The influence of Vonnegut’s didactic purpose of writing on the treatment of theme  and structure in Slaughterhouse-Five is investigated in this study. The following  elements of structure are studied: point of view, the treatment of time, characterization,  the use of other sources, and imagery. These are constantly related to  the novel’s themes, such as war, cruelty, death, time, innocence, survival, free  will, fantasy and regeneration. Since Vonnegut himself survived the Dresden  bombings during World War Two, his novel is very personal, which is particularly  reflected in his point-of-view technique, the subject of Chapter One. Vonnegut creates  double narrators in Slaughterhouse-Five : a personal one, including authorial  intrusions, and an impersonal one. This division is a direct reflection of the  dichotomy between reality and fantasy that prevails in the novel.  In Chapter Two, Vonnegut’s treatment of time is demonstrated to be a process of  spatialization. Structurally, this means a fragmented narrative split into several  time levels that chiefly form what the author calls his ”telegraphic schizophrenic"  style. Thematically, the protagonist comes "unstuck" in time, thus succeeding in  confronting an absurd world and finally transcending death.  Vonnegut uses the depiction of character mainly to express ideas and to reinforce  themes, since he regards his characters as "bugs in amber," involuntarily stuck,  excepting their capacity for fantasy. To facilitate the reader’s recognition of  these sketchy characters, Vonnegut has equipped them with marks of recognition,  often repeated, and names that provide clues to their personalities. All characters  are shown to be isolated and lonely, except on Tralfamadore where a dream woi;ld  exists.  In the fourth chapter, Vonnegut’s use of other sources is examined. His carefully  chosen quotations fall into two groups: first, historical sources that verify facts,  such as the Dresden catastrophy; second, fictional sources that stimulate the human  imagination, which turns out to be the protagonist's means of survival.  Finally, imagery in Slaughterhouse-Five, studied in Chapter Five, is found to be  used for enrichment of a style otherwise characterized by great economy. Much of  the imagery strikes a humorous tone. A simple, quotidian vocabulary is developed.  War imagery is used to deglorify war. Animal imagery is invoked to ridicule and to  show man’s true place in the universe. Several oxymora further reinforce the incongruity  prevailing in the Vonnegutian world. The negative effect of imagery is  also found in symbols pertaining to Billy’s life situation. As a contrast, however,  there are also positive symbols emphasizing nature’s annual cycle of rebirth signifying  hope and regeneration.  Many of the stylistic elements studied reveal that Vonnegut has chosen thematic and  structural solutions that make his novel accessible to a large reading audience.  The fragmented, at times circular, structure of Slaughterhouse-Five is indeed a  "dance with death." In a thematic sense, death is the writer’s own muse that he  must dutifully dance with in order to create his work of art. Slaughterhouse-Five  is not only Vonnegut’s account of his own war experience but also a statement on  the human condition. / digitalisering@umu

Masters of Art / Zora Neale Hurston is a significant figure in American fiction and is strongly associated with the Harlem Renaissance, the period noted for the emergence of literature by people of African-American descent. Hurston worked as a writer of fiction and of anthropological research and this mini-thesis will discuss aspects of her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, first published in 1937. While the novel traces the psychological development of the central female character, Janie Mae Crawford and, thus, demonstrates several features of a conventional Bildungsroman, the novel also contains some intriguing innovations in respect of narration and voice. These innovations imply that the novel can be read in terms of the qualities commonly associated with the Modernist novel. This contention becomes significant when it is understood that a considerable degree of critical responses to the novel have discounted these connections. The novel is widely accepted to be a story about a woman’s journey to self-actualisation through the relationships she has with the men in her life. Much of the criticism related to the novel is based on this aspect of it, with many stating that Janie’s voice is often silenced by the third-person narrator at crucial moments in the text and that, as a consequence, she does not achieve complete self-actualisation by the end of the novel. This thesis will examine the significance of the shifts between first-person and thirdperson narration and the manifestations of other voices or means of articulation, which give the novel a multi-vocal quality. The importance of this innovation will also be considered, particularly when it is taken into account that Hurston sought to incorporate some elements associated with the oral tradition into her work as a writer of fiction.

