AN ANALYSIS OF DISCOURSE MARKERS IN MEGAN HUNTER’S THE END WE START FROM
AN ANALYSIS OF DISCOURSE MARKERS IN MEGAN HUNTER’S THE END WE START FROM

Summary/Abstract: Megan Hunter’s novel The End We Start From depicts the flooding of London and other parts of the United Kingdom (the UK) of apocalyptic proportions. Set amidst the flooded UK of the near future, Megan Hunter’s novel presents a relatable story of the fate of ordinary people caught in the deluge. The novel’s protagonist, however, is purposefully shrouded by a veil of innuendos and undertones. Against this background, it seems pertinent to examine the novel’s metadiscursive means in order to shine light on its protagonist and the plot dynamics. With these considerations in mind, the present article seeks to explore how such metadiscursive means as discourse markers (DMs) are employed in the novel. To this end, an analysis of DMs is executed and further described in the article. The results of the analysis demonstrate that Hunter employs the contrastive DMs “but” and “or” rather generously in order to depict the protagonist’s confusion, bewilderment, and inconsistency associated with the apocalyptic deluge. At the same time, the findings also show that Hunter uses the elaborative DM “and” quite amply to portray the protagonist’s disjointed life amidst the flood. These findings are further discussed and illustrated in the article.

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