Analysis of Narrative Technique in Joyce Carol Oates' 'Black Water' and William Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying'.
ABSTRACT
Skripsi ini menganalisis teknik narasi dari novel Black Water karya Joyce
Carol Oates dan As I Lay Dying karya William Faulkner, karena narasi yang
digunakan dalam kedua novel ini sangat unik dan menarik. Isu utama kedua novel
ini adalah mengenai kematian, dan yang menarik adalah bahwa kedua pengarang
menyampaikan isu tersebut melalui teknik narasi yang berbeda.
Black Water bercerita tentang Kelly dan proses kematiannya di dalam
sebuah mobil yang tenggelam.
Penggunaan teknik narasi tertentu, seperti
penggunaan sudut pandang orang ketiga dan banyaknya kilas balik membuat
pembaca merasakan beragam efek, seperti misalnya kedekatan dengan karakter
utama serta keterlibatan pembaca dalam jalan cerita. As I Lay Dying bercerita
tentang perjalanan keluarga Bundren membawa jenazah ibu mereka, Addie
Bundren, ke tempat peristirahatan terakhirnya. Pemakaian teknik narasi yang
unik, seperti penggunaan sudut pandang orang pertama melalui lima belas narator,
sukses membawa pembaca ikut serta dalam memahami karakter-karakter utama
melalui sudut pandang yang beragam.
Setelah menganalisis kedua novel tersebut, dapat disimpulkan bahwa
kedua novel memiliki kesamaan namun juga perbedaan signifikan dalam
penggunaan teknik narasinya yang tak dapat dipungkiri memang saling
ii
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melengkapi.
Kedua novel berbicara mengenai kematian melalui teknik serta
sudut pandang berbeda, namun kedua pengarang mampu memberikan efek yang
sama terhadap pembaca ketika pembaca dapat merasakan kedekatannya dengan
setiap karakter dan keterlibatannya dalam alur cerita.
iii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... ii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study..............................................................................1
Statement of the Problem .............................................................................3
Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................3
Method of Research .....................................................................................3
Organization of the Thesis ...........................................................................4
CHAPTER II:
NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE: THE THEORIES ...................................5
CHAPTER III:
ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE IN
JOYCE CAROL OATES’ BLACK WATER .........................................10
CHAPTER IV:
ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE IN
WILLIAM FAULKNER’S AS I LAY DYING ......................................24
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...........................................................................43
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................47
APPENDICES
Summary of Joyce Carol Oates’ Black Water ...........................................48
Summary of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying .....................................48
Biography of Joyce Carol Oates ...............................................................50
Biography of William Faulkner ................................................................51
i
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Narrative technique is one way novelists convey their ideas to the
reader. It deals with point of view, time and tempo, style, and distance
(Eastman 31). It tells how a writer chooses particular ways of telling a
story to give certain effects to the reader. A writer has a specific way of
telling the story to generate a certain understanding from the reader
(Bernstein 23). Moreover, authors can use different narrative techniques
to convey a similar purpose.
Two novelists who use different narrative techniques to convey the same
purpose are Joyce Carol Oates and William Faulkner. Joyce Carol Oates is
considered one of America’s leading female writers. She is an American writer
whose narrative technique plays a big role in her works. She has a gothic theme in
most of her works, which deal with dark and tragic events (Mary). However, what
interests me is the narrative technique Oates uses to explore this theme
1
Maranatha Christian University
(Andersen). She narrates the story with a profound and sharp style of writing.
Nevertheless, this particular writing style can be easily understood by the reader.
She makes the reader enjoy the story even though the story itself is dark,
depressing and upsetting.
William Faulkner is also an American writer and one of the Southern
gothic writers. He is internationally acclaimed for several awards he has obtained.
He is considered a model for many modern writers (“William Faulkner”) who
follow his gothic or writing style. Faulkner’s writing style is full of sharp and
detailed descriptions of characters and scenes. Despite revealing the gothic theme,
just like Oates, Faulkner has his own uniqueness. He created an imaginary place,
Yoknapatawpha County, which becomes the background setting of many of his
works.
In this thesis, I would like to analyze Joyce Carol Oates’ Black Water and
William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Black Water delivers a story about Kelly
Kelleher’s last moments of life, when she is involved in a car accident.
Nevertheless, what makes the book so special is the author’s unique style of
narrating the story. The reader will surf through thought, memory, and even
hallucination of the dying Kelly. Oates comments that the reader must become
mesmerized by the thought of the young woman trapped in a car submerged in
water, waiting, waiting, and stilwaiting to be rescued (Oates). More than that, it is
not only a story about death. She wants to tell the reader that life is precious. It is
very interesting to see the way Oates uses death to deliver her message about life.
