolonial theory. The applied method to analyse the passages was to use the selection of semantic and syntactic markers compiled by Staffan Hellberg (1985) for stylistic analysis of the narrator’s perspective in Swedish narrative texts. The results of the study show that the overall narrative perspective in the scenes are non-focalized, and that the most frequently featured stylistic markers consist of words and phrases expressing value. A summery of the most frequently used stylistic markers show that it is possible to divide the narrative tone into four categories, as the “presenting”, “sympathizing”, “demonstrating” and “educating” narrator. The results also indicate that orientalism is evident in the two analysed passages from Jerusalem, part II.

The dissertation deals with two different subjects: on the one hand the interrelations of narrative prose fiction and narrative fiction film, on the other hand fictional narration and intermediality as such. The first part discusses the concepts of medium and intermediality, and presents some general theoretical models. Of special importance is the three level structure of fictional representations: sign vehicle, meaning and fictional content. The second part focuses on the qualities of the sign vehicle, and on different kinds of meaning and fictional content. The sign vehicle of language and literature is digital, and consists of replicas of types. The film medium is analogue, the cinematic sign is a copy. The conventionality of literary fictions is primary, i. e. literary meaning depends on the conventions of language. The conventionality of film narratives is secondary, mediated by non-conventional meaning. The second part also deals with specific, general, generic, concrete and abstract meaning, and discusses the concepts of metaphor, symbol and expression. Part three focuses on iconic and index relations, i. e. relations of similarity and contiguity, of the fictional representation. Cinematic narratives are characterized by primary iconicity, i. e. all meaning and fictional content are dependent on the iconic relation between the poles of the representation. The iconicity of prose fiction is, by contrast, secondary, mediated by conventional sign relations. Also abductive and performative, fictional and non-fictional indexical signs, and different kinds of implications and lacunas are discussed. Part four deals with the concepts of fictionality and narrative perspective, such as the fictional stance, the narrator and focalization. Four different notions of fictionality are scrutinized and brought together, and narrative perspective is described and analyzed in terms of two different game fictions: epic games and perceptual games. Depending on the semiotic resources, the possibilities and limits of prose fiction and fiction film described in the first three parts of the dissertation, fictional games are shown to be more or less rich and realistic.

This study examines the female protagonist Petra von Pahlen in Agnes von Krusenstjerna’s novel Den blå rullgardinen (The blue blind). The aim of the study is to make a stylistic examination of narrative perspective, relations, and agency in several text passages from the novel, to find out how the language of the text shapes Petra von Pahlen as a female character. To see whether the linguistic choices and functions of the text form Petra as an active or passive person, her relation to four other characters in the novel are examined. The material consists of 39 passages of text taken from 10 chapters of the novel, all of which dealing specifically with Petra’s part of the story. Literary theories used for the study are narratology and systemic-functional grammar. The applied methods for analysing the passages are a selection of syntactic and semantic markers compiled by Staffan Hellberg (1985) for stylistic analysis of narrative perspective in Swedish literary texts, and a selection of the tools for investigation of transitivity and ergativity in texts available through the systemic-functional theory of grammar by Michael Halliday (2014). The results show that the narrative perspective used in the text passages are mostly internal focalization, and that the most frequently used stylistic markers are expressions for perception and reflection, similes, metaphors, and words expressing value. The results also show that Petra is most frequently realized through the participant roles of Senser in mental processes, and Goal in material processes. In the ergative analysis Petra is most frequently realized in non-ergative clauses through the participant role as Medium, both in terms of first and second participant; she is seldom realized as Agent. From the quantitative results of the study, Petra can be viewed as a passive character, however an argumentation based on previous research from the fields of literary science and feminist literary stylistics also suggests an interpretation, where the context and themes in the novel, together with an awareness of the different ‘meanings’ of linguistic features, provide a less powerless position for Petra.