The event of breaking bad news is a subject that no one present in the practical setting could choose to avoid. It is a subject that the practitioners comes in touch with during a daily basis. Traditionally the role as the breaker of bad news has been settled by the physician, but at the time being, disagreements occur in the clinical setting about who should break bad news to familys and patients. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the nurses’ experiences of breaking bad news. What are the nurses’ role in the event of breaking bad news, and are there any barriers that can affect the way the bad news is given to the patients and family members? These were two questions of issue that were looked into. Method: The integrative review method based out of Whittemore and Knafl (2005) was used for this review. A systematic search resulted in twelve articles that were deemed fitting for the purpose of this study. Results: This integrative review resulted in five identified roles carried out by the nurse in the event of breaking bad news. Further on, nine factors were identified as being of significance in how the bad news were delivered by nurses and received by patients and the patient’s family members. Nurses expressed a desire and a wish for some kind of education or training in how to break bad news. Conclusion:  This article contributes with five roles experienced by nurses, along with nine different factors to have in mind when carrying out difficult news. The SPIKE model and Gibbs reflective model were discussed to have a great importance in the clinical setting.

A câmera subjetiva abrange o ponto de vista, em suas múltiplas implicações narrativas, enunciativas, audiovisuais. À sua crescente presença no audiovisual contemporâneo correspondem expansões de seus sentidos comumente relacionados à linguagem clássica narrativa cinematográfica e a uma normatividade que restringe seu uso sistemático. Novos usos da câmera subjetiva associam novos fatores e novas funções dentro do cinema, relacionando técnicas e tecnologias com resultados estéticos. Esta pesquisa investiga a câmera subjetiva como recurso de linguagem e de estilo audiovisual que movimenta variáveis entre a espectatorialidade e o filme. / Subjective camera embraces point of view, in several narrative, enunciative and audiovisual implications. The sense commonly related to classical cinema narrative language becomes expanded with new approaches of subjective camera in contemporary works, breaking the rules that restrain its systematic utilization. New usage of subjective camera links new functions and new elements inside cinema, connecting technologies and technics with aesthetics results. This research examines subjective camera as an audiovisual stylistic feature that crosses film language and spectatorship.

Esta dissertação busca investigar os materiais sócio-históricos dos anos 60 norte-americanos materializados no romance de ficção científica Do androids dream of electric sheep? de Philip K. Dick por meio da análise do foco narrativo, especialmente. Embora não seja considerado um dos mais refinados romances de Dick, a obra apresenta um diagnóstico bastante apurado dos limites de experiência disponíveis da década. / This dissertation aims to investigate the socio-historical materials of the North American 60s materialized in the Philip K. Dicks science fiction novel Do androids dream of electric sheep? by analyzing its point of view, mostly. Although it is not considered one of Dicks finest novels, the work presents a very refined diagnosis of the limits of the available experiences of the decade.

A presente pesquisa investiga como os elementos visuais ao dispor dos cineastas podem contribuir para a representação de estados alterados de percepção no cinema, de modo a ampliar a discussão sobre a expressividade do trabalho de direção de fotografia. Por meio da análise e interpretação de três filmes brasileiros que apresentam personagens fora de si e construções visuais contundentes - Estorvo (2000), de Ruy Guerra, Filme de Amor (2003), de Júlio Bressane e A Concepção (2005), de José Eduardo Belmonte -, a pesquisa discute de que maneira as características da imagem podem contribuir para a criação de pontos de vista, atmosferas e sentidos, que permitem a apreensão do filme para além de sua compreensão intelectual. Partindo do reconhecimento da ligação entre narrador e personagens, a análise se volta à força expressiva das imagens usadas ao longo dos filmes, tomando como referência reflexões sobre o expressionismo na pintura e no cinema. Essa discussão serve de base para a identificação de um imaginário sobre os estados alterados de percepção e suas relações com a sociedade presente na cinematografia brasileira dos anos 2000. / The present research investigates how the visual elements available to the filmmakers can contribute to the representation of altered states of perception in the cinema, in order to broaden the discussion about the expressiveness of the cinematography work. Through the analysis and interpretation of three Brazilian films that present characters out of their minds and rich visual constructions - Estorvo (2000), by Ruy Guerra, Filme de Amor (2003), by Júlio Bressane and A Concepção (2005), by José Eduardo Belmonte -, the research discusses how the characteristics of image can contribute to the creation of points of view, moods and senses, which in turn make possible the apprehension of the film beyond its intellectual understanding. Acknowledging the connection between narrator and characters, the analysis focus on the expressive force of the images used throughout the films, taking as reference reflections on Expressionism in painting and in cinema. This discussion serves as basis for the identification of a position regarding altered states of perception and their relations with society in Brazilian cinematography of the 2000s.

