The digital games take an increasing part of our western society. The time when gaming was excluded to the most frantic computer fans is long gone. Today the gaming industry competes with both the film- and music industry for the consumers’ attention. Despite this, research regarding the digital games has been put aside for a long time. But there is an ongoing process in establishing game studies regarding content and expression aspects that go beyond the question about possible psychological effects and such. But this process is still young and disagreements occur concerning how the games should be approached as an object of study. This debate, originating from two different approaches; the narratological and the ludological, has proven to be central to the research society. To reach a better understanding regarding storytelling within the digital games I carried out a narratological analysis of a video game; Shadow of the Colossus for Playstation 2. I used classical narratological tools regarding the syntagmatic structure of storytelling; Propp’s characters and functions and Todorov’s equilibrium formula. To be able to carry out this analysis the first step was to identify the storytelling elements of the game so that these could be properly recognized. After that the narratological tools were applied to these. In order not to neglect the medium specific characteristics that the digital games hold, I implemented a minor ludological analysis of its rules, to see how these were connected with the potential storytelling. The narratological analysis proved to be useful; a number of Propp’s functions were identified and the storytelling could also be described on the basis of Todorov’s equilibrium. Furthermore a clear connection between the storytelling of the game and the ludus rules, meaning the rules that define the winning conditions and how to reach them. The classic narratological analysis was fruitful, but the medium specific characteristics with systems of rules and their connection to the storytelling elements proved to be an important relationship to illustrate further. / De digitala spelen tar allt större plats i vårt västerländska samhälle. Tiden då spelande bara var för de mest inbitna datorfantasterna är sedan länge förbi. Idag konkurrerar spelindustrin med både film- och musikindustrin om konsumenternas uppmärksamhet. Trots det har forskning kring de digitala spelen länge åsidosatts. Men en process är nu i full gång för att etablera forskning kring spel och dess innehålls- och uttrycksmässiga aspekter som ser bortom frågan om eventuella skadliga psykologiska effekter och liknande. Men denna process är ung och oenighet råder om hur spelen som studieobjekt ska behandlas. Denna debatt som utgår från två olika ansatser; den narratologiska och ludologiska, har visat sig vara central i forskarvärlden. För att försöka nå bättre förståelse kring berättande i de digitala spelens värld genomförde jag en narratologisk analys av ett enskilt spel; Shadow of the Colossus till Playstation 2. Jag utgick från klassiska narratologiska verktyg som utgår från berättandets syntagmatiska struktur; Propps rollfunktioner och Todorovs jämviktsformel. För att kunna genomföra denna analys var första steget att först identifiera de berättande elementen i spelet så att dessa kunde kartläggas. När det var gjort applicerades de narratologiska verktygen på dessa. För att inte helt åsidosätta de mediespecifika kriterierna som de digitala spelen besitter, genomförde jag en enkel ludologisk analys av dess spelregler, för att se hur dessa var sammankopplade med eventuellt berättande. Den narratologiska analysen visade sig vara användbar; ett antal av Propps funktioner identifierades och berättandet kunde även beskrivas utifrån Todorovs jämvikt. Dessutom visades ett klart samband mellan spelets berättande och dess ludusregler, det vill säga de regler som definierar mål och hur dessa skall nås. Den klassiska narratologiska analysen var fruktbar, men de mediespecifika egenskaperna med regelsystem och dess sammankoppling med de berättande elementen visade sig vara ett viktigt förhållande att belysa.

