Joel’s Self-Redemption in the Unnatural Narrative Structure of Charlie Kaufman’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Nur Aainaa Amira Mohd Said; Arbaayah Ali Termizi; Mohammad Ewan Awang

doi:10.47836/pjssh.29.1.26

Joel’s Self-Redemption in the Unnatural Narrative Structure of Charlie Kaufman’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities ◽

10.47836/pjssh.29.1.26 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nur Aainaa Amira Mohd Said ◽

Arbaayah Ali Termizi ◽

Mohammad Ewan Awang

Keyword(s):

Personal Identity ◽

Narrative Structure ◽

Narrative Studies ◽

Pentadic Analysis ◽

Unnatural Narrative ◽

Dramatistic Pentad ◽

Analytical Tools

This essay discusses the significance of the unnatural narrative structure in Charlie Kaufman’s screenplay Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). Oftentimes, the screenplay’s reverse chronology is studied as a backdrop to accentuate its thematic values of personal identity and memory. However, this study argued that the reverse narrative was caused by the protagonist’s self-redemption journey. To achieve this objective, two components of Kenneth Burke’s dramatism theory, dramatistic pentad and guilt-redemption cycle were utilized. The pentadic analysis explored the connection between the main characters’ actions and motives with the structure of the text while also interpreting the implication of its reverse narrative from the framework of guilt-redemption cycle. From the findings, the study affirms that the screenplay’s unnatural narrative structure i.e. reverse chronology integrally founded the narrative structure of the text by representing Joel’s regret in a sequence of guilt-redemption cycle. As a result, it showcases the versatility of dramatism theory as one of the analytical tools for narrative studies particularly on the unnatural narrative structure of screenplay texts.

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The Aesthetics of Linked-Verse Poetry in Yasunari Kawabata’s 'The Lake'

New Voices in Japanese Studies ◽

10.21159/nvjs.12.03 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 44-64

Author(s):

Haydn Trowell

Keyword(s):

Textual Analysis ◽

Narrative Structure ◽

Structural Basis ◽

Literary Works ◽

Narrative Style ◽

Japanese Art ◽

Affective Intensity ◽

Analytical Tools

The distinctive narrative style exhibited in Japanese author Yasunari Kawabata’s literary works has frequently been associated with the traditional Japanese art of linked-verse poetry (renga). However, the precise compositional nature of these similarities has yet to be thoroughly explored. In this article, I examine two fundamental principles of linked-verse poetry, ‘linking’ (tsukeai) and ‘flow’ (yukiyō), and use these as analytical tools to explore the thematic and narrative structure for which Kawabata’s literary technique is renowned. Considering the first chapter of his 1954 novel The Lake (Mizuumi) as a case study, I identify notable correspondences between linked verse and Kawabata’s prose writing in the form of a qualitative mode of progression characterised by a rich use of sensory and emotive association, and a wave-like sense of rhythm between moments of heightened and reduced expressive and affective intensity. This article uses detailed textual analysis to demonstrate a structural basis for comparing Kawabata’s prose with linked verse, which in turn implies that Kawabata’s narrative style is shaped by conscious aesthetic decisions to draw on linked-verse principles.

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In situ TEM studies of irradiation effects for materials improvement

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100086568 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 452-453

Author(s):

Charles W. Allen

Keyword(s):

Nuclear Reactor ◽

Austenitic Stainless Steels ◽

High Energy ◽

Point Of View ◽

In Situ Tem ◽

Irradiation Effects ◽

Tem Analysis ◽

Radiation Induced ◽

Analytical Tools

Irradiation effects studies employing TEMs as analytical tools have been conducted for almost as many years as materials people have done TEM, motivated largely by materials needs for nuclear reactor development. Such studies have focussed on the behavior both of nuclear fuels and of materials for other reactor components which are subjected to radiation-induced degradation. Especially in the 1950s and 60s, post-irradiation TEM analysis may have been coupled to in situ (in reactor or in pile) experiments (e.g., irradiation-induced creep experiments of austenitic stainless steels). Although necessary from a technological point of view, such experiments are difficult to instrument (measure strain dynamically, e.g.) and control (temperature, e.g.) and require months or even years to perform in a nuclear reactor or in a spallation neutron source. Consequently, methods were sought for simulation of neutroninduced radiation damage of materials, the simulations employing other forms of radiation; in the case of metals and alloys, high energy electrons and high energy ions.

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