2
Maranatha Christian University
William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying tells a story about the Bundren’s
family on their way to bury the mother. Faulkner uses fifteen different narrators,
each of which has their own perspective towards the deceased. They also have
their own uniqueness in characteristics and expressions. The reader will become
an active party in constructing the story by looking into the story from fifteen
different perspectives. This book definitely has a different narrative technique
from that of Black Water, but both of them convey the idea of life.
Statement of the Problem
I state the problems as follows:
1. What kind of narrative technique is used in the novels Black Water and
As I Lay Dying?
2. What effects are achieved through the use of the narrative technique?
Purpose of the Study
This study has the following purposes:
1. To show the kind of narrative technique used in the novels Black Water and
As I Lay Dying.
2. To point out what effects are achieved through the use of the narrative
technique.
Method of Research
3
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The method I use is library research. I begin by reading Joyce Carol Oates’
Black Water, then William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, and several books which
are relevant to the topic to be discussed. After that, I analyze the primary texts by
using several theories from some references and materials from the Internet which
supports the analysis and can help me in writing a thesis on this topic. Finally, I
draw some conclusions from what has been discussed.
Organization of the Thesis
The thesis consists of five chapters, preceded by the Acknowledgements,
the Table of Contents, and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, which
contains the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose
of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. In
Chapter Two, I present the theories on narrative technique used in analyzing the
novels. Chapter Three is the analysis of narrative technique in Joyce Carol Oates’
Black Water, while Chapter Four is the analysis of narrative technique in William
Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Chapter Five is the Conclusion, which contains the
comparison between the narrative techniques used in both novels. The thesis ends
with the Bibliography and Appendices, which consist of the synopsis of the two
novels and the biography of the authors, Joyce Carol Oates and William Faulkner.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is clear that Black Water and As I Lay Dying have some
similarities and differences in the use of narrative technique. They are different in
the use of point of view, time and tempo, and style of language. Yet both authors
achieve the same effect for the reader from the different narrative techniques and
also successful in delivering their similar ideas about life and death.
Black Water tells about Kelly Kelleher’s last moments of life before she
dies. The story is told through the third person limited point of view. The author
knows everything about Kelly, such as her past life and her relationship with her
parents and with the Senator. In addition, through the use of third person limited
point of view the author manages to bring the reader to experience the same
experiences that Kelly is going through in the last moments of her life. The use of
third person limited point of view also provides the description of how Kelly
reacts towards her death. The use of third person limited point does not make the
44
Maranatha Christian University
story subjective because the author also provides the Senator’s perspective
about the accident, making the story become more objective.
As I Lay Dying is told through the first person point of view, in
which the author uses fifteen narrators to tell the whole story. Those
fifteen narrators are the Bundrens and their neighbors.
Each narrator
reports the process of Addie’s death and the journey to take her body to
Jefferson. Moreover, it also shows various reactions from people around
Addie Bundren about her death. The use of first person point of view can
be highly subjective, yet the author manages to keep the story objective by
giving a better understanding of the story through fifteen different
narrators. The combination of many subjective perspectives results in a
more objective view of the event.
The use of time and tempo is also involved. Both novels have
different modifications in the use of time and tempo. The tempo of Black
Water can be considered slow yet fast. It is slow because it takes 154
pages to present an event that may occur in only five minutes in actual life.
Nevertheless, it is also fast, because in those 154 pages, the author
manages to convey all the important moments of Kelly’s entire life. Black
Water uses many flashbacks in the use of time and tempo, which brings
the reader to some important and memorable moments of Kelly’s life. It
also helps the reader to understand the process of her death and how
Kelly’s reaction changes from being not ready to face her death to being
able to accept it.
45
Maranatha Christian University
As I Lay Dying is told chronologically, with only a few flashbacks. The
use of flashbacks as the modification of time shows the characteristics of Addie
and how she prepares herself to be ready to face her death. Moreover, the reader
will get to know more about the character. The tempo of the story is slow, as the
author reveals every detail about the journey to let the reader see how the
characters have different perpectives about the mother throughout the journey. It
makes the reader understand the story better.
The author of Black Water uses formal and informal registers of language
in the story, which helps the reader to get a realistic atmosphere and understand
the story better. It also has some sections without punctuation marks. These parts
build a tension, give the effect of rush, and make the reader feel the enormous fear
that Kelly had. The author also uses some italicized sentences to show Kelly’s
inner monologue, proving that the narrator is reliable.
