이주홍의 소년소설 『피리 부는 소년』연구

Abstract

This study was an analysis that aimed to identify the characteristics of A Piping Boy, a Young Adult novel by Lee, Juhong with a narrative communication viewpoint. The novel was divided into a discourse layer, a character layer and a narration layer. The text of this fiction was a binary discourse system. The narrative discourse in the first half developed a scene in which boys from a rural town played together vividly and with humor. The narrative in the second half, however, emphasized the conscientious behavior of “Yeonggu”, who remained uninfluenced by corruption in the adult world, by describing those behaviors with a panoramic view. The dominant themes in this system are Yeonggu’s honesty, righteousness and courage to remain untouched by corruption. The lives of the characters in the diverse layers in A Piping Boy are varied. The boys in the rural town are simple, innocent, in conflict with friends. Sometimes, they do wrong or cause damage but they realize their wrong-doings and ask for pardon. They concentrate on studying. On the other hand, some of the adult characters display inhumane behavior by using the children as a means to satisfy their adult greed through mean and abusive actions which are offset by the true value of humanity that was desperately required in the wartime. The character “Yeonggu” is an exemplary model through his strict practice of the teachings of his father, who taught him to be honest and diligent to do the right thing and to try to overcome his difficulties by himself. While the viewpoint frequently changes from the writer to the narrator and back, the text mainly focuses on “Yeonggu”, who loses his parents during the war but lives an innocent life free from corruption by summarizing and describing the scenes. The writer and the narrator tried to give hope to young boys in the chaotic period of the 1950s through the character of “Yeonggu”,who realized the values of honesty, diligence, courage and patience even in the confusion of difficult circumstances. This narrative attitude accords with the main awareness of this text.