Beyond representation and reality : 'worldmaking' in John Banville's the sea.

Abstract

This paper discusses how the narrator of John Banville’s “The Sea” engages in ‘worldmaking’ through his creation of a ‘narrative world’ set in his childhood. The paper has four parts which discusses (1) the motivation for engaging in ‘worldmaking’ (2) why did the narrator choose to set his ‘narrative world’ in the past (3) the quality of the ‘narrative world’ resembling paintings and films (4) the effects of ‘seeing’ on the narrator in his ‘narrative world’.