In As I Lay Dying, the author uses different language styles for every
important narrator, including the use of some vernacular language and poetic
imagery. It helps the reader to get to know every character better. It also makes
the reader feel the realistic atmosphere of the countryside area in Southern
America. The author also provides some italicized paragraphs to differentiate
between Darl’s sanity and insanity. It makes the story believable and the narrator
reliable.
Besides the differences, the two novels have two things in common.
Firstly, both authors want to convey similar ideas about life and death in heir
novels. In Black Water, Oates gives the message that life is precious. It is similar
46
Maranatha Christian University
to what Faulkner wants to convey in As I Lay Dying, that life needs to be
savoured and death is inevitable. Secondly, the distance between the
reader and the character or the story in both novels is close. The closeness
is built through the use of point of view, time and tempo, and the style of
language. These similarities prove that the two authors have successfully
brought the reader to understand the message they want to convey.
In conclusion, it can be said that the different narrative techniques
used by the authors give the same effect to the reader in comprehending
the authors’ idea about life and death. The narrative techniques used have
reduced the distance between the reader and the story so that the reader
can understand the authors’ purposes better. In other words, both authors
are successful in using different narrative techniques effectively in
conveying their ideas about life and death.
47
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Texts:
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New York: Penguin, 1963. Print.
Oates, Joyce Carol. Black Water. New York: Plume, 1992. Print.
References:
Bennet, Carla. “Joyce Carol Oates.” American Author, 2010. Web. 9 Nov. 2013.
Bernstein, Susan Naomi. A Brief Guide to the Novel. London: Longman, 2001.
Print.
Eastman, Richard M. A Guide to the Novel. San Fransisco: Chandler, 1965. Print.
“Joyce Carol Oates.” Biography, 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
Mary, Meredith. “Joyce Carol Oates Brings Familiar Theme to New Gothic
Thriller.” 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
Mayer, Steve. “Award & Honors: 2010 National Humanities Medalist.” 2010.
Web. 9 Nov. 2013.
Oates, Joyce Carol. “What Inspired My Black Water.” Playbill, 1997. Web. 9
Nov. 2013.
“William Faulkner.” Nobel Prize, 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
“William Faulkner – Biographical.” Egs, 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
48
Maranatha Christian University
Skripsi ini menganalisis teknik narasi dari novel Black Water karya Joyce
Carol Oates dan As I Lay Dying karya William Faulkner, karena narasi yang
digunakan dalam kedua novel ini sangat unik dan menarik. Isu utama kedua novel
ini adalah mengenai kematian, dan yang menarik adalah bahwa kedua pengarang
menyampaikan isu tersebut melalui teknik narasi yang berbeda.
Black Water bercerita tentang Kelly dan proses kematiannya di dalam
sebuah mobil yang tenggelam.
Penggunaan teknik narasi tertentu, seperti
penggunaan sudut pandang orang ketiga dan banyaknya kilas balik membuat
pembaca merasakan beragam efek, seperti misalnya kedekatan dengan karakter
utama serta keterlibatan pembaca dalam jalan cerita. As I Lay Dying bercerita
tentang perjalanan keluarga Bundren membawa jenazah ibu mereka, Addie
Bundren, ke tempat peristirahatan terakhirnya. Pemakaian teknik narasi yang
unik, seperti penggunaan sudut pandang orang pertama melalui lima belas narator,
sukses membawa pembaca ikut serta dalam memahami karakter-karakter utama
melalui sudut pandang yang beragam.
Setelah menganalisis kedua novel tersebut, dapat disimpulkan bahwa
kedua novel memiliki kesamaan namun juga perbedaan signifikan dalam
penggunaan teknik narasinya yang tak dapat dipungkiri memang saling
ii
Maranatha Christian University
melengkapi.
Kedua novel berbicara mengenai kematian melalui teknik serta
sudut pandang berbeda, namun kedua pengarang mampu memberikan efek yang
sama terhadap pembaca ketika pembaca dapat merasakan kedekatannya dengan
setiap karakter dan keterlibatannya dalam alur cerita.
iii
Maranatha Christian University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... ii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study..............................................................................1
Statement of the Problem .............................................................................3
Purpose of the Study ....................................................................................3
Method of Research .....................................................................................3
Organization of the Thesis ...........................................................................4
CHAPTER II:
NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE: THE THEORIES ...................................5
CHAPTER III:
ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE IN
JOYCE CAROL OATES’ BLACK WATER .........................................10
CHAPTER IV:
ANALYSIS OF NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE IN
WILLIAM FAULKNER’S AS I LAY DYING ......................................24
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...........................................................................43
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................47
APPENDICES
Summary of Joyce Carol Oates’ Black Water ...........................................48
Summary of William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying .....................................48
Biography of Joyce Carol Oates ...............................................................50
Biography of William Faulkner ................................................................51
i
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Narrative technique is one way novelists convey their ideas to the
reader. It deals with point of view, time and tempo, style, and distance
(Eastman 31). It tells how a writer chooses particular ways of telling a
story to give certain effects to the reader. A writer has a specific way of
telling the story to generate a certain understanding from the reader
(Bernstein 23). Moreover, authors can use different narrative techniques
to convey a similar purpose.
