Archetypal Approach and Narrative Techniques in Hernan Diaz’s In the Distance
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1205.12Keywords:
archetypal, distance, legend, narrative, wildernessAbstract
This study addresses the journey of Håkan, a young Swedish man who does not speak English, and the obstacles he encounters during his quest to locate his brother, Linus, in Hernan Diaz’s In the Distance, (2017). Håkan becomes a legend in the eyes of the indigenous people and the immigrants who meet him in the landscape of the American West. However, he is lost in the wilderness of West America, unable to move forward to find his brother or travel back to his home. Through an archetypal approach, this study probes deeply into the impact of such archetypes as hero, journey, the American Dream, and others on Håkan’s life, a life which becomes boring, routine, and repetitious. The study also traces the narrative techniques used by Diaz to make the readers live the experiences of the protagonist, which are marked by perplexity, stagnancy, and repetition. The focus is on the techniques relevant to aspects like style, plot, setting, and character, and how such techniques integrate with the archetypes to assist the readers in clearly understanding the story. The study finds many archetypes used by the author to manifest Håkan as a myth, a giant, sometimes a killer, and a villain accused of murdering indigenous people, as they claim. The use of the narrative techniques of language, spaces, repetition, and backstory are intertwined with the archetypes to show the stages of loss and stagnancy in Håkan’s life during his quest for his brother in that large wilderness of West America.
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