"Surfacing" and Narrative Structure

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the narrative structure within Margaret Atwood's novel, "Surfacing." The paper shows how Atwood uses the narrative structure to help her perfect her extremely successful portrayal of the character's state of mind through this process. The paper provides examples from the text, which along with its analysis of the character, show the importance of this narrative style in achieving the author's complex objectives.

From the Paper:

"Thus we see that Atwood uses the novel's narrative structure to trace the narrator's descent into madness, as well as her tentative groping towards re-surfacing from madness. The change from first person present tense to first person past tense, and back again, is an important part of this narrative structure, as shown above. Moreover, the three-part division of the novel enables Atwood to fit the intricate and intense emotional changes of the narrator into the tight time-frame of ten days. All in all, the narrative structure contributes in an important way to make possible the successful realization of this very complex novel."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Atwood, Margaret. Surfacing. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1999.

More papers on "Surfacing" and Narrative Structure:

• Book Review # 131900 : "Narrative in Margaret Atwood's "Surfacing"
• Book Review # 98837 : "Jessica Hagedorn's "Dogeaters"
• Analytical Essay # 29366 : "Zola"

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