Two novelists who use different narrative techniques to convey the same
purpose are Joyce Carol Oates and William Faulkner. Joyce Carol Oates is
considered one of America’s leading female writers. She is an American writer
whose narrative technique plays a big role in her works. She has a gothic theme in
most of her works, which deal with dark and tragic events (Mary). However, what
interests me is the narrative technique Oates uses to explore this theme
1
Maranatha Christian University
(Andersen). She narrates the story with a profound and sharp style of writing.
Nevertheless, this particular writing style can be easily understood by the reader.
She makes the reader enjoy the story even though the story itself is dark,
depressing and upsetting.
William Faulkner is also an American writer and one of the Southern
gothic writers. He is internationally acclaimed for several awards he has obtained.
He is considered a model for many modern writers (“William Faulkner”) who
follow his gothic or writing style. Faulkner’s writing style is full of sharp and
detailed descriptions of characters and scenes. Despite revealing the gothic theme,
just like Oates, Faulkner has his own uniqueness. He created an imaginary place,
Yoknapatawpha County, which becomes the background setting of many of his
works.
In this thesis, I would like to analyze Joyce Carol Oates’ Black Water and
William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Black Water delivers a story about Kelly
Kelleher’s last moments of life, when she is involved in a car accident.
Nevertheless, what makes the book so special is the author’s unique style of
narrating the story. The reader will surf through thought, memory, and even
hallucination of the dying Kelly. Oates comments that the reader must become
mesmerized by the thought of the young woman trapped in a car submerged in
water, waiting, waiting, and stilwaiting to be rescued (Oates). More than that, it is
not only a story about death. She wants to tell the reader that life is precious. It is
very interesting to see the way Oates uses death to deliver her message about life.
2
Maranatha Christian University
William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying tells a story about the Bundren’s
family on their way to bury the mother. Faulkner uses fifteen different narrators,
each of which has their own perspective towards the deceased. They also have
their own uniqueness in characteristics and expressions. The reader will become
an active party in constructing the story by looking into the story from fifteen
different perspectives. This book definitely has a different narrative technique
from that of Black Water, but both of them convey the idea of life.
Statement of the Problem
I state the problems as follows:
1. What kind of narrative technique is used in the novels Black Water and
As I Lay Dying?
2. What effects are achieved through the use of the narrative technique?
Purpose of the Study
This study has the following purposes:
1. To show the kind of narrative technique used in the novels Black Water and
As I Lay Dying.
2. To point out what effects are achieved through the use of the narrative
technique.
Method of Research
3
Maranatha Christian University
The method I use is library research. I begin by reading Joyce Carol Oates’
Black Water, then William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, and several books which
are relevant to the topic to be discussed. After that, I analyze the primary texts by
using several theories from some references and materials from the Internet which
supports the analysis and can help me in writing a thesis on this topic. Finally, I
draw some conclusions from what has been discussed.
Organization of the Thesis
The thesis consists of five chapters, preceded by the Acknowledgements,
the Table of Contents, and the Abstract. Chapter One is the Introduction, which
contains the Background of the Study, the Statement of the Problem, the Purpose
of the Study, the Method of Research, and the Organization of the Thesis. In
Chapter Two, I present the theories on narrative technique used in analyzing the
novels. Chapter Three is the analysis of narrative technique in Joyce Carol Oates’
Black Water, while Chapter Four is the analysis of narrative technique in William
Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying. Chapter Five is the Conclusion, which contains the
comparison between the narrative techniques used in both novels. The thesis ends
with the Bibliography and Appendices, which consist of the synopsis of the two
novels and the biography of the authors, Joyce Carol Oates and William Faulkner.
4
Maranatha Christian University
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is clear that Black Water and As I Lay Dying have some
similarities and differences in the use of narrative technique. They are different in
the use of point of view, time and tempo, and style of language. Yet both authors
achieve the same effect for the reader from the different narrative techniques and
also successful in delivering their similar ideas about life and death.
