Narrative bending : the subversion of Watakushi shōsetsu in Ruth Ozeki's A tale for the time being and an abstract from My Amy : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Creative Writing, Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
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Date
2015
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Massey University
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Abstract
This thesis is comprised of two sections: a critical research essay focusing on
Ruth Ozeki’s novel A Tale for the Time Being (2013), and the first part of a novel
entitled My Amy. Both sections focus on the fictionality of fiction, as well as narrative
structure and the effect of space and time on content, structure, and the organisation of
a non-linear narrative. In the critical portion of the thesis I read A Tale for the Time
Being in the context of narrative theory, Buddhist philosophy, and the traditional
Japanese literary form of shōsetsu, examining how the structure and content of the
novel originate from multiple literary and religious traditions. I argue that Ozeki
appropriated the form of the Japanese ‘I-novel’ (shōsetsu) in an innovative reimagining
of form and tradition, whilst juxtaposing the duality of her hybridised
identity as a Japanese-American writer in the meta-textual, non-linear, montaged,
semi-autobiographical text, which focuses on the reader-writer-character relationship.
In My Amy I employ a non-linear narrative structure to support the flashbacks and
trauma experienced by a woman raised in a religious cult, and her later selfdestructive
behaviour which is a result of her seclusion in the cult and limited life
experience.
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Keywords
Ruth Ozeki, Tale for the time being (Novel), Creative writing, Watakushi shosetsu, Narrative in fiction