1 INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale 1.1. Nonfiction (Ky) is an important genre of literature. However, it is very difficult to identify its features because of its diversity and complexity. Nonfiction writings were generated in the very early stage with a wide range of works. All works which do not belong to narrative, lyric, political commentary and dramas are classified as non-fiction. There are various types of nonfiction and it is difficult to find their common characteristics. These types include notes, reportage, life stories, narrative chronicles. In its long history of development, the appearance of nonfiction kept changing. This made the later nonfiction works such as notes, reportage much different from inscription, chronicle (nonfiction types in the Middle Ages) which were generated at the early development stage of this genre. As a result of all those above reasons, identifying the features of this genre becomes a challenge for researchers. 1.2. According to Vietnamese theory of nonfiction, the record of truth was often considered as the most importance feature. This theory also defined the truth in the opposite relationship with fiction. This led to various debates on nonfiction in literature history. The debate on Vu Trong Phung’s reportages in 1936-1939 and another one on features of nonfiction in 1960 can be taken as examples. This interpretation of nonfication could not resolve thoroughly some problems encountered in practice. For that reason, another approach to this literature genre is significantly necessary. 1.3. In the beginning of twentieth century, there was an important movement in theoretical mindset of social sciences and humanities; which was called language turn. Based on the a profound awareness of the role, function, and nature of languages, thinkers such as M.Bakhtin, Foucault, R.Barthes, 2 J.Derrida re-defined many key problems including reality, subject, truth, nature From this foundation, a new model of literature and cultural research gradually replaced the old one based on reflecting theory. Since then, literature and cultural phenomena have not been identified by referring it to true reality, but located it in the network of surrounding, previous and following discourses. Furthermore, literature is no longer researched as a closed language text and scholars always try to find formation structure of text which is deeply under cultural layers. In this research model, the concept of discourse plays such a key role that it is very difficult to grasp theories of the twentieth century’s literature and culture without understanding the inner meaning of discourse. This theory provided the author with a new approach to nonfiction, helped resolve outstanding problems in practice and brought a new view into this familiar literary genre. 1.4. Approaching the theory and historical types of nonfiction in terms of discourse theory, the thesis addressed conflicts between the traditional theorical research and the practice of nonfiction. Besides, it also pointed out the typical features, classification system and development rule of nonfiction in history. This new theorical model brought a new look and helped re-define nonfiction phenomena and certainly potential for researches. CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW This part presented various concepts of nonfiction in literary researches in Vietnam, China and Russia. Due to limited time and data resource, the central attention is paid to the analysis on changes in concepts of nonfiction in Vietnam. Based on the collected data, the author pointed out gaps and outstanding problems in the traditional theory. A new approach into nonfiction in terms of discourse perspective was also proposed. 1. Nonfiction in traditional theory in Vietnam 3 - In the Middle Ages, concepts of nonfiction could be founded in the beginning and ending section of book such as Lam Son thuc luc, Trung Hung thuc luc by Ho Sy Duong or cultural researches such as Lich trieu hien chuong loai chi by Phan Huy Chu. A typical concept reflected in those books is that: nonfiction is a record of the real events. This concept later became the foundation for the theory of nonfiction. - According to concepts defined in art discussions and literary criticism in the early 20 th century, such genres as truyen ki, reportage, ki su, travel writing were considered as the recording of real and updated events. Besides, realistic description was seen as the rule for recording real events in nonfiction works. - From 1945 to 1986 in Vietnam, nonfiction was paid the central attention. In 1960s, there was a debate on nonfiction on Arts journal. Nonfiction was also the theme of many critics, literary researchers and theorist. The theoretical system of nonfiction was built based on Vietnamese nonfiction practice, mainly in period from 1945 to 1986, and the theoretical system of nonfiction in Soviet Union. Based on this foundation, Vietnamese researchers often defined the typical feature of nonfiction as recording real events. This above system had significant influence on the composition, criticism and reaseaches of nonfiction at that time. The nonfiction work on revolutionary war and the construction of socialism by Ha Minh Duc can be taken as the typical example of this theory. - Since 1986, researches on nonfiction have been applying this theory. The research scope has been widened in the following directions: forming theoretical system of nonfiction; researching historical types on nonfiction such as medieval nonfiction, Vietnamese nonfiction from the early 20 th century to 1945…; surveying the formation and development of nonfiction sub-genres in 4 history; researching authors’ styles and values of nonfiction works. The expansion showed the diversified and varying appeance of this literary genre. 2. Nonfition in some foreign data. In China In Chinese literature, there is also a literary genre which records real events and is called nonfiction. However, the names of this genre, its content and classification is not very clear and not similar to Vietnamese nonfiction theory. In Soviet Union Most treatises and literary dictionaries in Soviet Union described nonfiction as the record of real events. Some theoretical works including Elements of literary theory by Timofeep, Introduction of researching literature by Gulaiep emphasized that the description of real events and typification were the most important characteristic of this genre. Those concepts strongly impacted Vietnamese nonfiction theory. All of the above collected concepts showed that in most literatures in the world exist a genre which focused on recording real events and real people. It belongs to the contact zone between literature and non-literature. Nonfiction had some common characteristics of structure and form. However, the name and content of nonfiction was different among different countries and different historical stages of the same literature. For that reason, it is difficult to apply a unique theoretical model for the research on nonfiction in Vietnam. The implicating and diversifying practice of Vietnamese nonfiction also requires a theory deriving from this practice. 3. Problem statements Related research on nonfiction in Vietnam and other countries has revealed some gaps in the theory of nonfiction in Vietnam 5 3.1. As an attempt to figure out the characteristics of nonfiction, researchers agree that reality is the nuclear element of the genre; however, the concept of reality as well as the relationship between reality and fiction has remained a controversial issue. 3.2. In reference to the reality of nonfiction writing, there appear various unresolved issues: In medieval-time nonfiction, the reality described was full of miraculous and fabulous details, in 1930-1945 reportage, there were only the harsh reality of social evils, in 1945-1976 nonfiction, it was the mere existence of pleasant reality, etc. 3.3. Referring to the approach to characteristics of nonfiction, almost researchers follow function, history or modality approach; none of them consider nonfiction a discourse. Therefore, the authors choose to regard to the characteristics of nonfiction as a discourse so that those above problems can be solved theoretically and practically. 4. Discourse and a new mode of formulating the theory of nonfiction The concept of Discourse was defined long time ago yet before the 20 th century, it was only used in linguistics, as rhetoric. Since the 20 th century, during the language turn, the concept of discourse has implied new connotations which were associated with a new approach of literature and culture study, becoming a key term in social sciences and humanity. It can be said that those new connotations deeply rooted from work by the three greatest thinkers in the 20 th century namely F.de Saussure, M.Bakhtin and M.Foucault. This issue has been addressed in detail in the research entitled “The three approaches of the concept discourse”. Among the main points are as follow. First, according to structural linguists, discourse is the structure of language/parole, which is the rule of organizing words in a certain order. 6 Second, according to M.Bakhtin, discourse is ideology-verbal. Third, according to M.Foucault, in the broad meaning, discourse is considered general statements under impact of a force but in narrow meaning, it is a group of specific statements which conventionally exist in the same context, have same origin and are reunited under the pressure of an institution. Besides, discourse is used for describing a practice which draws up a great deal of statements and affects their functions along with rules and structures which make specific discourses and texts. To sum up, three above approaches to the discourse have provided three different definitions of discourse including discourse as a structure of language and verbalization, discourse as ideology- verbalization, and discourse as tool for making up knowledge and implementing power. It is the most important meaning supplementing to the traditional definition of discourse, at the same time, is the most popular meaning used in researching literature and culture. Through summarizing the main approaches to discourse, it is clear that although the approaches to definition are different, there are also following general points: First, discourse is a system of signs which is difficult for explaining unless we understand their code. Otherwise, every scholar have different viewpoint of discourse code. Structuralists assume that language code is deeply hidden in the structure of discourse. According to M.Bakhtin, analysis of verbalization and ideology is a method to approach to a discourse. Researcher Foucault believes that the final target of discourse analysis is pointing out the institution of power hidden in language. Second, scholars reckon that discourse has a structure. In accordance with structuralists under influence of F.Saussure, discourse has a similar structure with grammatical structure of sentence so it can be analyzed following tense, mode, mood and voice. Basing on M.Foucalt’s viewpoint, there are outer and 7 inner structures which impacts the establishment, operation and distribution of discourses. The inner structures include episteme, statement, discourse or discourses, archive and inner exclusion of discourse while the outer structures comprise of comments, rites and authors. On the basis of acquiring and inheriting these experiences, we carried out identifying the definition of discourse as a tool for a new researching system of Ki. Discourse is understood as institution making up the text under the effect of cultural codes. Basing on this definition, we have identified 2 core of discourse structure consisting of genre code and ideological code. CHAPTER 2: GENERIC CODE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF NONFICTION 2.1. An overview of code, generic code and generic code of nonfiction - Code: the principle of identifying the relationship between information and signal, in communication, code is the element establishing the relationship between the sender and the receiver, the message and its meaning. Code is a language as there are units and the rules to organize those units into a system which helps to transfer information. - Generic code: the principle of establishing the relationship between the information and the genre, which works as an intermediary between the writer and readers. - As a discourse, nonfiction is influenced by two codes: nonliterary code and literary code 2.2. Nonliterary code (discourse of reality) as the atomic structure of nonfiction 2.2.1. First person story-teller as a witness There always exits a story-teller calling himself or herself “I”, who witnesses and makes comments on the world described in nonfiction. He or she 8 is always specified with such information as the author’s biography. In order to enhance the witnessed story-teller’s truthfulness, the author typically creates communicative situations in which the story-teller directly meets and talks to characters. 