ABSTRACT

Saturday is a “post 9/11” novel written by Ian McEwan, one of the most prominent novelists and screenwriters in contemporary Britain. The narrative structure in Ian McEwan’s novel is peculiar. In Saturday, the ring-type narrative structure reveals McEwan’s excellent narrative skills and well-considered arrangement of plot. Through the analysis of different levels of space in this novel, this paper tries to find out the relationship between the characters and the problems in the modern society. At the same time, the theme of this novel which deals with the change in lifestyle confronted by the westerners after the 11 September attacks in 2001 in the United States is also dug out in this thesis. The distrust and indifference among people reveal their anxiety in the fast developing modern world.

Keywords：Ian McEwan; Saturday; Spatial Form; Spatial Narrative Techniques

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One INTRODUCTION-1

Chapter Two LITERATURE REVIEW-3

2.1 History of the Previous Studies-3

2.2 Limitations of the Previous Studies-4

Chapter Three THE RISE OF SPATIAL FORM THEORY-5

Chapter Four DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SPACE IN SATURDAY-7

4.1 Man: Crisis of Personal Identity-8

  4.2 Home: Alienation of Family Relationship-10

4.3 City: Problem of Urban Life-12

Chapter Five CONCLUSION-15

WORKS CITED-16