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The features of functioning of some elements of a strong position in a science fiction work “The Smile” by R. Bradbury

Liberal Arts in Russia. 2015. Vol. 4. No. 6. Pp. 452-461.
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Bulaeva N. E.
Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University
125 Lenin Ave., 300026 Tula, Russia
Email: natbulaeva27@mail.ru
Bogatova Y. A.
Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University
125 Lenin Ave., 300026 Tula, Russia

Abstract

The present article is devoted to the issue of studying functioning of some elements of a strong position in a science fiction text. The elements of a framework, namely the title and the beginning, are analyzed on the basis of a short story by a famous American science fiction writer R. Bradbury. The stylistic analysis of the phenomena under consideration showed that elements of foregrounding have symbolic nature, set the interconnection between text fragments and provide an integral idea of a fiction text. In Bradbury’s story the title that serves as a symbol represents a key image of the work. The short story features the beginning characterized by detail and accuracy of portraying the setting for the described events. The said is critical to the genre under consideration as it contributes to the creation of the effect of plausibility of the plot. The end of the story is an open one; at the same time, it contains some hints enabling the reader to interpret the text fully. The analysis of specific features of particular elements of a strong position functioning drives us to the conclusion that one of the main functions of the said means is to foreground important information for the reader that is necessary for correct interpretation of the author’s message.

Keywords

  • • science fiction text
  • • text composition
  • • text interpretation
  • • elements of foregrounding
  • • strong position of a text
  • • title
  • • beginning
  • • the closure

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