Narrative

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Narrative

• Narrative, Narrative Analysis, and Narrative
  Writing

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Narrative

• Narrative a collection of events that tells a
  story, which may be true or not, placed in a
  particular order and recounted through either
  telling or writing.

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Plot and Subplot

• Plot A plot in a story is quite simply the
  things that happen in it. The plot is the main
  story line the sequence of events of which the
  story is composed. The plot is the main
  storyline, what happens to your characters.
• Subplot Sub-plots are secondary storylines that
  are separate from the main plot but happen within
  the same story. They often interact with the
  main plot and can support the main story.

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Basic Plot Diagram
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Exposition

• The beginning of any narrative story is called
  the Exposition. You will usually learn three
  things in the exposition
• Characters (esp. main)
• Setting
• The conflict.
• Information is often conveyed about events that
  have occurred prior to the beginning of a novel.
  Etc.

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Rising Action

• After the relative calm of the exposition, there
  is a gradual raising of the tension in the story
  using danger, hazard, conflict and other devices.
  The protagonist is usually deeply involved in
  this, struggling with other people and their own
  ability to handle the tension.

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Conflict

• Conflict is a clash of actions, ideas, desires or
  wills.
• A. Human against human (wo/man vs. wo/man)
  External Struggle
• B. Human against environment (wo/man vs. society
  or wo/man vs. nature) Moral Struggle or Struggle
  against Fate External force, physical nature,
  society, or fate.
• C. Human against Herself/Himself (wo/man vs.
  self) Internal Struggle Conflict with some
  element in her/his own nature maybe physical,
  mental, emotional, or moral.

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Conflict

• There are two main kinds of conflict in stories
  external and internal.
• External Conflict A struggle between a character
  and an outside force is an external conflict.
  The outside force may be another character. It
  may be the character and the community. The
  outside force may also be forces of nature.
• Human against Human (Human against Society), etc.
• Human against Nature

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Conflict (Continued)

• Internal Conflict A conflict that takes place in
  a characters mind is called internal conflict.
  For example, a character may have to decide
  between right and wrong or between two solutions
  to a problem. Sometimes, a character must deal
  with his or her own mixed feelings or emotions.
• Human against Self

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Climax

• The Climax, also called turning point in short
  stories, is the most suspenseful part of the
  story where the main character (s) solves the
  problem or makes some major life changing
  decision or discovery. The actions of the main
  character or events that happen at the climax
  affect the resolution.

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Falling Action

• Things that happen after the climax but before
  the real ending/resolution of the story are
  called falling action.

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Resolution

• Resolution is how the story finally ends as a
  result of what the character (s) did or
  discovered during the climax.
• Resolution or denouement - the outcome of the
  story--the information that ties up all (or many)
  of the story's loose ends.

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Analepsis

• Analepsis
• ana A Greek prefix meaning, back.
• Analepsis is commonly referred to in film as
  flashback. Analepsis flashes back to an
  earlier point of the chronological sequence in a
  narrative/story.

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Prolepsis

• Prolepsis
• pro a Greek prefix meaning advancing or
  projecting forward.
• Prolepsis is commonly referred to in film as a
  flashforward. Prolepsis flashes forward to a
  later point in the chronological sequence of
  events.

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Foreshadowing

• FORESHADOWING
• An authors use of hints or clues to suggest
  events that will occur later in the story. Not
  all foreshadowing is obvious. Frequently, future
  events are merely hinted at through dialogue,
  description, or the attitudes and reactions of
  the characters.

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Point of View

• The narrator is the character or voice that tells
  a story.
• Point of view refers to the perspective from
  which a story is told, or the voice in which a
  story is told.
• Point of view also helps determine
• a storys tone
• how much a reader learns about characters
• a readers opinion of characters
• a readers involvement in the story

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Point of View
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First Person Narrative Limitations (pros and
cons)-

• A first person narrative can only tell the reader
  what the narrator knows. It limits the amount
  and type of information the writer can deliver.
• In first person we can only control what the
  narrator sees, hears, and smells.
• First person is all about character not only
  does the reader know (intellectually) what the
  narrator knows, he or she also feels
  (emotionally) and senses all that the narrator
  experiences, thus making the first person
  narration more personal and intimate.
• First person point of view also forces the writer
  to make a choice between whose story they want to
  tell major or minor, Frankenstein or the
  monster? The Boy or the Tree?