<p>The digital games take an increasing part of our western society. The time when gaming was excluded to the most frantic computer fans is long gone. Today the gaming industry competes with both the film- and music industry for the consumers’ attention.</p><p>Despite this, research regarding the digital games has been put aside for a long time. But there is an ongoing process in establishing game studies regarding content and expression aspects that go beyond the question about possible psychological effects and such. But this process is still young and disagreements occur concerning how the games should be approached as an object of study.</p><p>This debate, originating from two different approaches; the narratological and the ludological, has proven to be central to the research society. To reach a better understanding regarding storytelling within the digital games I carried out a narratological analysis of a video game; Shadow of the Colossus for Playstation 2. I used classical narratological tools regarding the syntagmatic structure of storytelling; Propp’s characters and functions and Todorov’s equilibrium formula.</p><p>To be able to carry out this analysis the first step was to identify the storytelling elements of the game so that these could be properly recognized. After that the narratological tools were applied to these. In order not to neglect the medium specific characteristics that the digital games hold, I implemented a minor ludological analysis of its rules, to see how these were connected with the potential storytelling.</p><p>The narratological analysis proved to be useful; a number of Propp’s functions were identified and the storytelling could also be described on the basis of Todorov’s equilibrium. Furthermore a clear connection between the storytelling of the game and the ludus rules, meaning the rules that define the winning conditions and how to reach them. The classic narratological analysis was fruitful, but the medium specific characteristics with systems of rules and their connection to the storytelling elements proved to be an important relationship to illustrate further.</p> / <p>De digitala spelen tar allt större plats i vårt västerländska samhälle. Tiden då spelande bara var för de mest inbitna datorfantasterna är sedan länge förbi. Idag konkurrerar spelindustrin med både film- och musikindustrin om konsumenternas uppmärksamhet.</p><p>Trots det har forskning kring de digitala spelen länge åsidosatts. Men en process är nu i full gång för att etablera forskning kring spel och dess innehålls- och uttrycksmässiga aspekter som ser bortom frågan om eventuella skadliga psykologiska effekter och liknande. Men denna process är ung och oenighet råder om hur spelen som studieobjekt ska behandlas.</p><p>Denna debatt som utgår från två olika ansatser; den narratologiska och ludologiska, har visat sig vara central i forskarvärlden. För att försöka nå bättre förståelse kring berättande i de digitala spelens värld genomförde jag en narratologisk analys av ett enskilt spel; Shadow of the Colossus till Playstation 2. Jag utgick från klassiska narratologiska verktyg som utgår från berättandets syntagmatiska struktur; Propps rollfunktioner och Todorovs jämviktsformel.</p><p>För att kunna genomföra denna analys var första steget att först identifiera de berättande elementen i spelet så att dessa kunde kartläggas. När det var gjort applicerades de narratologiska verktygen på dessa. För att inte helt åsidosätta de mediespecifika kriterierna som de digitala spelen besitter, genomförde jag en enkel ludologisk analys av dess spelregler, för att se hur dessa var sammankopplade med eventuellt berättande.</p><p>Den narratologiska analysen visade sig vara användbar; ett antal av Propps funktioner identifierades och berättandet kunde även beskrivas utifrån Todorovs jämvikt. Dessutom visades ett klart samband mellan spelets berättande och dess ludusregler, det vill säga de regler som definierar mål och hur dessa skall nås. Den klassiska narratologiska analysen var fruktbar, men de mediespecifika egenskaperna med regelsystem och dess sammankoppling med de berättande elementen visade sig vara ett viktigt förhållande att belysa.</p>

In this dissertation, the art of the short story as practised by S.N. Nkadimeng (Mmantshaotlogele) is investigated in accordance with the narratological descriptive model. According to this approach the literary work is divided into three levels, namely, content level, plot level and style level. The level of style, however, is not discussed in detail in this dissertation. In this study, Nkadimeng's art is placed within the framework of a brief discussion of the Northem Sotho short story as an art form. Furthermore, the aim of this investigation is formulated. Thereafter the relevant concepts which are discussed in this dissertation are also illustrated. In the second, third and fourth chapters attention is paid mainly to the analysis of a single short story, that is 0 nyalwa lenyalo mang .. . ; however, the other short stories in this collection, among others Nna nka se je dipute and Thapelo ya pula are referred to as examples. In the last chapter, Nkadimeng's work, particularly with regard to his ironic stories, is compared to Mpepele's and Matsepe's work. Nkadimeng writes with compassion about his people; his irony is delicate and mocking without venom, which differs from that of Matsepe and Mpepele. Whereas Matsepe mocks important figures in the society, such as leaders, kings, the rich and so forth, Nkadimeng's and Mpepele's mocking is aimed at the weaknesses of the ordinary people. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Philosophy / unrestricted

This study examines the figures of theיקדִּ צַ and עשָׁ רָ in psalms. Drawing on both semantics and poetics, this study argues that the contrast between the figures represented by these terms is part of the conventions of Hebrew psalmody and, as such, can serve various discursive functions within an individual psalm. Using insights from the field of lexical semantics, the study clarifies the possible uses of the words Justand עשָׁ רָ, emphasizing a wider range of uses than is typically offered within a broad behavioral domain for these terms. The study summarizes ways that various books in the Hebrew Bible use the contrast of these figures to develop a description of the literary features related to their presentations. The analysis of 18 psalms that include both figures utilizes insights from narratological theories of character to explore the functions of the contrast between קידִּ צַ and עשָׁ רָ as literary figures within the overall discourse of the psalm. Focusing on the setting of an individual psalm and embracing the possibility of variation reveals that קידִּ צַ and עשָׁ רָ are not only, or even usually, employed to describe the “prototypically good” or “prototypically bad” person in psalms. Rather, the עשָׁ רָ is often a designation for an antagonist, and the קידִּ צַ is often understood as one who is innocently wronged. As such, the literary pattern of their contrast does not focus on the moral character of these figures but on the fairness or justice of God to eventually elevate the position of the קידִּ צַ and destroy the עשָׁ רָ.

