Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s <i>The Noise of Time</i>

Shengjie Zhao

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12

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Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time

Shengjie Zhao^*

Published in International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 12, Issue 2)

Received: 3 April 2024 Accepted: 22 April 2024 Published: 8 May 2024

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Abstract

In The Noise of Time, Julian Barnes once again turns to the writing of biography after Arthur & George (2005), and this time he experiments by tactfully setting dual narrative progression which is the combination of the overt plot and the covert progression. Also, the word “noise” in the title The Noise of Time has double metaphorical meanings, which correspond to the theme and characterization in the dual narrative progression. So, the present article aims to probe into the relationship between the dual narrative progression and the respective metaphorical connotation of the word “noise” in the title. In the overt plot centering on Shostakovich’s three Conversations with Power, for the sake of his friends and associates, in the struggle between life and death, the protagonist Shostakovich is depicted as a coward disciplined by the multiple mechanisms of “incarceration”, such as arrest, being taken to the concentration camps, forbidding his music, and banning his opera performed, in the service of the former Soviet government; and the word "noise" is a metaphor for the totalitarian society of the former Soviet Union which influences Shostakovich's musical composition. However, in the covert progression, by mainly adopting indirect satire (irony), verbal defence, perfunctory behaviors and physical absence, the author characterizes the composer Shostakovich as a hero who follows the inner voice of his ego, and expresses his ridicule, resistance and intransigence in different ways, thus becoming an outsider or a stranger rebelling against the absurdity of the totalitarian society, and the metaphor for “noise” refers to the composer Shostakovich himself who strives to compose an artistic noise that is not compatible with the totalitarian society. Therefore, the overt plot and the covert progression form a striking contrast, and by so doing, Barnes creates an artistic paradoxical image of both a coward and a hero.

Published in	International Journal of Literature and Arts (Volume 12, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12
Page(s)	27-33
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Julian Barnes, The Noise of Time, Dual Narrative Progression, Noise, Metaphor, Stranger

References

[1]	Groes, S., Childs, P., Eds. Julian Barnes: Contemporary Critical Perspectives. London: Continuum; 2011, p. 1.
[2]	Childs, P. Contemporary Novelists: British Fiction since 1970. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2005, p. 99.
[3]	Moseley, M. Understanding Julian Barnes. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press; 1997, p. 17.
[4]	Barnes, J. The Noise of Time. London: Vintage; 2016, p. 15, pp. 43-44, p. 47, p. 58, pp. 79-81, pp. 98-99, pp. 102-103, pp. 148-149, pp. 151-156.
[5]	Shen, D. Covert Progression behind Plot Development: Katherine Mansfield’s ‘The Fly’, Poetics Today. 2013, 34(1-2), 147-175. https://doi.org/10.1215/03335372-2017276
[6]	Lakoff, G., Johnson, M. Metaphors We Live By. London: U of Chicago P; 2003, p. 5.
[7]	Foucault, M. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Sheridan, A., Trans., New York: Vintage Books; 1995, p. 303, p. 305, p. 308.
[8]	Camus, A. The Myth of Sisyphus. O'Brien, J., Trans., New York: Penguin Books; 1979, p. 13.
[9]	Sartre, Jean-P. Existentialism Is a Humanism. In Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre, Kaufmann, W., Ed., New York: Meridian Books; 1956, pp. 287-311.
[10]	Barnes, J. My Hero: Dmitri Shostakovich by Julian Barnes, The Guardian. 30 Jan, 2016.
[11]	Taruskin, R. Musical Lives and Times Examined: Keynotes and Clippings, 2006-2019. Oakland: University of California Press; 2023, p. 333, p. 342.
[12]	Mellers, W. Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 (Review), The Musical Times. 1967, 108(1488), p. 148. https://doi.org/10.2307/953956
[13]	Abrams, M. H., Harpham, G. G. A Glossary of Literary Terms (Tenth Edition). Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning; 2012, p. 184.

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Zhao, S. (2024). Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 12(2), 27-33. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12

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Zhao, S. Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2024, 12(2), 27-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12

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AMA Style

Zhao S. Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time. Int J Lit Arts. 2024;12(2):27-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12,
  author = {Shengjie Zhao},
  title = {Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time
},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {12},
  number = {2},
  pages = {27-33},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20241202.12},
  abstract = {In The Noise of Time, Julian Barnes once again turns to the writing of biography after Arthur & George (2005), and this time he experiments by tactfully setting dual narrative progression which is the combination of the overt plot and the covert progression. Also, the word “noise” in the title The Noise of Time has double metaphorical meanings, which correspond to the theme and characterization in the dual narrative progression. So, the present article aims to probe into the relationship between the dual narrative progression and the respective metaphorical connotation of the word “noise” in the title. In the overt plot centering on Shostakovich’s three Conversations with Power, for the sake of his friends and associates, in the struggle between life and death, the protagonist Shostakovich is depicted as a coward disciplined by the multiple mechanisms of “incarceration”, such as arrest, being taken to the concentration camps, forbidding his music, and banning his opera performed, in the service of the former Soviet government; and the word "noise" is a metaphor for the totalitarian society of the former Soviet Union which influences Shostakovich's musical composition. However, in the covert progression, by mainly adopting indirect satire (irony), verbal defence, perfunctory behaviors and physical absence, the author characterizes the composer Shostakovich as a hero who follows the inner voice of his ego, and expresses his ridicule, resistance and intransigence in different ways, thus becoming an outsider or a stranger rebelling against the absurdity of the totalitarian society, and the metaphor for “noise” refers to the composer Shostakovich himself who strives to compose an artistic noise that is not compatible with the totalitarian society. Therefore, the overt plot and the covert progression form a striking contrast, and by so doing, Barnes creates an artistic paradoxical image of both a coward and a hero. 
},
 year = {2024}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time

