Similar narrative method---Formal realism--- in Oroonoko and Robinson Crusoe
...tions of tiger-slaughtering and fishing by the hero as a slave in the latter part. As to Robinson Crusoe, it is an inventory or fictionalized autobiography- partly represented as a personal diary or - of the events and thoughts, moods and moral reflections experienced by Crusoe. The book, based on a true story, the tale of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk ,can not only be regarded as a classic travel and adventure story, but also as the prototype of the novel that focuses on the daily, external and internal activities of ordinary people. Daniel Defoe also breaks with tradition in giving his character realistic rather than allegorical name, although "telling names" were still used extensively in his time. And a large abundance of details make up the whole story about how Crusoe builds a house ,sow his grain, makes a canoe ,enslaves a castaway on the deserted island for twenty eight years. Thus in both Oroonoko and Robinson Crusoe, the realistic narrative method including disengagement from traditional plots, leads the reader to believe that these were genuine and authentic stories. Secondly, both authors employ the narrating I-figure and a conversational narrative voice to achieve proximity to readers. Behn¡¯s narrator tells what she sees and what has been reported to her. We can get the impression from Behn that she has narrated her story orally many times. As is seen to us, she often addresses her "audience," for example: "But before I give you the story of this gallant slave, 'tis fit I tell you the manner of bringing them to these new colonies; ..." . Also she hardly uses any rhetorical devices and writes in plain language. In this sense, Behn's style is very functional. In her search for a prose form appropriate to stories with contemporary rather than purely heroic settings and themes, Behn wrote her novels in a conversational tone strewn with personal references such as, "I have already said...", or "I forgot to ask how...,", making the narrative resemble an ongoing conversation with her readers and lending her tales a more everyday tone than was usually the case in earlier prose forms. In addition, the presence of the narrator as the interpreter of the story makes her a part of the narrative herself. In Behn's works, the narrator frequently takes part in the story as well. ¡°Behn's narrator is more intrusive and relates events in such a way to emphasize the narrating voice¡± . Defoe¡¯s Robinson Crusoe is a fictional autobiography pretending to be 'true' £¬thanks to the biographical details and memories provided by the protagonist Crusoe as narrator and author of his own story . The device of the first person narrator and the documentary style helped him to create a realistic atmosphere so that the readers could easily identify themselves with his characters. The conversational style of the narration (which occupies almost all of the dialogue outside of the flashbacks and the 'debates' with Friday) perfectly suits Crusoe's character and made his disappointments and introspection charming. It has been known that Defoe was a journalist with an immense output of written work. Actually, his Robinson Crusoe mirrors this, as it is written in a journalistic, observing and, in some ways, bare style. There are no literary devices, no flourish and no poetic images, so that the reader finds a certain "immediacy and closeness of the text". So it can be clearly seen that accuracy and authenticity are shown in both books by the combination of plot action interpreted and commented on by I-figure narrator and the breakaway from formality and rhetorical expressions. The last but not the least, the characters do not live in spaceless or timeless dimension but they are s...