Second-person narratives are narratives whose protagonist is referred to by means of address pronoun . (Fludernik, 1994a) However, second-person narratives are often confused for narratives that use "you" to address narratees who are not the protagonists or even involved in the story. Some examples of such usage of "you" that does not address the protagonist would be dramatic monologues and epistolaries. As such, Fludernik has referred to the second-person narratives that use "you" to exclusively address the protagonist as "real" second-person texts as opposed to classifying any narrative that uses "you" as second-person narratives. (Fludernik, 1994a)
Besides problems or confusion in defining second-person narratives, the dominant models for typologies of narrative forms also fail to accommodate the second-person narrative appropriately.
There have been many models for typologies of narrative forms that have been formed over the years. The prominent earlier models by Franz K. Stanzel which splits into first-person, second-person and third-person and Gerard Genette which splits into homodiegesis and heterodiegesis were found to be flawed because the second-person narrative could not fit into either model appropriately. Monika Fludernik and Matt DelConte later came up with better models to accommodate the second-person narrative more appropriately. (Fludernik, 1993 & DelConte, 2003) DelConte's model was found to be a simpler yet adequate model of a narrative form typology. He primarily focuses on the triad of narrator, protagonist and narratee.
The usage of "you" brings with it ambiguity. This is because when "you" is used in a narration, it can refer to many possibilities including the reader, the narrator or some other character altogether. (Fludernik, 1993, 1994a, 1994b) DelConte's model was also able to differentiate and categorize the different possibilities that the ambiguity of "you" presents. DelConte's typological model was able to differentiate and categorize the different possibilities that the ambiguous "you" presents. Therefore, this model has been taken as a core for this study in the aspect of the ambiguity of the second-person narrative. Utilizing DelConte's typological model, this study will test whether there is ambiguity in perceiving "you" in second-person narratives among Malaysian secondary-school readers.
Other than that, the usage of "you" has also been found to have the possibility of being too aggressive and forceful on readers. This is because the "you" in narratives often exerts pressure on readers to assume the role of the "you", hence the feeling that someone is dictating our thoughts and actions. (Phelan, 1996 & Brunyé, Ditman, Mahoney, & Taylor, 2011) This study will also study the extent of this possibility to be true among Malaysian secondary-school readers.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Second-person narratives are very rarely found in fiction. (Fludernik, 1994) Thus, the secondary schools in Malaysia focus their literary texts mostly on third-person narratives and sometimes first-person narratives. However, second-person narratives have more potential in engaging readers and allowing more imagination thanks to the ambiguity of the usage of "you". (Fludernik, 1993, 1994a, 1994b & Brunyé et al., 2011) This study will test whether there is ambiguity in the usage of "you" in Malaysian secondary school readers' perceptions.
At the same time, second-person narratives also pose a threat of being too aggressive or forceful on the readers. (Fludernik, 1993 & Brunyé et al., 2011) This study also will address this issue to find out whether the reactions towards second-person narratives are more positive or negative.
Besides that, there is also very little research on the topic of second person narrative. Even in that small pool of research, the majority focuses on analyzing the text and how reader's can infer from them and too little on actually testing how readers themselves perceive it. (Brunye, Ditman, Mahoney, Augustyn, & Taylor, 2009) This study will be an additional research which will focus on the readers' perceptions as opposed to the text analysis in its own.
1.3 Purpose of Study
i) Identify if there is ambiguity in perceiving the "you" addressed in second-person
narratives among Malaysian secondary school readers.
ii) Identify the narrative typologies (according to Matt DelConte's model) of the
Malaysian secondary readers' perception of the "you" addressed in second-person
narratives.
iii) Identify whether Malaysian secondary school readers react more positively or
negatively towards second-person narratives.
1.4 Research Questions
i) Is there ambiguity in perceiving the "you" addressed in second-person
narratives among Malaysian secondary school readers?
ii) What are the narrative typologies (according to Matt DelConte's model) that
Malaysian secondary school readers perceive "you" as?
iii) Do Malaysian secondary school readers react more positively or negatively towards
second-person narrative?
1.5 Significance of Study
The result of this study will show whether there is ambiguity in the perception of second person narratives among Malaysian secondary school readers. It will also find out whether there is a positive reception of second-person narratives. Both these results will help to determine whether second-person narratives should be integrated into the current school syllabus as part of the selection of literary texts used in school.
If second-person narratives are indeed proven to be ambiguous and cause students to adopt the different positions that the "you" could possibly refer to, then students are given the opportunity to expand their imagination to have more than one vantage point that they may imagine the story. As opposed to first-person narratives and second-person narratives that restrict readers to only observe from a particular perspective, second-person narratives allows the reader to access different points of observation and more importantly involvement. (Brunyé et al., 2011 & Fludernik, 1994a)
At the same time, if there is a high frequency in identifying the "you" as the readers' selves, then second-person narrative will further benefit because it is the most effective way to engage readers. When readers see the "you" as themselves, it allows them to be a part of the story and experience the story. (Brunyé et al., 2011)
Other than that, if there is a positive reception of second-person narratives, it would mean that readers will be able to cope with second-person narratives. This inadvertently reduces the perception of the usage of "you" posing a threat and further encourages it instead.
1.6 Scope of Study and Limitations
Participants of this study will be Form 4 students of a particular secondary school. This would mean that the results cannot be generalized to all Malaysian secondary school students.
1.7 Definition of Key Terms
Second-person Narratives: Narrative mode in which a narrator tells a story to a
(sometimes undefined, shifting, and/or hypothetical)
narratee - delinated by "you" - who is also the (sometimes
undefined, shifting, and/or hypothetical) principal actant in
that story. (DelConte, 2003)
Typologies of Narrative Forms: The way in which different types of narrations are
categorized. (Fludernik, 1993, 1994a, 1994b) There are different models of typologies that have been proposed over the years. This study will focus on Matt DelConte categorization of narrations which is based on the triad of narrator, protagonist and narratee. (DelConte, 2003)
Ambiguity: Unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning. (WordNet Search - 3.1)
