“This is a Reality Check”: Second-Person Narrative in Science Fiction
Mariusz Leś
Abstract
The article contains an analysis of the function of second-person narrative in selected works of science fiction. This experimental type of narrative is characterised by a tendency to blur the line between the fictional and non-fictional worlds and to strengthen the reader’s empathic attitude. As the article shows, the combination of the possibility of deepening the psychological images of fictional characters with the complication of the ontological hierarchy of worlds and undermining their stability leads to interesting effects. Among them, the most promising seems the potential for strengthening the meanings that result from the confrontation of subjective worlds with the fictional worlds, understood as arenas for the characters’ actions.
Keywords:
science fiction, second-person narrative, fictional character, world-buildingReferences
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