La pregunta sobre com s’ha de representar l’Holocaust és i ha estat una qüestió problemàtica i essencial en els Estudis de l’Holocaust. Certs acadèmics i intel•lectuals han negat la possibilitat de representació de l’horror del genocidi dels jueus europeus, i en especial, s’ha negat l’ús de la ficció literària i cinematogràfica. Aquesta tesi analitza les tres etapes de recepció de l’Holocaust i els seus discursos acadèmics predominants. L’inicial silenci i la invisibilitat social del genocidi, en la que es formula el dictum adornià sobre la irrepresentabilitat del genocidi dels jueus europeus. Més endavant, l’Holocaust es fa socialment visible, i l’aparició d’obres de ficció controvertides obliguen a plantejar-se certs “límits de representació”. I contemporàniament, quan la ficció sobre l’Holocaust s’ha popularitzat i globalitzat, arribant a formar part de l’entreteniment i del consum mediàtic. En aquest context, en el que les representacions de ficció del genocidi dels jueus europeus ja formen part de la nostra cultura, l’estudi de cas es centra en l’anàlisi narratològica del llibre Everything is Illuminated (2002) de Jonathan Safran Foer, amb l’objectiu de presentar una opció de ficció de l’Holocaust. / La pregunta sobre cómo se debe representar el Holocausto es y ha sido una cuestión problemática y esencial en los Estudios del Holocausto. Ciertos académicos e intelectuales han negado la posibilidad de representación del horror del genocidio de los judíos europeos, y en especial, se ha negado el uso de la ficción literaria y cinematográfica. Esta tesis analiza las tres etapas de recepción del Holocausto y sus discursos académicos predominantes. El inicial silencio e invisibilidad social del genocidio, en el que se formula el dictum adorniano sobre la irrepresentabilidad del genocidio de los judíos europeos. Más adelante, el Holocausto se hace socialmente visible, y la aparición de obras de ficción controvertidas obligan a plantearse ciertos “límites de representación”. Y contemporáneamente, cuando la ficción sobre Holocausto se ha popularizado y globalizado, llegando a formar parte del entretenimiento y del consumo mediático. En este contexto, en el que las representaciones de ficción del genocidio de los judíos europeos ya forman parte de nuestra cultura, el caso de estudio se centra en el análisis narratológico del libro Everything is Illuminated (2002) de Jonathan Safran Foer, con el objetivo de presentar una opción de ficción del Holocausto. / The question of how the Holocaust should be represented is and has been a problematic and essential question in Holocaust Studies. Certain academics and intellectuals have denied the possibility of representation, and very specially, have denied the use of literary and cinematographic fiction. This thesis analyses the three stages of reception of the Holocaust and their predominant academic discourses. The initial silence and social invisibility of the genocide, in which the Adornian dictum is formulated on the unrepresentability of the genocide of European Jews. Later, the Holocaust is made socially visible, and the emergence of controversial works of fiction force us to consider the option of certain “limits of representation”. And, recently, in which fiction about the Holocaust has become popularized and globalized, and become part of the entertainment and consumer mass media. In this context, in which fictional representations of the genocide of European Jews are now part of our culture, this case study focuses on the narratological analysis of the book, Everything is Illuminated (2002), by Jonathan Safran Foer, in order to present a fictional choice of the Holocaust.

