زکریا بزدوده

The differentiation of the focalizer and the narrator in the contemporary theories of narratology has paved the way for the investigation of a multilayer narrative with its diverse facets. Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North (2013)is no exception. The narrative is initiated with a haiku and moves forward by the use of more haikus throughout the novel and at the beginning of each of its five parts. An extradiegetic narrator, who narrates the story, observes the events and feels the scenes through a medium that is the protagonist, Dorrigo Evans. Interestingly enough, each haiku acts as a snapshot for the part to which it is an initiation. The haikus are storytellers famous for their brevity, the focalizers who merely describe. However, in Flanagan's novel they have nothing beyond the main layer of the narrative except being a confirmation provided by the extradiegetic narrator to strengthen his narration. This touchstone, haiku, is the extradiegetic narrator who narrates sheer events without the help of the focalizer, Dorrigo Evans. As the narration moves forward, the reader becomes more conscious of the illustrative role of the haikus, pictures provided to be meticulously discussed.