Analysis of stylistic features affecting “descriptive distance” in “cuts” in a story

Abstract

　In a story, even if the content is the same, the effect on the reader can vary greatly depending on one expression. Therefore, it is considered useful to analyze the influence of expressions on readers. In this study, we focused on the concept of “descriptive distance,” which is thought to contribute greatly to the impression given to readers, and analyzed stylistic features that affect descriptive distance to clarify it. In the analysis, narrative texts were divided into newly defined units called “cuts,” and data on the descriptive distance and stylistic features were assigned to each of the divided texts. The results of basic statistical analysis and χ-square tests on the data suggest that the descriptive distance is affected by whether the narrator and the viewpoint are taken by the characters, the contents depicted in conversations and ground sentences, and the difference in the passage of time between the narrative contents and expressions, called “duration”.