Text in Afrikaans / In die verhandeling word die vergestalting van die sprokiemotief in die tekste, Griet skryf 'n sprokie deur Marita van der Vyver (1992) en Weerkaatsings - 'n sprokie deur Eleanor Baker (1984) nagegaan. Die doel is om vas te stel op watter wyse hierdie "kindgerigte" genre op die literere vlak van die volwasse leser omvorm word. Om hierdie doel te bereik word eerstens 'n begripsverkenning van die sprokie as epiese genre gedoen. In die verkenning van die genre val die soeklig nie net op die Westerse sprokie nie, maar daar word ook gefokus op die inheemse SuidAfrikaanse sprokie. Tweedens word aan die hand van hierdie teoretiese raamwerk 'n noukeurige analise gemaak van die vergestalting van die sprokiemotief binne die twee primere tekste. Die sprokieselemente in Griet skryf 'n sprokie en Weerkaatsings - 'n sprokie word uitgelig en die hantering daarvan vergelykend ondersoek / In the dissertation the manifestation of the fairytale motif in the texts, Griet skryf 'n sprokie by Marita van der Vyver (1992), and Weerkaatsings 'n sprokie by Eleanor Baker (1984) is investigated. The purpose is to ascertain the manner in which this "child-centred" genre is transformed on the literary level of the adult reader. To achieve this goal, a conceptualization of the fairytale as an epic genre is firstly undertaken. In the exploration of the genre, the search light does not only focus on the Western but also on the indigenous South African fairytale. Secondly, by means of this theoretical framework, a detailed analysis is made of the manifestation of the fairytale motif in the two primary texts. The elements of the fairytale in Griet skryf 'n sprokie and Weerkaatsings - 'n sprokie are highlighted and the handling thereof comparatively investigated / Afrikaans & Theory of Literature / M.A. (Afrikaans)

The subject of this thesis is Emile Zola’s novel Thérèse Raquin (1867). The principal aim is to examine lexical repetitions and their importance for semantic networks. The thesis studies the use of the noun cou and certain of its co-occurrences, as well as the use of colours and their derivatives. Employing the methods of Greimas and Rastier, the study is based upon two analyses, one narratological and the other thematic, an approach which allows us not only to study the importance of lexical repetitions, but also to study another aspect of the writing, Zola’s various sources of inspiration. This approach aids in showing the stylistic profile of the novel from a new perspective. Our second aim concerns the Swedish translations of the text. The degree of equivalence of lexical repetitions and their transmission has been studied in three versions (Wilson, 1884, Bjurman, 1911, and Bouleau, 1953). Our analysis draws on Berman’s and Heldner’s ideas about the critical evaluation of translated literary texts. The results of this thesis show that Zola, in Thérèse Raquin, uses lexical repetitions to create a stylistic effect that not only draws inspiration from literary and artistic sources, but that is also inspired by real events of the time. These stylistic properties, such as the system of colour leitmotivs, must be conveyed in a translation that is to be considered faithful to the original. The findings of this study suggest that there is a dependency between two of the examined versions and that it would be desirable to produce a new Swedish translation of the novel, equivalent to Zola’s text. / Le roman Thérèse Raquin (1867) d’Émile Zola est l’objet d’étude de la présente thèse. Le premier but est d’y examiner des répétitions lexicales et leur importance pour des réseaux sémantiques. Nous y étudions l’emploi du nom cou et certaines de ses co-occurrences, ainsi que des couleurs et leurs dérivés présents. Suivant des méthodes de Greimas et Rastier, l’étude s’effectue au moyen de deux analyses, l’une narratologique, l’autre thématique, ce qui nous permet non seulement d’examiner l’importance des répétitions lexicales, mais aussi d’étudier un aspect supplémentaire de l’écriture, les diverses sources d’inspiration de Zola. Cette approche contribue à montrer, dans une perspective nouvelle, le profil stylistique du roman. Notre deuxième but concerne des traductions suédoises du texte. Dans trois versions (Wilson, 1884, Bjurman, 1911, et Bouleau, 1953), est évalué le degré d’équivalence des répétitions lexicales et la transmission des répétitions lexicales examinées. Pour notre analyse, nous nous servons des idées de Berman et de Heldner, qui traitent le sujet d’évaluation critique de textes littéraires traduits.  Les résultats de la présente thèse montrent que Zola, dans Thérèse Raquin, utilise les répétitions lexicales pour créer un effet de style qui puise son inspiration non seulement dans des sources littéraires et artistiques, mais aussi dans des événements de la réalité de son époque. Ces propriétés stylistiques, comme la systématique des leitmotivs des couleurs, doivent être rendues dans une traduction censée être fidèle à l’original. Les analyses de notre étude évoquent qu’il y a une dépendance entre deux des versions examinées et qu’il est souhaitable de produire une nouvelle traduction suédoise du roman, équivalente au texte de Zola.

