Contemporary Vietnamese theory. Through that operation, the thesis points out the movement of this genre in the general development of contemporary Vietnamese literature.
With the approach from LVB theory, the thesis also hopes to contribute methodologically to the study of Vietnamese novels. Because literary research in general needs many approaches, many new perspectives brought by critical theory. The approach from LVB theory will contribute together with many other research theories to point out the dynamic state in the practical life of Vietnamese literature.
2.2. Tasks
To achieve the above purpose, the thesis sets out and performs the following tasks:
- Researching theories on LVB as fundamental tools for the methodological basis of the thesis. At the same time, studying issues on the development of contemporary Vietnamese novels, especially the main development trends.
Maybe you are interested!
-
Mo Yan's Novels from Intertextual Theory - 17 -
The Preposition “Auf” Viewed From a Cognitive Perspective Compared with Vietnamese -
Gender issues and feminist resonances in contemporary Vietnamese prose through the works of some typical female writers - 21 -
Types of lonely characters in contemporary Vietnamese prose through some typical works of Nguyen Huy Thiep, Ta Duy Anh, Chu Lai and Nguyen Danh Lam - 14 -
Gender consciousness in contemporary Vietnamese female poetry - 8
- Analyze and explain the phenomena of contemporary Vietnamese novels expressing the LVB character. This is the central task of the thesis.
- Point out the changes in the art of novels compared to before the renovation from the perspective of LVB. This task will be carried out through specific chapters of the thesis.
3. Research object and scope
3.1. Research subjects
The research object of the thesis is first of all contemporary Vietnamese novels in terms of LVB nature. To conduct the thesis research, it is necessary to examine the theory of LVB nature. A firm grasp of LVB nature theory is an important scientific basis for us to conduct research on specific cases to contribute to "localizing" a theory that was born and practiced in Western culture. While presenting and analyzing LVB theory, we use examples from the works of Vietnamese novelists Nguyen Viet Ha, Ho Anh Thai, Thuan, Nguyen Xuan Khanh, Nguyen Mong Giac,... and a number of other writers.
The study of Vietnamese novels from LVB theory focuses on some of the most typical techniques such as quotation and parody, rewriting, genre interweaving, etc. These techniques are studied in association with two development trends of contemporary Vietnamese novels: novels following the postmodern trend and novels following the traditional writing style with historical themes.
3.2. Scope of research
Due to the large number of authors of contemporary Vietnamese novels, each writer has a different strength, the thesis only focuses on surveying and researching typical authors according to two main trends. For the postmodern trend, there are typical authors such as: Nguyen Viet Ha, Ho Anh Thai, Thuan. The trend of following the traditional writing style with historical themes has typical authors such as: Nguyen Xuan Khanh, Nguyen Mong Giac, Vo Thi Hao, ... In addition, during the research process, we also mentioned a number of other writers, to have more convincing evidence about the issue being investigated.
From the LVB theory, reflecting on contemporary Vietnamese novels, we systematically provide the application of this theory in literary evaluation and criticism to keep up with the general trend of world literature. From there, we have discovered and evaluated the contributions of contemporary Vietnamese writers in the current period.
Regarding the reality of artistic texts, the thesis mainly examines the planes of ideological discourse, language and genre. Other planes such as imagery and archetypes are rarely mentioned.
4. Methodology and research methods
- Method of analyzing text poetics
The content of a work must be inferred from its form. That is, the form has content. By analyzing the formal signs of a literary work, the reader recognizes its aesthetic value. For the study of contemporary Vietnamese novels from the perspective of LVB theory, we find the formal signs of LVB (in the use of
specific forms such as: parody, genre interaction, rewriting,...) in concretizing the content of the document.
- System structure method
Using this method to systematize the LVB elements in contemporary Vietnamese novels, considering each VB as a LVB in a network of other VBs: it can be a LVB in the writer's own work; it can be between writers in the same era and even across time and across countries.
- Comparison and contrast method
Comparison is a natural requirement in life and science. To carry out the tasks of the thesis, we put contemporary Vietnamese novels in correlation with Vietnamese novels in previous periods and in the correlation between authors and works of the same author. Through a comparative perspective, the thesis will show the common and unique characteristics of LVB elements in the contemporary literary works examined, the connections, exchanges, cultural and literary acculturation,... in contemporary Vietnamese novel texts.
