Stylistic narrative of otherness : a study of power relations in John Steinbeck’s "the Murder" and Gabriel García Márquez’s “a very old man with enormous wings”

الملخص EN

This study investigates the stylistic features marking powerlessness/“otherness” in fiction.

To this end, this study stresses two fictional characters: Jelkain John Steinbeck’s “The Murder” (1934) and the old man in Gabriel García Márquez’s “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” (1955).

Most clauses associated with these characters exhibit a fixed set of verbs that make such characters influenced by, rather than influencing, the story’s events.

Also, in other clauses they are passive participants, affected by other actors.

These characters are juxtaposed with superior characters, like Jim, Elisenda, and Pelayo, whose power is foregrounded by other types of verbs.