摘要美国作家马克·吐温的短篇小说《加州人的故事》和欧·亨利的名篇《麦琪的礼物》有很多相似之处。从故事表层上看，两部作品都讲述了感人的爱情故事，但深入其中便可透视应用于两部作品中的极具特色的叙述手段。本文以叙述视角为切入点，分析了作者如何通过叙述视角之间的灵活切换来设置伏笔，构建悬念进而推动故事情节的发展，同时指出两部小说的戏剧性结尾这一文本效果与切换人物视角的叙述方法是紧密相关的，论证了叙述视角切换对营造反讽效果、揭示作品主题意义、强化审美效果的重要意义。87586

毕业论文关键词  叙述视角 切换 悬念 《加州人的故事》 《麦琪的礼物》

毕 业 论 文 外 文 摘 要

Title    Analysis of the Shifts of Point of View in Short Stories--A Case Study of “The Californian’s Tale” and “The Gift of the Magi”                                           

Abstract There are many similarities between “The Californian’s Tale” by Mark Twain and “The Gift of the Magi” by O·Henry。 Both of them are about love ostensibly and their characteristic narrating strategies are worth studying。 This paper aims, in the light of the narrative point of view, to analyze how the flexible shifts of point of view contribute to utilizing the foreshadowing, creating a suspense and promoting the development of story plot。 It is pointed out that the effects from the dramatic ending are related to the shifts of the narrative point of view which is beneficial to the thematic significance, ironic effects as well as aesthetic clamor。源-于,优~尔^论=文.网www.youerw.com 原文+QQ7520~18766

Keywords  narrative point of view  shift  suspense  “The Californian’s Tale” “The Gift of the Magi”

Table of Contents

1 Introduction 1

1。1 “The Californian’s Tale” and “The Gift of the Magi” 1

1。2 Research Approach 2

2 Literature Review 3

2。1 Previous Research on Narration and Point of View 3

2。2 Conclusion of Previous Research and the Limitation 5

3 The Shifts of Point of View 6

3。1 Point of View 6

3。2 The Identities of “Narrating-I” and “Experiential-I” in California 7

3。3 The Shift of Della’s Omniscient and Limited Point of View in “The Gift of the Magi” 9

3。4 The God-like Narrator as An Outsider and An Insider of Della and Jim’s Daily Life 11

Conclusion 13From+优 尔-论+文W网www.youerw.com 加QQ752018`766

Acknowledgements 14

References 15

1 Introduction

1。1 “The Californian’s Tale” and “The Gift of the Magi”

O·Henry, one of the three leading short story writers, was an illustrious American short story writer whose primitive name was William Sydney Porter。 He was a master of surprising endings, who wrote about the life of ordinary people in New York City。 People often describe his writing style as “tearful smile。” Porter’s most prolific writing period began in 1902。 Throughout his lifetime, he published 10 collections and over 600 short stories。 “The Gift of the Magi,” one of his well-known short stories, won a reputation all over the world and made him popular among the readers。 “The Gift of the Magi” is a short story about a young married couple who are short of money and they exchange their own precious possessions for secret Christmas gifts for each other。 However, at the end of the story, they unexpectedly find that their presents for each other are of no avail。 In terms of the highlights in the short story, twist ending is extremely striking。 Apart from this, Porter’s distinctive narrative strategies and techniques also merit attention。 The writer used his ingenious narrative techniques to infuse the short story with tension and suspense and hence a surprising ending。 论文网