http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/42228042

A comparative narrative analysis of Rambling rose the novel and the film

The rationale behind this study is the rhetorical dilemma in understanding the nature of the narrative. Following the theoretical works of the Russian Formalists, the study proposes a methodology to conduct a comparative narrative analysis of Rambling Rose, the novel written by Calder Willingham and the film directed by Martha Coolidge. To ascertain the similarities and/or differences between the novel and the film, the study compares the two levels of each narrative--story and discourse--separately. The study begins discerning the story of each narrative by recognizing (a) kernels--the distributional functions of a narrative which describe action(s), and (b) catalysts--the integrative functions of a narrative which describe characters, settings, and/or premises of the story. After the actions, characters, settings, and premises are recognized and identified, the events of the story and their chronological order are established and a schematic story line for each text is constructed. Finally, the study conducts a comparative story analysis by juxtaposing the chronological schematic story lines of the novel and the film. Once the story is distinguished, the study begins by defining the discourse as everything that provides shape or form to the story. According to this study, discourse is not only the structure built with the raw materials (the story), but also the signs--words or images--used to describe the raw materials and the structure they form. The study demonstrates that discourse controls the construction of meaning out of the events of the story. Even though most of the critics claim that Martha Coolidge has changed Willingham's romantic comedy into a feminist rhetoric, this study neither addresses the intention of the novelist/filmmaker, nor the perception of the reader/viewer. In this study, the adaptation of Rambling Rose is used as a source of illustration in order to apply the methodologies advanced by Genette and Chatman to a narrative text. The investigation concludes that story and discourse are not merely theoretical concepts in the realm of the narrative theory. As two levels of narrative, story and discourse are operatively and practically distinguishable.

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