Generic transformation of the castaway novel is made evident by the various ways in which the narrative boundaries that separate fiction from reality and history, the past from the present, and the rational from the irrational, are reconfigured in Umberto Eco’s The Island of the Day Before (1994), J.M. Coetzee’s Foe (1986) and Yann Martel’s Life of Pi (2002). The dissolution of boundaries reflects the dominant shift that has occurred in the castaway novel from the 18th century literary context to the present postmodern, postcolonial context. In this regard, the narrative utilizes various narratological strategies, the most significant being intertextuality, metafiction, historiographical metafiction, allegory, irony, and the carnivalesque. These narratological strategies rewrite, revise, and recontextualize those generic conventions that perpetuated the culture of masculinity and conquest that defines colonialism and the traditional castaway novel epitomized by Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719). From a postcolonial perspective, the castaway’s state of being reflects on the condition of the colonized as well as the colonizer: his/her experience of displacement is similar to colonized peoples’ separation from their cultural, spiritual and personal identities; simultaneously, processes of appropriation, adaptation and control of space resemble colonization, thereby revealing the constructed nature of colonial space. As such, space is fundamental to individual orientation and social adaptation and consequently, metaphorically and metonymically linked to identity. In the selected postmodernist and postcolonial texts, the movement from the position of castaway to colonist as originally manifested in Robinson Crusoe is therefore reinterpreted and recontextualized. The postmodernist and postcolonial contexts resist fixed and one-dimensional representations of identity, as well as the appropriation and domination of space, that characterize shipwreck literature from pre-colonial and colonial periods. Rationalist notions of history, reality and truth as empirically definable concepts are also contested. The castaway identity is often characterized by feelings of physical and spiritual displacement and estrangement that can be paralleled to postmodernist themes of existential confusion and anxiety. / Thesis (PhD (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Generic transformation of the castaway novel is made evident by the various ways in which the narrative boundaries that separate fiction from reality and history, the past from the present, and the rational from the irrational, are reconfigured in Umberto Eco’s The Island of the Day Before (1994), J.M. Coetzee’s Foe (1986) and Yann Martel’s Life of Pi (2002). The dissolution of boundaries reflects the dominant shift that has occurred in the castaway novel from the 18th century literary context to the present postmodern, postcolonial context. In this regard, the narrative utilizes various narratological strategies, the most significant being intertextuality, metafiction, historiographical metafiction, allegory, irony, and the carnivalesque. These narratological strategies rewrite, revise, and recontextualize those generic conventions that perpetuated the culture of masculinity and conquest that defines colonialism and the traditional castaway novel epitomized by Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (1719). From a postcolonial perspective, the castaway’s state of being reflects on the condition of the colonized as well as the colonizer: his/her experience of displacement is similar to colonized peoples’ separation from their cultural, spiritual and personal identities; simultaneously, processes of appropriation, adaptation and control of space resemble colonization, thereby revealing the constructed nature of colonial space. As such, space is fundamental to individual orientation and social adaptation and consequently, metaphorically and metonymically linked to identity. In the selected postmodernist and postcolonial texts, the movement from the position of castaway to colonist as originally manifested in Robinson Crusoe is therefore reinterpreted and recontextualized. The postmodernist and postcolonial contexts resist fixed and one-dimensional representations of identity, as well as the appropriation and domination of space, that characterize shipwreck literature from pre-colonial and colonial periods. Rationalist notions of history, reality and truth as empirically definable concepts are also contested. The castaway identity is often characterized by feelings of physical and spiritual displacement and estrangement that can be paralleled to postmodernist themes of existential confusion and anxiety. / Thesis (PhD (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

Text in Afrikaans / In die verhandeling word die vergestalting van die sprokiemotief in die tekste, Griet skryf 'n sprokie deur Marita van der Vyver (1992) en Weerkaatsings - 'n sprokie deur Eleanor Baker (1984) nagegaan. Die doel is om vas te stel op watter wyse hierdie "kindgerigte" genre op die literere vlak van die volwasse leser omvorm word. Om hierdie doel te bereik word eerstens 'n begripsverkenning van die sprokie as epiese genre gedoen. In die verkenning van die genre val die soeklig nie net op die Westerse sprokie nie, maar daar word ook gefokus op die inheemse SuidAfrikaanse sprokie. Tweedens word aan die hand van hierdie teoretiese raamwerk 'n noukeurige analise gemaak van die vergestalting van die sprokiemotief binne die twee primere tekste. Die sprokieselemente in Griet skryf 'n sprokie en Weerkaatsings - 'n sprokie word uitgelig en die hantering daarvan vergelykend ondersoek / In the dissertation the manifestation of the fairytale motif in the texts, Griet skryf 'n sprokie by Marita van der Vyver (1992), and Weerkaatsings 'n sprokie by Eleanor Baker (1984) is investigated. The purpose is to ascertain the manner in which this "child-centred" genre is transformed on the literary level of the adult reader. To achieve this goal, a conceptualization of the fairytale as an epic genre is firstly undertaken. In the exploration of the genre, the search light does not only focus on the Western but also on the indigenous South African fairytale. Secondly, by means of this theoretical framework, a detailed analysis is made of the manifestation of the fairytale motif in the two primary texts. The elements of the fairytale in Griet skryf 'n sprokie and Weerkaatsings - 'n sprokie are highlighted and the handling thereof comparatively investigated / Afrikaans and Theory of Literature / M.A. (Afrikaans)