A Quadripartite Character: Decoding the Circular Narrative Structure in Paul Auster"s 4321"

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Anita Taali 1
Zohre Taebi Noghondari 2
Mahmood Reza Ghorban-Sabbagh 2
1 M.A.student in English Language and Literature, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
2 Assistant professor, Department of English Literature, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
Abstract
Auster’s latest novel, published in 2017, reveals his mastery in creating a complicated and unusual narrative once again. The title of this novel, 4321, has been a point of interest to a number of critics, but their analyses have not been successful in clarifying the complexities of its narratology. The current study aims to investigate the narrative structure of this novel based on Ryan’s possible worlds and multiverse theories. The findings reveal that in this novel, Auster engineers a 4D narrative in which the mental world of a character named Ferguson is represented. In this 4D narrative, the multiverse progresses in four paths to tell the tales of four Fergusons. At the end of the narrative, using a final twist, Auster declares the fourth Ferguson as the author of a book entitled 4321, thus exposing the circular structure of its structure. This revelation helps the reader recognize the point zero of the narrative (1.0) and understand Auster’s motif in beginning and ending the narrative with a joke. The transformation of the narrative structure enables Auster to successfully represent a tangible embodiment of the contradictory layers in the authorial self and mentality. Hence, 4321 comes to life, seemingly similar to a 4D holographic movie, to embody the multiverse of Ferguson’s character in its narrative multiverse.

Keywords

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Literary Criticism
Volume 13, Issue 52
Autumn 2020
Pages 29-64