- Cultural approach
Literature and art are part of culture. Each text is part of the network of cultural texts (artistic texts, political, ethical, religious texts, etc.). Therefore, in essence, the cross-cultural nature of a text always tends towards a broader nature, which is interculturality, because “a text is woven with quotations sent to thousands of cultural sources.” [111]. From a cultural perspective, we will see the mutual, dialectical relationship between culture and literature, between cross-culturality in a broader view of interculturality. Researching literature in the cross-cultural direction cannot avoid applying some cultural approaches.
5. New scientific contributions of the thesis
Through the systematic research process of contemporary Vietnamese novels from the perspective of LVB theory, the thesis will identify new characteristics of contemporary Vietnamese novels, thereby making assessments of their development and trends.
of Vietnamese literature today. While there have been many different approaches to contemporary Vietnamese novels, the research direction of the thesis will continue to contribute to the methodological perfection in literary research from LVB theory.
6. Theoretical and practical significance of the thesis
- In theory: based on research works on LVB theory in the world, LVB research works in Vietnam and the application of this theory to research in our country, we systematically supplement to perfect this theory to use it as a scientific basis to research issues related to Vietnamese novels today.
- In practice: From the synthesis of the most basic studies on LVB theory in the world and in Vietnam, we develop an analysis of LVB manifestations in the works of contemporary Vietnamese novels. From there, we have objective assessments of new contributions of contemporary writers. The directions of the thesis will provide scientific conclusions in the application of LVB theory to study literature and at the same time provide an overview of the movement and development of Vietnamese literature in the context of integration.
7. Structure of the thesis
In addition to the Introduction and Conclusion, the Thesis is developed through 4 chapters. Chapter 1: Overview of the research situation
Chapter 2: Innovation in contemporary Vietnamese novels Chapter 3: Parody in contemporary Vietnamese novels
Chapter 4: Rewriting History and Genre Interaction in Contemporary Vietnamese Novels
Chapter 1
OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH SITUATION
1.1. Overview of some main points of intertextual theory
1.1.1. On the concept of intertextuality
First of all, it should be said that the two terms LVB and LVB used in this thesis have different scientific contents. LVB is an attribute, a result that exists in every artistic text. This concept has more scientific meaning because it is the main content of LVB theory (intertextuality). The concept of LVB is the relationship between texts, the purpose of LVB is the activity of organizing texts, and has a poetic meaning that is also closer to the common understanding (LVB types and techniques). However, in the writing process, in some places in the thesis, they are sometimes used with the same meaning, in accordance with the expression in specific circumstances.
Up to now, the connotation of the concept of LVB has not been framed, but there are still open ways as its name suggests, because "starting from different reference systems, the theory of LVB becomes complex, pluralistic, transdisciplinary, open and productive" [125, pxxv]. Jacques Derrida believes that each text is a "paired" complex [76, p.39]. Genette believes that LVB "... is the reader's perception of the relationships between a work and the works that come after or before it" and identifies LVB with its literal meaning "LVB is ... a separate mechanism for reading literary texts. It alone produces signifiance, while linear reading, like literary or non-literary texts, only produces meaning (sens)” [138, p.86],... Riffaterre redefined signifiance as follows: “It is a phenomenon that guides the reading of a text, which ultimately governs the interpretation of that text, and it is the opposite of linear reading. This reading is a model of receiving a text that governs the process of producing signifiance, while linear reading only governs the process of producing meaning (sens)...” [105].
Although there are different theories, we can understand that LVB is a feature of all VBs. LVB is the condition for creating VBs. Any VB, when born, can exist and be understood only through relationships with previous VBs. Thanks to that, VBs create an open process in which it surpasses the boundaries of the current VB to expand to what may be outside it (context, social consciousness, reality, ...). The meaning of one meaning is determined by another meaning, which in turn is explained by another meaning and so on. From the above analysis, we generalize: LVB is an attribute of literary discourse, making the text an inter-semiotic unit. Intertextuality shapes the meaning of a text in relation to other texts that make up cultural discourse. Thus, textual meaning is infinite and always in potential form until it is activated by the act of reading.
1.1.1.1. Intertextuality and the connotation of the text concept
Proposing the concept of LVB based on Bakhtin's pioneering viewpoint, Julia Kristeva was the one who paved the way for postmodern critical theory with important viewpoints on the connotation of VB: VB is "intertextuality", "a mosaic of quotations", "the absorption and transformation of other texts",... [2, p.234]. This is the path opened for poststructuralists, to together supplement and perfect the theoretical connotation of LVB. A concept that is still not complete and finished.
Through her work Words, Dialogues, Novels , Kristeva introduced Bakhtin to the West. In this work, she proposed the concept of LVB as an alternative to Bakhtin's dialogism/intersubjectivity. Kristeva wrote "the discovery that Bakhtin was the first to introduce into literary theory: every text is constructed as a mosaic of quotations. Every text is the absorption and transformation of another text". [2, p.234]; Kristeva used the metaphor of a mosaic to describe her interpretation of the connotation of LVB based on her deep understanding of Bakhtin's dialogism. A mosaic
A mosaic represents the interplay of different colors, sizes, and materials. Although a mosaic is a specific display in the history of someone interpreting or creating an idea, the mosaic itself is not a fixed point. It can develop further. It is, in itself, an intersection of different patterns, colors, and styles that combine into a text. Texts receive, consume, combine, and internalize other texts, and at the same time, these LVB themes are internalized and transformed in other texts. For Kristeva, meaning cannot be considered a finished product, but is always in the process of production. The concept of LVBness now replaces the concept of intersubjectivity.” [98]. If Bakhtin conceived of context as social circumstances , Kristeva positioned the literary structure in the social whole and that social whole was seen as a whole of literature: “almost everything is seen as literature: literature, culture, society, history and man himself; from here the theory of literary nature appears.” [66, p.240]. Thus, for Kristeva, context is the text surrounding it. From there, Kristeva referred to literature on a chart consisting of two axes: the horizontal axis – representing the relationship between the author and the reader; and the vertical axis – representing the connection of one literature with the system of other literatures surrounding it. By referring to the horizontal and vertical axes on a text, readers will realize the core rule of text operation: “every text from the beginning has been influenced and is within the scope of influence of different linguistic explanations, and each such linguistic explanation is always governed by a universe of many other texts.” [101]. In the relationship of the vertical axis proposed by Kristeva’s diagram, the researched text has been placed in a large surrounding network of LVBs, which can be synchronous or diachronic texts. Readers need to be wise people to be able to detect changes or traces of changes influenced by other texts. It is also necessary to pay attention to an important issue that finding traces of a text is not intended to trace its origin, but only to show the interwoven and overlapping connections between them. Because tracing the starting point of
It is difficult to do so, because “any text is made up like a mosaic containing a galaxy of quotations, any text bears the traces of absorption and transformation from other texts.” [101]. With this concept, Kristeva's thinking has reversed the thinking of structuralists. If structuralists frame text within a closed limit of structure, Kristeva raises the question “instead of having to limit our attention to the structural limit of text, why don't we try to study where that structural property originates?” [101]. This is clearly explained by Kristeva: “the codes of a text structure are like the transformation of layers (codes) taken from other texts.” [98] and “text interaction arises within a single text” [98]. Kristeva's above conceptions of LVB nature have laid the foundation for postmodern critical theory. According to her conception, LVB is "the intersection of different planes of writing" "the dialogue of different writing styles" [2, p.239]. Therefore, "for the cognitive subject, LVB nature is a sign showing how a text reads history and is embedded in history." [98]. Kristeva put forward the concept of the free play of structure in the work Semiotics - Sémiotiké (1969), and later Derrida also declared the theory of structural play in deconstruction through the report entitled "Structure, sign and play in the discourse of the human sciences - La structure, le signe et le jeu dans le discours des sciences humaines" . The freedom of the structural game is realized by Kristeva through the concept of genotext – equivalent text or paratext . Geno-text , Kristeva explains, “is not a structure but a “signifying plural”, in relation to “fenotext” – the phenomenal text (the final product of labor) that reproduces only “a limited meaning”, therefore, it is poverty.” [94, p.222]. Thus, the structure of the text is now not a concrete structure, not dry, solid or pre-formed from birth. Limiting its meaning means giving the text a final meaning. At the same time, she proposed the term idéologème