ABSTRACT This paper seeks to articulate the reasons behind the structure and style John Eppel employs in his novel Absent: The English Teacher. Approaches to John Eppel's creative works have been myopic and slight. Attention has not been paid to the technical achievements and the deliberate construction that Eppel uses in his novel Absent: The English Teacher. This paper eschews prior readings of this work in order to formulate a new one based on structure. By dealing with the unusual elements of the novel the paper explains the alternative ways of representation and storytelling found in the novel. The inclusion of certain structural elements in the novel by Eppel is found to be deliberate. It is concluded that the structure of the novel is appropriate to the story because of the occupation of the protagonist. Multi-genre inclusion in the prose of the novel is identified, assessed and the impact towards its contribution to the narrative objectives is highlighted. This paper argues that Eppel should rightly be considered a member of the Zimbabwean literary establishment based on his innovative creativity.

中文翻译：

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对约翰·埃佩尔的缺席进行文体重读：英语老师

摘要 本文试图阐明约翰·埃佩尔在其小说缺席：英语教师中采用的结构和风格背后的原因。对待约翰·埃佩尔 (John Eppel) 的创作作品的方法一直是短视和轻微的。埃佩尔在他的小说缺席：英语老师中使用的技术成就和刻意的结构没有受到关注。本文避开了对这项工作的先前阅读，以便根据结构来制定新的工作。通过处理小说中不寻常的元素，论文解释了小说中发现的替代表达和讲故事的方式。发现 Eppel 在小说中包含某些结构元素是故意的。结论是，由于主人公的职业，小说的结构与故事相适应。确定、评估小说散文中包含的多体裁，并强调其对叙事目标的贡献的影响。本文认为，基于他的创新创造力，Eppel 应该被正确地视为津巴布韦文学机构的一员。