Introduction

In depth exploration of the historical evolution and modern understanding of the concept of "dispersion", starting from its Greek etymology, explains that "dispersion" initially represented the process of material dispersion and division, and later was used to describe the scattered life of Jews. William Safland and Walker Connor provided a systematic definition of the characteristics of discrete groups, emphasizing the importance of home to discrete groups. James Clifford and Stuart Hall proposed a more open understanding, emphasizing the transnational connections of discrete groups and the mobility of identities. Tong Ming further pointed out that "dispersion" is not only a realistic migration state, but also a way of thinking where individuals can transcend national and ethnic boundaries on a spiritual level. W. G. Sebald's literary works, especially "Dizziness and Sensation," exhibit a strong sense of discreteness, and through fragmented narrative, showcase the sense of identity and loss of hometown. Sebald's creation is influenced by his personal experiences. He interweaves history, literature, and personal experiences to construct a unique travel narrative, exploring the multiple meanings of the concept of "hometown", revealing the tension between "hometown" and "dispersion", and how individuals construct their own identity in it.

Two Discrete Narrative Strategies

Explored the discrete narrative strategy employed by W.G. Sebald in "Vertigo Sensation". Sebald blurred the boundary between autobiography and fiction through self fiction, creating a narrator image that is both real and fictional, reflecting the identity crisis of the discrete subject. He utilized the boundary between documentary and fiction to open up a free writing space, making the narrator an independent narrative voice that showcases both individuality and social criticism. There is an implicit self mapping relationship between the narrator in 'Dizziness' and Sebald himself, and the title's' Schwindel' implies both 'dizziness' and' trickery ', guiding readers to think about individuals and history between fiction and reality. Sebald used the loss of his passport as a metaphor, implying the narrator's potential tendency to escape, while emphasizing the relationship between writing quality and loyalty to one's own origins. The collage of images and text is another prominent feature in Sebald's creation. He believes that photos have multiple functions, providing proof of authenticity but also weakening authenticity due to their blurriness, which has ironic implications. Sebald modified the photos to become a part of the text, interwoven with the narrative. In addition, reducing the use of paragraphs is also Sebald's writing strategy, as his overall creative concept is based on associative patterns, allowing for natural transitions in narration without the need for segmented emphasis on turning points. The different dynamics brought by visual images and text make Sebald hope that readers can "see" the text, transcend the passage of time, and enter into a lasting aesthetic experience. In 'Dizziness', the self fictional writing style and the collage of images and text work together to create a tension between authenticity and fiction, embedding travel experiences as discrete narratives into discrete discourse, presenting real history while suspending the authenticity of historical writing, prompting readers to pay attention to the historical memory and emotional atmosphere carried by the text.

Three travel narratives construct discrete experiences

Explored how W.G. Sebald constructed discrete experiences through travel narratives in "Vertigo". The opening introduces the historical event of Napoleon's army crossing the Alps through landscape paintings, focusing on the perspective of young soldier Henry Bell (Stendhal), showcasing the tension between historical truth and fiction. Sebald's narrator provides both eyewitness reports and intervenes in the event through commentary, maintaining distance. This narrative technique echoes Stoddar's reflection on the unreliability of memory. Bell returned to the battlefield after the Battle of Marengo, disappointed by the huge difference between historical memory and the current landscape. The heroism of war returns to silence, and the collapse of memorial pillars renders the weight of history meaningless. Sebald cleverly inserts images, impacting textual descriptions and blurring the temporal and spatial boundaries between memory, present, and history. Readers gain a dual perception of text and images, allowing them to more intuitively follow the narrator's perspective.

Four hometowns that cannot be returned

Explored the complex emotions and memories of the narrator "I" towards his hometown in W.G. Sebald's "Dizziness and Sensation". By analyzing the two works' Overseas' and 'Returning Home', this paper reveals the narrator's cross temporal and spatial portrayal of his hometown in both reality and memory. The narrator "I" wanders outside of my childhood hometown, ultimately standing outside the geographical threshold of my hometown, questioning the reliability of my memories and true place of belonging. Sebald detailed the process of the narrator walking into W village, and the terrain, light and shadow features reflected the narrator's suppressed and depressed state of mind. The material form of the hometown has changed, with the living room transformed into a hotel room, private space made public, and memories and reality severed, prompting the narrator to reflect on the relationship between individuals and space under historical changes. The narrator visits his childhood neighbor Lucas, whose oral family history reflects the constructiveness of memory. The disaster narrative of village history in the local curriculum of schools, as well as the narrator's personal fear and memory of haircuts, all reflect the deep-rooted historical burden and fear in the narrator's heart. Sebald connects the entire book through the image of a hunter, symbolizing the existence that is free between life and death and cannot be attributed, becoming the core metaphor of the unattainable homeland. The narrator experiences illness and rebirth, viewing early experiences as the starting point of cognition. In the end, the narrator chooses to leave W and return to England, realizing that only wandering and writing can fill the void. Sebald emphasized the significance of imagination in writing, even if language and narration cannot fully restore reality, they can reveal the absence of reality through fiction and provide a room for fantasy for the diaspora.