Black Water tells about Kelly Kelleher’s last moments of life before she
dies. The story is told through the third person limited point of view. The author
knows everything about Kelly, such as her past life and her relationship with her
parents and with the Senator. In addition, through the use of third person limited
point of view the author manages to bring the reader to experience the same
experiences that Kelly is going through in the last moments of her life. The use of
third person limited point of view also provides the description of how Kelly
reacts towards her death. The use of third person limited point does not make the
44
Maranatha Christian University
story subjective because the author also provides the Senator’s perspective
about the accident, making the story become more objective.
As I Lay Dying is told through the first person point of view, in
which the author uses fifteen narrators to tell the whole story. Those
fifteen narrators are the Bundrens and their neighbors.
Each narrator
reports the process of Addie’s death and the journey to take her body to
Jefferson. Moreover, it also shows various reactions from people around
Addie Bundren about her death. The use of first person point of view can
be highly subjective, yet the author manages to keep the story objective by
giving a better understanding of the story through fifteen different
narrators. The combination of many subjective perspectives results in a
more objective view of the event.
The use of time and tempo is also involved. Both novels have
different modifications in the use of time and tempo. The tempo of Black
Water can be considered slow yet fast. It is slow because it takes 154
pages to present an event that may occur in only five minutes in actual life.
Nevertheless, it is also fast, because in those 154 pages, the author
manages to convey all the important moments of Kelly’s entire life. Black
Water uses many flashbacks in the use of time and tempo, which brings
the reader to some important and memorable moments of Kelly’s life. It
also helps the reader to understand the process of her death and how
Kelly’s reaction changes from being not ready to face her death to being
able to accept it.
45
Maranatha Christian University
As I Lay Dying is told chronologically, with only a few flashbacks. The
use of flashbacks as the modification of time shows the characteristics of Addie
and how she prepares herself to be ready to face her death. Moreover, the reader
will get to know more about the character. The tempo of the story is slow, as the
author reveals every detail about the journey to let the reader see how the
characters have different perpectives about the mother throughout the journey. It
makes the reader understand the story better.
The author of Black Water uses formal and informal registers of language
in the story, which helps the reader to get a realistic atmosphere and understand
the story better. It also has some sections without punctuation marks. These parts
build a tension, give the effect of rush, and make the reader feel the enormous fear
that Kelly had. The author also uses some italicized sentences to show Kelly’s
inner monologue, proving that the narrator is reliable.
In As I Lay Dying, the author uses different language styles for every
important narrator, including the use of some vernacular language and poetic
imagery. It helps the reader to get to know every character better. It also makes
the reader feel the realistic atmosphere of the countryside area in Southern
America. The author also provides some italicized paragraphs to differentiate
between Darl’s sanity and insanity. It makes the story believable and the narrator
reliable.
Besides the differences, the two novels have two things in common.
Firstly, both authors want to convey similar ideas about life and death in heir
novels. In Black Water, Oates gives the message that life is precious. It is similar
46
Maranatha Christian University
to what Faulkner wants to convey in As I Lay Dying, that life needs to be
savoured and death is inevitable. Secondly, the distance between the
reader and the character or the story in both novels is close. The closeness
is built through the use of point of view, time and tempo, and the style of
language. These similarities prove that the two authors have successfully
brought the reader to understand the message they want to convey.
In conclusion, it can be said that the different narrative techniques
used by the authors give the same effect to the reader in comprehending
the authors’ idea about life and death. The narrative techniques used have
reduced the distance between the reader and the story so that the reader
can understand the authors’ purposes better. In other words, both authors
are successful in using different narrative techniques effectively in
conveying their ideas about life and death.
47
Maranatha Christian University
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Texts:
Faulkner, William. As I Lay Dying. New York: Penguin, 1963. Print.
Oates, Joyce Carol. Black Water. New York: Plume, 1992. Print.
References:
Bennet, Carla. “Joyce Carol Oates.” American Author, 2010. Web. 9 Nov. 2013.
Bernstein, Susan Naomi. A Brief Guide to the Novel. London: Longman, 2001.
Print.
Eastman, Richard M. A Guide to the Novel. San Fransisco: Chandler, 1965. Print.
“Joyce Carol Oates.” Biography, 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
Mary, Meredith. “Joyce Carol Oates Brings Familiar Theme to New Gothic
Thriller.” 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013.
Mayer, Steve. “Award & Honors: 2010 National Humanities Medalist.” 2010.
Web. 9 Nov. 2013.
Oates, Joyce Carol. “What Inspired My Black Water.” Playbill, 1997. Web. 9
Nov. 2013.
“William Faulkner.” Nobel Prize, 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
“William Faulkner – Biographical.” Egs, 2008. Web. 18 Oct. 2013.
48
Maranatha Christian University