A Coincidence of Metaphors
Notes on Two Modes of Text Building in the Indonesian Novel “Surabaya”
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8995342 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeff Dreyfuss (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1985 |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 755-763 |
| Publication date | 1985-08-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Asian Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-9118 • E-ISSN: 1752-0401 |
| Publisher | Duke University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2056446 |
| OpenAlex | W2066540048 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 4 |
This article suggests that two distinct modes of text-building constraints co-incide in the Indonesian novel “Surabaya.” The first set of constraints consists of narrative functions that shape sentence-level grammar within the story; the second level of text-building constraints shapes the thematic structure of the story. The author argues that, unlike its narrative structure, which is bound by the linearity of time, the thematic structure, of “Surabaya” is denned by a hierarchy of “heavier” and “lighter” themes, the “heavier” themes being evoked more often than are the “lighter” themes. He suggests that heaviness of theme is a strategy of text building found in classical Malaysian (Hikayat) texts, gamelan orchestra musical organization, and in calendric reckoning in much of Indonesia. He argues, in sum, for a method of writing that encourages grammatical description from two or more perspectives. “Binocular vision,” to use Gregory Bateson's words, is necessary in writing to provide a more honest, richer description of a text than a single mode of grammatical description can provide; it makes available to readers more than one means of access to the text
Art · Grammar · Hierarchy · Indonesian · Linguistics · Literature · Mode (computer interface · Narrative · Sentence · Set (abstract data type · Thematic structure · Theme (computing · World Wide Web · Asian Studies and History · Computer Science · History · Linguistic, Cultural, and Literary Studies · Literary Theory and Cultural Hermeneutics · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,11 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2021 (15) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |