NON-TRADITIONAL FEATURES OF PLOT AND COMPOSITIONAL STRUCTURE IN SHODIQUL HAMRO’S PROSE

Abstract

This thesis examines the non-traditional features of plot and compositional structure in Shodiqul Hamro’s prose based on the stories “The Woman in the Picture” and “The Forgotten Ozone Layer.” The aim of the study is to identify the functions of the sequence of events, the narrator’s point of view, psychological experiences, and recurring details in the structure of the works. The analysis employs close reading, plot-compositional analysis, and comparative analysis of the works. Non-traditionality is considered not as a complete abandonment of conventional cause-and-effect relationships, but as their complication through memory, subjective perception, and symbolic connections.

In “The Woman in the Picture,” the analysis focuses on the transition from depictions of everyday life to unusual events, the coexistence of the narrator’s observations and assumptions, and the role of the picture as a detail connecting the events. In “The Forgotten Ozone Layer,” the second-person narrative form, repetition of everyday actions, and the changing attitude toward the tree root are examined in relation to the development of the plot. These devices are interpreted as compositional solutions that connect external events with the characters’ inner experiences.

The thesis argues that explaining the plot solely as a sequence of events does not fully reveal the artistic structure of the works. When an event is narrated, from whose point of view it is presented, and what semantic connection it establishes with previous episodes are also important analytical criteria. The scholarly significance of the study lies in describing the non-traditional narrative techniques in the selected stories on the basis of specific textual observations. The conclusions are limited to the works analyzed, and the need for broader comparative research before applying them to the writer’s entire prose oeuvre is emphasized.