Abstract:

David Lodge, a famous contemporary British novelist and literary critic, is deeply influenced by Bakhtin's theory, the main feature of which is to adopt a marginal perspective. In 2008, Lodge, in his seventies, published Deaf Sentence, which is based on his personal deaf experience. The novel endeavors to portray the marginal experiences of people living on the edge. As the foreground of the novel, deafness enables the protagonist to observe the world and human life from a new perspective, and then provokes thoughts about deafness, aging and death. A marginal stance is taken in characterization and theme selection of the novel as well. The novel is also noteworthy for its carnivalization and dialogism.

Key words: David Lodge, Deaf Sentence, Bakhtin, margin, carnivalization, dialogism