上海交通大学：《20世纪英美短篇小说选读》教学资源_plot（3）

【13】 The ordering of plot The customary way of ordering the episodes or events in a plot is to present them chronologically,i.e.,in the order of their occurrence in time.Chronological plotting can be handled in various ways.It can be tightly controlled so that each episode logically and inevitably unfolds from the one that preceded it.It can also be loose, relaxed,and episodic,taking the form of a series of separate and largely self-contained episodes,resembling so many beads on a string.The former is likely to be found,however,in a novel rather than a short story,simply because of the space required for its execution. It is important to recognize that,even within plots that are mainly chronological, the temporal sequence is often deliberately broken and the chronological parts rearranged for the sake of emphasis and effect.In some stories,we may encounter the characters in the middle of their "story"and must infer what has happened up to "now",while in others we may meet them at the end of things.It doesn't matter either way;after having intrigued and captured us,the author must work backward to the beginning,and then forward again to the middle or to the end of the story.In still other cases,the chronology of the plot may shift backward in time,as,for example,in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily,where the author deliberately sets aside the chronological ordering of events and their cause-effect relationship in order to establish an atmosphere of unreality,build mystery and suspense,and underscore Emily Grierson's own attempt to deny the passage of time itself. Perhaps the most frequently and conventionally used device for interrupting the flow of a chronologically ordered plot is the flashback,a summary or fully dramatized episode framed by the author in such a way as to make it clear that the time being discussed or dramatized took place at some earlier period of time. Flashbacks,such as young Robin's thoughts of home as he stands beside the dark church building in Hawthorne's My Kinsman,Major Molineux (cf.P.217),introduce us to information that would otherwise be unavailable and thus increase our

【1.3】 The ordering of plot The customary way of ordering the episodes or events in a plot is to present them chronologically, i.e., in the order of their occurrence in time. Chronological plotting can be handled in various ways. It can be tightly controlled so that each episode logically and inevitably unfolds from the one that preceded it. It can also be loose, relaxed, and episodic, taking the form of a series of separate and largely self-contained episodes, resembling so many beads on a string. The former is likely to be found, however, in a novel rather than a short story, simply because of the space required for its execution. It is important to recognize that, even within plots that are mainly chronological, the temporal sequence is often deliberately broken and the chronological parts rearranged for the sake of emphasis and effect. In some stories, we may encounter the characters in the middle of their “story” and must infer what has happened up to “now”, while in others we may meet them at the end of things. It doesn’t matter either way; after having intrigued and captured us, the author must work backward to the beginning, and then forward again to the middle or to the end of the story. In still other cases, the chronology of the plot may shift backward in time, as, for example, in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, where the author deliberately sets aside the chronological ordering of events and their cause-effect relationship in order to establish an atmosphere of unreality, build mystery and suspense, and underscore Emily Grierson’s own attempt to deny the passage of time itself. Perhaps the most frequently and conventionally used device for interrupting the flow of a chronologically ordered plot is the flashback, a summary or fully dramatized episode framed by the author in such a way as to make it clear that the time being discussed or dramatized took place at some earlier period of time. Flashbacks, such as young Robin’s thoughts of home as he stands beside the dark church building in Hawthorne’s My Kinsman, Major Molineux (cf. P. 217), introduce us to information that would otherwise be unavailable and thus increase our

knowledge and understanding of present events

knowledge and understanding of present events