Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 M. A. in English Language and Literature, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran

2 Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6460-4503

3 Assistant Professor of English Language and Literature, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1883-5498

Abstract

“I CAN’T HELP READING!” is the common comment uttered by Detective Fiction readers who lose control over themselves as they begin reading a crime novel. The genre is a crystal clear formulaic structure which abounds with repetition: following a crime, an investigation is initiated by a detective to capture the criminal. Still, its clichéd nature does not lessen the universality of Detective Fiction. How could a story replete with puzzles and vague incidents be enticing? More importantly, why would the reader avoid discarding a book which sketches horrible deeds and inhuman interests of the criminal? What is the powerful element of Detective Fiction which places it among popular literature? This paper intends to answer these crucial questions by focusing on “conjecture,” a term introduced by Umberto Eco as the key feature of Detective Fiction’s appeal. To this end, an article by William F. Brewer and Edward H. Lichtenstein entitled, “Stories Are to Entertain: A Structural-Affect Theory of Stories” (1982) is targeted to shed light on the claim of conjecture as a way to knowledge by elaborating on three analytical components—surprise, suspense, and curiosity—of a story which make it strikingly attractive.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Article Title [Persian]

اشتیاق به دانستن در رمان «پس از مرگ» اثرِ پاتریشا کورنوِل

Authors [Persian]

  • مهری نورمحمدنژاد بقایی 1
  • دکتر ابوالفضل رمضانی 2
  • سارا ساعی دیباور 3

1 کارشناس ارشد زبان و ادبیات انگلییسی، دانشگاه شهید مدنی آذربایجان، تبریز، ایران

2 استادیار زبان و ادبیات انگلیسی، گروه زبان و ادبیات انگلیسی، دانشکدۀ ادبیات و علوم انسانی، دانشگاه شهیید مدنی آذربایجان، تبریز، ایران

3 استادیار زبان و ادبیات انگلیسی، گروه زبان و ادبیات انگلیسی، دانشکدۀ علوم انسانی و اجتماعی، دانشگاه مازندران، بابلسر، ایران

Abstract [Persian]

«نمیتوانم از خواندنش دست بکشم» متداول ترین گفته خوانندگان داستان­های کارآگاهی است که با خواندن داستان­های جنایی کنترل خود را از دست می­دهند. ساختار بسیار واضح این ژانر مدام تکرار می­شود: جنایتی به وقوع می­پیوندد و کارآگاهی جستجو و تحقیق برای دستگیری جنایتکار را آغاز می کند. چطور داستانی پر از معما و حوادث ناواضح چنین جالب است؟ مهم تر از آن، چرا خواننده از خواندن کتابی پُر از اعمال بد و غیرانسانی جنایتکار دست برنمی­دارد؟ عنصر مهمی که این ژانر را به عنوان ادبیات محبوب عام مطرح می­نماید چیست؟ در این مقاله قصد داریم با تمرکز بر مفهموم «حدس و گمان» آمبِرتو اِکو به عنوان یکی از اصلی­ترین خصوصیات شهرت داستان کارآگاهی به سوالات فوق پاسخ دهیم. برای دستیابی به هدف مذکور، از مقاله «داستان­ها برای سرگرمی هستند: تئوری تاثیرِ ساختاری داستان­ها» نوشته ویلیام اِف برووِر و اِدوارد ای وِسِل[1] بهره گرفته­ایم تا با بررسی سه عامل تحلیل­گر – شگفتی، شَک، و کنجکاوی – که باعث جذابیت داستان می­شوند از ادعای «دانش» پرده برداریم.
 
 

Keywords [Persian]

  • داستان کارآگاهی
  • دانش
  • شَک
  • شگفتی
  • کنجکاوی
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