A presente dissertação tem como objetivo investigar a sedimentação sócio-histórica do romance de estreia de Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (1847), a partir de seu foco narrativo. Ao atentar à fortuna crítica da obra, em especial às resenhas que seguiram a publicação do romance e às críticas materialista e feminista, distinguem-se duas tendências, dois modos de entender Jane Eyre. Por meio da análise de trechos do romance, visa-se ilustrar como essas duas vias de leitura são possíveis por conta da posição ambígua da narradora-personagem dentro da sociedade vitoriana. Expandindo o conceito de Terry Eagleton do in between, argumenta-se que, por estar sempre em uma posição entre as classes alta e baixa e por desejar inserção, Jane relata e denuncia as violências que permeiam a sociedade vitoriana e, ao mesmo tempo, incorpora o discurso dominante, mesmo quando esse vai contra ela mesma. Entende-se, assim, que o romance retrata a situação contraditória da classe média e o impacto de viver nessa posição na própria consciência do indivíduo, isto é, na sua visão de si e do mundo, como observado na voz da narradora de Jane Eyre. / The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the social and historical sedimentation of Charlotte Brontës 1847 debut novel, Jane Eyre, by exploring its point of view. Drawing from the novels literary criticism, especially from the reviews that followed its publication and from the Feminist and Marxist criticism, two different ways of understanding Jane Eyre are distinguished. The close reading of excerpts from Charlotte Brontës work aims at highlighting that these two readings are possible due to the narrators ambiguous position in the Victorian social structure. By expanding Terry Eagletons concept of the in between, it is discussed that, since Jane is from the very beginning of the novel in a position between the upper and lower classes and she longs for inclusion, she accounts on and denounces the violence that permeated the Victorian society, just as, at the same time, she incorporates the dominant discourse even when it speaks against herself. Thus, it is understood that the novel portrays the contradictory situation of the petty bourgeoisie and the impact of being in such a position on the individuals consciousness, as it is seen in Jane Eyres narrators voice.

