A Study on the Narrative Strategy of Roads of Destiny

Zongliang YANG, Yanbing ZENG

Abstract


Roads of Destiny is regarded as the most unique one of O. Henry’s works. The reason lies in its unique narrative strategies. The ingenious application of the two artistic methods of the classic “O. Henry Ending” and the novel “polyphonic narrative” in this work not only breaks O. Henry’s conventional narrative method, but also fully shows the artistic charm of polyphony and the artistic tension of O. Henry. More importantly, the combination of the two provides multiple perspectives for examining the protagonist’s fate, thus arousing the readers’ multidimensional and dialectical thinking on destiny, which achieved sublimation from structural aesthetics to philosophy.

 


Keywords


Roads of Destiny; Narrative strategy; O. Henry Ending; Polyphonic narrative

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/11368

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