Abstract
Naton Leslie’s short-story Don’t Get Comfortable is a story with very distinctive features, the most prominent feature being its a unique narrative structure. This thesis examines the narrative structure and technique of narration in this short story and explores how Naton Leslie applies the method of inserting tales which have little or nothing do with one another on the one hand, and with the theme, on the other hand and the distinctive narrative structure. It is such a compact and unconventional narrative structure that enables the author to contain so much content and makes the theme of the short-story so prominent. It is pointed out that Naton Leslie tries his best to avoid conventional narrative structure, which requires the events or episodes to proceed from beginning to end without any interruptions. In the meantime, an attempt is made t analyze the inserted tales, examine their relationship with one another, comment on their respective functions and reveal the distinctness of narration and its artistic value in short story writing.
Key words: narrative structure; inserting tales; story; theme
摘 要
雷登萊斯利的小說《不要掉以輕心》是1篇具有作者自己特色的作品。作者運用了1種很獨特的`敘事結構來講敘故事的內容和表達作品的主題。該文從這點出發重點考察了這篇短篇小說的敘事結構和敘事技巧，並探討了作者在文中使用的獨特的插敘方式和小說獨特的內在結構。這種敘事結構拓展了文章的內容，使小說的主題得以深化，並賦予小說豐富的意蘊。作者在文中極力迴避傳統的敘事結構，開創新的敘事方式。同時該文還分析了插敘文中的幾個故事並對它們進行了評述，揭示了小說的獨特性和藝術特徵。
關鍵詞：敘事結構；插敘；故事；主題