A stylistic analysis of Crossing

【Abstract】：Crossing is a novel written by a Chinese-American writer， Andrew Xia Fukuda. It told us a story about how the Chinese boy XING survived in all-white American. This thesis will discuss this novel from the aspect of stylistics; they are phonological features， grammatical features and lexical features， semantic features respectively. After the analysis， I hope it will help the reader to have a better understanding of this novel， and also have a further understanding of the Chinese-American literature.

【Key words】： Stylistics features; Crossing; Chinese- American literature

I.Introduction

Chinese-American literature has developed in the World War II， but until 1970s， it has risen to prominence， which led by Chinese-American writers Frank Chin， Maxine Hong Kingston， Amy Tan and Gish Jen. Chinese-American literature is moving towards prosperity. This novel has very important realistic meaning and artistic value. The book has played an important role in the study of Chinese-American literature. I will analyze this novel from three aspects which are phonological features， grammatical features and lexical features， semantic features. After the analysis， I hope the readers can further enhance mutual understanding on Chinese-American literature and enhance people's cultural identity of Chinese-American， and relieve the conflict between cultures.

II.About the work

This novel written by Andrew Xia Fukuda， a famous Chinese American writer has played an important role in the Chinese American literature.

This novel talks about a loner， Chinese-born Xing， in his all-white high school. He just likes a wallflower longing for acceptance by the white people. His isolation is intensified by his increasingly awkward and undeniable crush on his only friend， the beautiful and brilliant Naomi Lee. Xing’s quiet adolescent existence is rattled when a series of disappearances rock his high school and fear ripples through the blue collar community in which he lives. Amidst the chaos surrounding him， only Xing， alone on the sidelines of life， takes notice of some peculiar sightings around town. He begins to investigate with the hope that if he can help put an end to the disappearances， he will finally win the acceptance for which he has longed. However， as Xing draws closer to unveiling the identity of the abductor， he senses a noose of suspicion tightening around his own neck. While Xing races to solve the mystery and clear his name， Crossing hurtles readers towards a chilling climax.

III.Definition of stylistics

There are many definitions for stylistics. “Stylistics is a discipline that studies the ways in which language is used; it is a discipline that studies the styles of language in use.” （徐有志， 2005：2） Widdowson put forward a more informative definition as it is the study of \"literary discourse from a linguistic orientation and I shall take the view that what distinguishes stylistics from literary criticism on the one hand and linguistics on the other is that it is essentially a means of linking the two\". （Widdowson， 1975：3） He further explained the word from the formation， stating the affix \"styl-\" connected to literary and the suffix\"-istics\" related to linguistics.

IV.Stylistic features analysis

1.Phonological features

Phonology is the study of the rules for the organization of the sound system of a language. Phonological features are the expression or realization of language in its spoken form. In this part， I will discuss the phonological features of this novel from rhythm， alliteration and assonance aspects.

1.1Rhythm

“Rhythm is the pattern formed by the stresses perceived as peaks of prominences or beats.” （徐有志， 2005：46） "Pronounced regularity of rhythm is sometimes found in poems and prose works.

Although Crossing is a narrative novel with some description， in this novel， we can also find natural and harmonious rhythm. I just name a few of it.

Example1.

Children leaving school， chasing each other in the streets， stopping at a cart to buy a slice of watermelon from a hawker. I could see myself， the me that never left China. Always surrounded by friends， always laughing with abandon， always with a twinkle of confidence in my eyes.

Example2.

My skin a deep bronze from the burning sun， my hair tousled lightly in the warm breeze. I am smiling as I run home， shouting my farewells to friends， my voice unhinged in exuberance， unbridled in its own sureness. I am rushing home to the wondrous smells of home cooking， to the warm greetings of my mother， grandmother， of my father...

In the example1， “Children leaving…chasing…stopping at a cart…a slice of watermelon from a hawker. …Always… always… always….”and the example2， “My skin a deep bronze from the burning sun， my hair tousled lightly in the warm breeze… smiling…shouting my farewells to friends， my voice unhinged…unbridled…” We can see the beauty of rhythm， and we can also see the hero XING was so missing his friends in China and his beloved homeland---China because of his loneliness in the all-white American society. We can also figure out that the good writing skills of the writer， and he gives us a very enjoyable feeling when we read this novel. We will marvel at his using of words and his vivid description.

1.2Alliteration and Assonance

Alliteration is the use in speech or writing of several words close together that all begin with the same letter or sound. Assonance is the use of the same vowel sound with different consonants or the same consonant with different vowels in successive words or stressed syllables， as in a line of verse.

Example3.

The sky， spread above in a velvet expanse， darkened like a bloodying blister.

Example4.

And her arms and legs had grown longer and leaner， too;

Example5.

She had picked up English the way she picked up most everything else： quickly， brilliantly， naturally.

Example6.

He had one hand lifted in front of his gaping mouth like a shy geisha. Astonished. Bewildered. Stupefied.