O exercício de crítica cultural aqui empreendido busca refletir sobre a contemporaneidade a partir da análise e interpretação do longa-metragem O som ao redor (2012) de Kleber Mendonça Filho. A fim de chegar a uma compreensão do que sua forma diz sobre o momento presente, realizamos uma investigação sobre o filme a partir das contribuições de diferentes disciplinas e também de abordagens analíticas da imprensa e da academia. A começar pelo estudo da forma narrativa, propomos definições para noções como autor, autor implícito, narrador, ponto de vista e foco narrativo. Essas noções se mostram úteis no desenvolvimento da análise com relação ao que entendemos como sendo o foco narrativo, uma relação de significação entre as instâncias da emissão e da recepção de uma narrativa. A focalização, assim compreendida, permitiu a identificação da produção de quatro espacialidades na trama da narrativa fílmica: (a) o espaço doméstico contemporâneo e as práticas de consumo, marcados pelo desejo e pelo medo; (b) o espaço de poder do homem cordial contemporâneo; (c) o espaço da propriedade e da auto-atribuição ambígua de um espaço de representação; e, por fim, (d) o espaço da subalternidade. Esses espaços, por sua vez, são articulados por meio de uma prática temporal contraditória, estabelecida entre passado e futuro, que mantém o presente em estado de suspensão crônica. Observa-se, nos termos de Jameson (2002 [1981]), o inconsciente político dessa narrativa: o reconhecimento do papel da classe média na manutenção de relações de mando arcaicas, lugar que o próprio narrador simula assumir e ao qual, por vezes, corre o risco de assimilar-se. Desse modo, a miragem da classe média quanto ao autocontrole econômico e simbólico e seu horror à expropriação e aos despossuídos continuam a contribuir para manter as desigualdades e injustiças sociais do país. Como forma de conclusão, indica-se, na leitura do filme, a possibilidade de entendimento do passado como uma simples permanência caso se veja o tempo (e a história) apenas como continuidade. Inversamente, se a dimensão temporal for compreendida como sujeita a simultaneidades, aberta, portanto, à equivocidade, possibilidades de futuro podem emergir, configurando-se uma outra leitura. Nesse sentido, práticas do passado no presente, sujeitas à continuidade e à transformação, dão a dimensão da importância das práticas presentes, já que, estas, antecipam, desde já, práticas futuras. / The exercise of cultural criticism undertaken here aims to reflect on contemporary temporality through an analysis and interpretation of the feature film Neighbouring Sounds (2012), directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho. To understand what its form says about the current moment, I investigate the structure of the film considering contributions from different disciplines and also analytical approaches, offered by the press and scholars. Starting with the study of the narrative form, I propose definitions for notions like author, implicit author, narrator and point of view. These notions have proved themselves useful in the development of an analysis of what is understood as the narrative focus. However, the Anglophone criticism does not use that term as often as point of view. Thus understanding point of view as a relationship of signification between the addresser and the addressee of a narrative, I observe the production of four spatialities in the plot of the film: (a) the contemporary domestic space and consumerist practices, marked by desire and fear; (b) the space of the power of the contemporary cordial man; (c) the space of property and of the ambiguous selfattribution of a representational space; and, finally, (d) the space of subalternity. These spaces, then, are articulated by a contradictory time practice, established between the past and the future, which keeps the present in a chronic suspension state. I observe, following Jamesons (2002 [1981]) expression, the political unconscious of that narrative: the recognition of the role of the middle class in the maintenance of the archaic power relations. The narrator, in simulating these power relations, runs the risk of reproducing them. Thus the middle-class mirage of economic and symbolic self-control, compounded by a middle-class horror of expropriation and of the destitute, perpetuate the inequalities and social injustices in Brazil. To conclude, I indicate, in this reading of the film, the possibility of understanding the past as simply permanence if time and history are only regarded as continuity. Conversely, if the temporal dimension is grasped as subject to simultaneities, therefore, open to the equivoque, a different possible future may emerge, creating another reading. In this new sense, practices of the past in the present, subject to continuity and to transformation, give importance to the present practices, since these ones anticipate future practices.

Kazuo Ishiguro's novels The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go exhibit many of the same characteristics as his other works. Out of all of those works, however, only these two novels have been adapted to film as of yet. Because of Ishiguro's reliance on first-person narration and point-of-view his novels are particularly more problematic to adapt to screen. This phenomenon is partially due to the audio-visually dependent medium of film and the camera lens' limitations when it comes to exhibiting character interiority. Therefore, the effect of the translation to screen for both of these films is a shift in how the viewing audience responds to the characters as both characters and as human beings. This shift at times augments, expands, or changes the philosophical implications of Ishiguro's works. This paper explores those shifts and permutations and argues that they can ultimately lead to a more empathetic connection between the viewer and the characters in the stories.

Spinning the Plan Sideways is the story of Clara Gantz, a thirty-eight year old architect who spent her twenties getting her plans—and sections and elevations—just right. She built buildings in lieu of a family and has considered these buildings her children, but lately she’s been finding a void in wood, marble, and steel. Encouraged, with methods bordering on coercion, by Greta, her “sister” from the Gantz Home for Girls, Clara agrees to mentor Julien, a troubled twelve-year-old. Years ago, when Julien was five, his mother split their house apart, lifting it to make three-stories from one, and moved into the top level with her new husband and daughter, leaving Julien and his father, Michel on the levels below. The separation drove Michel to attempt suicide on Julien’s ninth birthday leaving him with violent aversions to homes over one-story tall. As Clara works with Julien, she discovers her life had been focused on developing the wrong types of plans and she invests in creating new plans for herself, Julien, and Michel. The story unfolds through the parallel viewpoints of Clara and Michel, with Julien’s Grim Fairytale tucked in the middle.