Roman épistolaire et ethos discursif : interprétation stylistique de "La voie de ma rue" de Sylvain Kean Zoh

Abstract

Epistolary "Novel and Discursive Ethos": Stylistic interpretation of La voie de ma rue by Sylvain Kean Zoh

This article aims to undertake a stylistic analysis of the discursive ethos as presented in the epistolary novel "La voie de ma rue" by Ivorian writer Sylvain Kean Zoh.  It examines the ways the main character constructs a nuanced ethos through a letter that raises awareness about street children. This analysis exhibits the interplay between fragility and resilience within the character's discourse. Ethos refers there to the image constructed by a speaker to be perceived through speech. This study adopts stylistics as a literary approach to understand and interpret the linguistic resources employed by the writer.  It is centered around the question of how linguistic and enunciative-discursive elements can be used to shape ethos, based on stylistic interpretation within the framework of the epistolary novel. The article argues that discursive ethos as a concept rooted in ancient rhetoric, is abundantly exploited in La voie de ma rue. The ethos as portrayed in this novel is unique, rooted in the protagonist as a self-described wanderer.  The construction of ethos is markedly affected by the specific spatio-temporal contexts in which the subject evolves.  The stylistic analysis of ethos in the epistolary novel is depicted through various literary devices. Among these, deixis, rhetorical questions, axiological lexis, and affective modalisation are identified as predominantly significant in conveying the ethos of the protagonist's narrative.  The findings revealed that the stylistic analysis of discursive ethos in Sylvain Kean Zoh's "La voie de ma rue" highlighted the ways the protagonist, through his wandering journey, constructs the ethos as regards fragility and resilience.  Various linguistic and enunciative techniques such as personal deixis, rhetorical questions, negations, and evaluative terms have been exploited as textual dominants. Also, the impact of the spatio-temporal context on ethos construction is significant. The childhood places have been transformed into premises of fragility ethos, and the capital city has become a catalyst for resilience ethos. The narrator-character, an early orphan, develops from initial fragility to affirmed resilience within an urban environment. "La voie de ma rue" thus reveals how the epistolary novel can be effectively studied through a stylistic analysis focusing mainly on discursive ethos.