<p>The person in which Buddenbrooks and Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull are related is one of the factors which establishes the Erzählhaltung. As Bekenntnisse des Hochstaplers Felix Krull is written in the first person, everything that is related is seen through the first person or in the first person , for everything that a person has done or seen remains in him. When Krull describes the people and the situations he has met, the reader sees these through Krull, coloured by him, dependent on him. Kurll is the mediator through whom the experiences related come to the reader. As Buddenbrooks is written in the third person the characters and the situation are not seen through a mediator; they are seen through the characters themselves and therefore as independent of any mediator. The reader understands, of course, that it is Thomas Mann, the actual author of both novels, who relates both stories, or more correctly creates both stories, and that therefore everything related is dependent on him. However, Thomas Mann chooses to present Felix Krull as if Krull is writing it, that is from the point of view of Krull, the pretended author, and to present Buddenbrooks from the point of view of the characters. He chooses therefore a different Erzählhaltung for each novel. This thesis intends to show that the Erzählhaltung which is established by the choice of the third person and the first person for Buddenbrooks and for Felix Krull respectively is supported: 1) grammatically by the tense system, 2) semantically by the vocabulary, and 3) stylistically by the methods chosen for the presentation of the speech and thought of the characters and also by the use of interrogative and anticipatory statements. it is important to consider the the tense system as it is a fundamental requirement of any narration. The vocabulary is discussed since it is an intrinsic integrating factor in both Buddenbrooks and Felix Krull. The presentation of the speech and thought of the characters is significant for the Erzählhaltung, because it is by this stylistic means that the characters can be seen through themselves within their own world. Interrogative and anticipatory statement are interesting as they show that even factors, which are not necessary or fundamental requirements of narration, can support the Erzählhaltung. The grammatical, semantic and stylistic support and reinforcement given by the above factors to the Erzählhaltung established by the use of the third and first person make possible a consistency within both novels which binds each into a unified whole.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/9495 |
| Date | January 1968 |
| Creators | Cioran, Stipsits Sylvia |
| Contributors | Goheen, Prager J., German |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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