Comparative Structures and Narration Composition in Modern Russian Prose

The article examines the relationship of comparative structures (metaphors and similes) with the structure of the narrative. The material for the analysis is the works of modern Russian prose: the novels of E. Vodolazkin, Sh. Idiatullin, M. Stepnova, V. Pelevin, M. Kucherskaya, O. Ermakov, A. Volos, A. Ivanov, G. Yakhina, A. Salnikov, etc. It is shown that the nature of comparative constructions and their distribution in the text is connected to the point of view of the narrator and of the character. The choice of the image of comparison is determined by the evaluative, optical, spatiotemporal point of view of the character or the narrator. The point of view of the character and, accordingly, the choice of the image of comparison can be determined by the age of the character, his/her profession, the time period described in the work, and the national culture to which the character belongs. Comparative structures serve as a means of differentiating between different subject-speech planes in the structure of the narrative, as well as different temporal planes of the work. The nature of metaphors and similes depends on the type of narration and on the narrator. In skaz and skaz-like forms, the role of colloquial, vernacular and slang metaphors and similes increases. In contaminated narrative types that combine the 1st and the 3rd person narratives, the nature and number of comparative tropes can serve as a signal to differentiate these narrative types.