2.2.2. Unique specific characters, events, space and time In nonfiction, there always exit unique specific characters, events, space and time, which create a glossary of reality reflected in nonfiction writings and clearly distinguish it from other literary genres. This glossary of reality helps to enhance the persuasiveness of nonfiction work in term of truthfulness of those events described. 2.2.3. Logical structure of reality Typically, the glossary of reality is organized according to linear order, causal logic or the logic of narrator “I”’s subjective world. As nonfiction writings in medieval time is influenced by historical discourses, it is generally organized into chronicles, record stories or research. Reportages in the period of 1930-1945 are usually organized according to the structure of investigative or research ones. This structure remarks the objective logic of life reality, which can be regarded as the grammar of reality. 2.2.4. Modes of reflecting reality With the aim of shortening the distance between narration and reality, filming, photo taking, sound recording and montage of other documentation types are usually utilized. 2.3. Literary code and characteristics of nonfiction Primarily, nonfiction is a functional genre which aims at reporting information and events. However, in the development process, this function become more and more secondary; since the 18 th century, many pieces of Ky has become literary work such as Notes taken on rainy days (Vũ trung tùy bút - Phạm Đình Hổ), Capital travel reports (Thượng Kinh kí sự - Lê Hữu Trác). 9 This process leads to the existence of the second generic code in the atomic structure of nonfiction - literary code, which can be recognized by those elements: 2.3.1. The image of people and the picture of world - Though characters and events in nonfiction are not clearly shown, they are faithfully reflected through a wide range of outside details and descriptions of portrait, action, scenery and such. Those descriptions make out “the redundancy” of nonfiction in comparison with the genre frame of chronicles, record stories and research, which results in artistic value and attractiveness of nonfiction as well. - Nonfiction work is full of symbolic and metaphoric images. These images lead to the depth and polysemy of work. 2.3.2. The story frame - Events in nonfiction are always organized into a narrative document with an opening and an ending. The modes of opening and ending are typically conformed to some certain rules and motifs: travel writings are opened with the narrator “I”’s departure, reportages are ended at the end of the investigation, memoirs about monarchs and famous mandarins in medieval time are opened with the motif of miraculous breeding and such. - Despite distant relation, events in nonfiction are usually organized into a story, which reveals a certain meaning. Reportages in the period of 1930-1945 is typically with events organized into stories about the universal fact in which all the things and characters are described as on the journey to the darkness, the death and corruption. Meanwhile, reportages in the period of 1945-1975 is typically with events organized into stories of the beginning in which all the things and characters are on the journey of reformation and revival. - Typically, events that appear to be unconnected in tan van, tuy but are put underneath a story frame with the narrator “I”’s viewpoint. The appearance 10 of the narrator makes the work more flexible but with a cohesive meaning. Eventually, objective report figures organized according to a certain rule can still narrate a story which conveys some meanings. Besides, narrative rhythm can be fast or slow, stressed or unstressed, contributing to the reflection of meaning. Therefore, the process of organizing the glossary of reality into a story is also the process of adding a new meaning to the work, beyond the denotation. The discourse of reality is just the material to convey a certain artistic meaning. This structure mode results in interesting, meaningful and philosophical pieces of work. 2.3.3. Stylization - Different from neutral and objective style of such genres as history, journal and research, the style of nonfiction is the artistic style with uniqueness, emotion and the appearance of various modes of meaning transference such as metaphor, simile, repetition, hyperbole, litotes and irony. 2.4. The interaction between codes 2.4.1. The institution and mutuality between nonliterary and literary codes In nonfiction work, nonliterary and literary codes interact and have mutual impacts on each other. In the structure of nonfiction, there exist literary code but it is influenced by nonliterary code, thus all the literary elements are put in a certain frame. The impact of nonliterary code on literary code can hardly lead Ky writings to the state of being disintegrated and unstructured as other literary genres. As a result of the tie between factual code and artistic code, it is difficult for nonfiction compositions to achieving disintegrating and non- structural status like other types of artistic literature. By contrast, artistic code makes factual code more flexible and attractive. While factual language, which helps nonfiction direct intervene in social life together with pioneer in literature in . Notes taken on rainy days (Vũ trung tùy bút - Phạm Đình Hổ), Capital travel reports (Thượng Kinh kí sự - Lê Hữu Trác). 9 This process leads to the existence of the second generic code in the atomic structure