In these four examples， “bloodying blister” and “l(fā)onger and leaner” are alliteration. And “quickly， brilliantly， naturally”， “Astonished. Bewildered. Stupefied” are assonance. In this novel. We can usually find some phrase like that， which give us beautiful enjoyment when we read this novel.

2.Grammatical features and lexical features

Grammar is studies the structure of units called sentences in a language， and the way these function in sequences. It is divided into morphology and syntax traditionally. Lexicology studies the choice of specific lexical items in a text， their distribution in relation to one another， and their meanings. In this part， I will discuss from sentence type and premodification of this novel.

2.1Sentence type

Sentences type treats various kinds of sentences discussed in traditional terms： declarative， interrogative， imperative or exclamatory; simple， compound， complex or compound-complex; complete or elliptical.

Example7.

“Ex-ing X-you？”

Example8.

“But just call me Kris. Please.”

Example9.

“l(fā)et me interrupt you. Today we have a new student with us. Now， I know that we’re all new students today， but she’s especially new. She’s from out of state， Montana. I’m sure all of us will extend to her the utmost of courtesy and warmth.”

Example10.

“No need to be afraid， now. Just tell us your name.”\u2028The girl hesitated like a child on a springboard. She murmured something， a whittled whisper.\u2028“Speak louder，” rang out Miss Winters.\u2028“Jan Blair，” the girl said.\u2028“Blair？” asked Miss Winters. “Like the movie？”\u2028The girl turned crimson. She nodded fiercely， but Miss Winters did not seem to understand.\u2028“You know the movie，” continued Miss Winters. “The Blair Witch Project？”\u2028

As we all know， the story of this novel happened in a high school， the writer do know the school teenagers， he have captured the characters of them very appropriately， like the way they speak， the tone they speak. He gives us a very real picture of the American high school. In most parts of this novel， the writer used simple sentences.

2.2Premodification

A modifier placed before the head is called a premodifier. A modifier has two principal types， which are adjectives （and adjectival phrases and adjectival clauses）， which modify nouns; and adverbs （and adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses）， which modify other parts of speech， particularly verbs， adjectives and other adverbs， as well as whole phrases or clauses.

Example11.

She spoke in a pitched， shaky voice， bags of cheek fat quivering like they were trying to break free. When she had earlier written her name on the blackboard， her beefy hands swallowed up the piece of chalk， and the fat along the axis of her arm had swung like heavy pendulums.

In this paragraph， the writer wants to show the fatness of Miss Winters to the reader. He used the phrase of “bags of cheek”， “beefy hands” and “heavy pendulums” to describe a fat woman vividly.

3.Semantic features

“Semantics study the overall meaning of a text， the meaning derived not from the formal properties of words and structures but from the way sentences/ utterances are used and the way they are related to the context in which they are used/ uttered.” （徐有志， 2005：43）

3.1Rhetorical devices

3.1.1Simile

Simile is a figure of speech comparing two unlike things having at least one quality or characteristic in common， often introduced with the words ‘like’， ‘a(chǎn)s’ ，’than’ and so on.

Example12.

Miss Winters rapped the chalk against the blackboard like a jackhammer.

Example13.

Her name was Miss Winters， and I took an instant dislike to her. She was a rotund woman with gobs of fat wobbling all over her body like Jell-O

Example14.

“Quiet！ Quiet，” she said， flapping her arms uselessly like a hen.

These three examples are the description of Miss Winters， who is a very fat woman. From the beginning of this novel， Miss Winter asked the name of XING XU， and she read the name to “Ex-ing X-Sue？” again and again which gives us a rigid and unkind impression of her. The writer created a rotund lady that just made the reader remind of a not very friendly lady in our daily life.

3.1.2Metaphor

Metaphor is the use of words to indicate something different from their literal meaning， as ‘the camel is the ship of the desert’.

Example15. Jan Blair’s head hung dejectedly as if her neck muscles had suddenly snapped.

Example16. The girl stepped forward. Her skin was pale， melted candle wax flung onto bones.

These two examples are the description of Jan Blair， which gives us an impression of a very dejected and weak girl. Her pale skin just like painted the candle wax and she was so dispirited as if her neck would be broken.

V.Conclusion

People generally think that Chinese-Americans are hard-working and industrious. They will give their children good education whether they had received good education. They may take a long time to adapt themselves to the life abroad. But the Chinese-Americans still receive much discrimination and prejudice from the real Americans. But after many brilliant Asian and Chinese American works appeared which gaining great concerns from the American academic circle. At the same time， they also paid good attention to Chinese-American. I hope this analysis would help the reader to have a better understanding of this novel just like the original readers do. I will be very glad if the readers could have a deeper understanding of the Chinese-American and the Chinese-American literature. This thesis analyzed this novel from the perspective of stylistics， which is superficial and not very complete， and it is worth of our further inquiry.

References

[1]Andrew Xia Fukuda， 2010.Crossing [M].Las Vegas： Amazon Encore.

[2]Widdowson.H.G.， 1975.Stylistics and the Teaching of Literature [M]. London： Longman.

[4]徐有志， 2005. 英語文體學教程[M]. 北京： 高等教育出版社.