“Proto-Novels”. A comparison of John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress” and Aphra Behn’s “Oroonoko”

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2019 im Fachbereich Didaktik fuer das Fach Englisch - Literatur, Werke, Note: 1,0, Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The novel as a form of creation has never been a fixed medium. From the time of its first emergence onwards, it has always been in a state of continual change and oscillation. In the 17th century especially, when the early "novelists" made serious efforts to distinguish their writings from antecedent forms of literature, there were a large number of experiment[s] in the infancy of the novel, which brought new narrative possibilities in general and an enriched conceptualization of "the story" in particular. This term paper seeks to explore the various elements that make proto-novels stand out from earlier types of writing. To read a novel and to recognize the narrative strategies within its word flow is to really understand what makes the text work. And since a comparison with other writings of its time and epoch can substantially increase the comprehension and appreciation of a given text, the two "proto-novels" of John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress" and Aphra Behn's "Oroonoko" will are contrasted.