AU  - Shengjie Zhao
Y1  - 2024/05/08
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 27
EP  - 33
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12
AB  - In The Noise of Time, Julian Barnes once again turns to the writing of biography after Arthur & George (2005), and this time he experiments by tactfully setting dual narrative progression which is the combination of the overt plot and the covert progression. Also, the word “noise” in the title The Noise of Time has double metaphorical meanings, which correspond to the theme and characterization in the dual narrative progression. So, the present article aims to probe into the relationship between the dual narrative progression and the respective metaphorical connotation of the word “noise” in the title. In the overt plot centering on Shostakovich’s three Conversations with Power, for the sake of his friends and associates, in the struggle between life and death, the protagonist Shostakovich is depicted as a coward disciplined by the multiple mechanisms of “incarceration”, such as arrest, being taken to the concentration camps, forbidding his music, and banning his opera performed, in the service of the former Soviet government; and the word "noise" is a metaphor for the totalitarian society of the former Soviet Union which influences Shostakovich's musical composition. However, in the covert progression, by mainly adopting indirect satire (irony), verbal defence, perfunctory behaviors and physical absence, the author characterizes the composer Shostakovich as a hero who follows the inner voice of his ego, and expresses his ridicule, resistance and intransigence in different ways, thus becoming an outsider or a stranger rebelling against the absurdity of the totalitarian society, and the metaphor for “noise” refers to the composer Shostakovich himself who strives to compose an artistic noise that is not compatible with the totalitarian society. Therefore, the overt plot and the covert progression form a striking contrast, and by so doing, Barnes creates an artistic paradoxical image of both a coward and a hero. 

VL  - 12
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Shengjie Zhao

Department of Foreign Languages, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, China

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http://orcid.org/0009-0004-3935-1542

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Zhao, S. (2024). Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time. International Journal of Literature and Arts, 12(2), 27-33. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12

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ACS Style

Zhao, S. Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time. Int. J. Lit. Arts 2024, 12(2), 27-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12

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AMA Style

Zhao S. Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time. Int J Lit Arts. 2024;12(2):27-33. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12,
  author = {Shengjie Zhao},
  title = {Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time
},
  journal = {International Journal of Literature and Arts},
  volume = {12},
  number = {2},
  pages = {27-33},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijla.20241202.12},
  abstract = {In The Noise of Time, Julian Barnes once again turns to the writing of biography after Arthur & George (2005), and this time he experiments by tactfully setting dual narrative progression which is the combination of the overt plot and the covert progression. Also, the word “noise” in the title The Noise of Time has double metaphorical meanings, which correspond to the theme and characterization in the dual narrative progression. So, the present article aims to probe into the relationship between the dual narrative progression and the respective metaphorical connotation of the word “noise” in the title. In the overt plot centering on Shostakovich’s three Conversations with Power, for the sake of his friends and associates, in the struggle between life and death, the protagonist Shostakovich is depicted as a coward disciplined by the multiple mechanisms of “incarceration”, such as arrest, being taken to the concentration camps, forbidding his music, and banning his opera performed, in the service of the former Soviet government; and the word "noise" is a metaphor for the totalitarian society of the former Soviet Union which influences Shostakovich's musical composition. However, in the covert progression, by mainly adopting indirect satire (irony), verbal defence, perfunctory behaviors and physical absence, the author characterizes the composer Shostakovich as a hero who follows the inner voice of his ego, and expresses his ridicule, resistance and intransigence in different ways, thus becoming an outsider or a stranger rebelling against the absurdity of the totalitarian society, and the metaphor for “noise” refers to the composer Shostakovich himself who strives to compose an artistic noise that is not compatible with the totalitarian society. Therefore, the overt plot and the covert progression form a striking contrast, and by so doing, Barnes creates an artistic paradoxical image of both a coward and a hero. 
},
 year = {2024}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Dual Narrative Progression and Metaphors for Noise in Julian Barnes’s The Noise of Time

AU  - Shengjie Zhao
Y1  - 2024/05/08
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12
T2  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JF  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
JO  - International Journal of Literature and Arts
SP  - 27
EP  - 33
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2331-057X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijla.20241202.12
AB  - In The Noise of Time, Julian Barnes once again turns to the writing of biography after Arthur & George (2005), and this time he experiments by tactfully setting dual narrative progression which is the combination of the overt plot and the covert progression. Also, the word “noise” in the title The Noise of Time has double metaphorical meanings, which correspond to the theme and characterization in the dual narrative progression. So, the present article aims to probe into the relationship between the dual narrative progression and the respective metaphorical connotation of the word “noise” in the title. In the overt plot centering on Shostakovich’s three Conversations with Power, for the sake of his friends and associates, in the struggle between life and death, the protagonist Shostakovich is depicted as a coward disciplined by the multiple mechanisms of “incarceration”, such as arrest, being taken to the concentration camps, forbidding his music, and banning his opera performed, in the service of the former Soviet government; and the word "noise" is a metaphor for the totalitarian society of the former Soviet Union which influences Shostakovich's musical composition. However, in the covert progression, by mainly adopting indirect satire (irony), verbal defence, perfunctory behaviors and physical absence, the author characterizes the composer Shostakovich as a hero who follows the inner voice of his ego, and expresses his ridicule, resistance and intransigence in different ways, thus becoming an outsider or a stranger rebelling against the absurdity of the totalitarian society, and the metaphor for “noise” refers to the composer Shostakovich himself who strives to compose an artistic noise that is not compatible with the totalitarian society. Therefore, the overt plot and the covert progression form a striking contrast, and by so doing, Barnes creates an artistic paradoxical image of both a coward and a hero. 

VL  - 12
IS  - 2
ER  -

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