Parable genre strategy in the novel “Amsterdam” by I. McEwan

Abstract

The genre of any statement is determined by the purpose, content and conservation in which it occurs. The narrative organization of the text determines the genre of prose (epic) fiction. The basis for the genre strategy of the parable is an imperative worldview within the framework of which a free individual has the need to make the right moral choice. The more modern genre of the story, in turn, historically dates back to it. “Amsterdam” by I. McEwan is, by definition, considered as a novel, but upon closer examination it is obvious that the genre features of the story are applicable to it: symmetry and cyclical plot, testing the hero as the event center of the work, the narrator taking an authoritative summary position in a reality that is unequal to the world of the characters. The life stories of the heroes duplicate each other, they are both faced with the need to make a choice, make mistakes and get punished for it. Their death looks like the world returning to normal, to a state of balance. The narrative, although conducted in an ironic manner, is serious and evaluative, which is emphasized by the introduction of side storylines, the characters of which show their best side, as well as references to religious texts, Shakespearean tragedy (a high genre of drama) and the lyrics of W.H. Auden and W. Blake.