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Third Person Point of View (Intro.)-

• Third Person Point of View (especially
  omniscient) gives the writer a lot more insight
  into characters, thoughts, feelings, setting,
  motivations, backgrounds, etc. and etc.
• Third Person Point of View (especially
  omniscient) does not confine the writer to a
  single character and their experiences, feelings,
  sights, smells, sounds, thoughts, actions,
  motivations, etc. and etc.
• Third person allows the writer to distance
  themselves from their actual personal experience
  and the plot of the story, thus acting as a
  median point between actual experience and
  narration (think of this as taking a personal
  feeling or experience and writing it as an
  extended metaphor poem, rather than a literal
  poem or narrative).

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Points of View-

• Limited third-person narration usually focuses on
  the thoughts of a single character in the story.
  Omniscient third-person narrative, on the other
  hand, has total access to the thoughts of all
  characters in the story.

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Character/Characterization

• There are major characters and minor characters
  in most literary works
• Major figure prominently in the story, critical
• Minor not critical to the movement of the plot,
  not central to the story
• Protagonist
• A protagonist is considered to be the main
  character or lead figure in a novel, play, story,
  or poem. 
• The protagonist may also be referred to as the
  hero of a work.
• Antagonist
• Character in a story or poem who deceives,
  frustrates, or works against the main character,
  or protagonist in some way.
• The antagonist doesnt necessarily have to be a
  person. It could be death, the devil, an illness,
  or any challenge that prevents the main character
  from living happily ever after.
• In fact, the antagonist could be a character of
  virtue in a literary work where the protagonist
  represents evil.

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Character Types

• Round Character A round character is depicted
  with such psychological depth and detail that he
  or she seems like a "real" person. Dynamic
  Character If the round character changes or
  evolves over the course of a narrative or appears
  to have the capacity for such change, the
  character is also dynamic. The round character
  contrasts with the flat character.
• Flat Character A character who serves a specific
  or minor literary function in a text, and who may
  be a stock character or simplified stereotype.
• Typically, a short story has one round character
  and several flat ones. However, in longer novels
  and plays, there may be many round characters.

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Characters-

• Characters Literary characters are those
  creations that permit the writer to populate a
  fictional universe with people and creatures of
  his or her own making. The imaginative power of
  the writer is measured by his or her ability to
  shape with words an artistic world that the
  readers will view with credibility.
• If the world of a story is pure fantasy, the
  author must describe it so that readers believe
  imaginatively what they have not seen.
• Unless characters say something, do something,
  interact, or have something happen to them, they
  are no more than mannequins on display.

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Characters (Continued)-

• Literary characters must be considered in their
  own literary environments, and the reader must
  consider the nature of the story before he or she
  dismisses any character as unreal,
  unbelievable, or unlikely.
• (In almost any literary work, several characters
  receive the main focus. Accordingly, they are
  considered the leading characters or
  protagonists. But given a protagonist, the
  conflict of a story may depend upon the existence
  of an antagonist).

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Characters Narrator

• A Narrator is a special kind of character
  because, in fiction, he or she shapes the entire
  story by his or her point of view.
• The narrator may play a double role that is, he
  or she may actually be a character in a
  particular set of circumstances, and he or she
  may also be the one who at some future time
  chooses to tell the story in which he or she was
  involved.

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Narrator vs. Author

• The narrator of a work of fiction or the speaker
  of a poem is a creation of the author, just as
  the characters in the work are. It is easy to
  confuse the author and the narrator because, in
  fact, some narrators do speak in a voice that may
  closely echo that of the writer. The narrator is
  a construction---not the same person as the
  author.
• Remember The author is outside of the work the
  narrator is part of it.

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To Whom do I Refer?

• To decide whether you should refer to the author
  or to the narrator, ask yourself the following
  question.
• Are you quoting the words of the narrator (or the
  speaker, in the case of a poem)? If so, you need
  to attribute those words, and the feelings or
  ideas directly expressed in them, to the
  narrator. If you are discussing the artistic
  effect achieved by those words, or speculating on
  a meaning suggested by the word, then it is
  appropriate to refer to the author.

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Characterization

• Characterization Characterization is the way in
  which authors convey information about their
  characters.
• Characterization can be direct, as when an author
  tells readers what a character is like (e.g.
  "George was cunning and greedy.")
• Or indirect, as when an author shows what a
  character is like by portraying his or her
  actions, speech, or thoughts (eg. "On the crowded
  subway, George slipped his hand into the man's
  coat pocket and withdrew the wallet,
  undetected.").
• Descriptions of a character's appearance,
  behavior, interests, way of speaking, and other
  mannerisms are all part of characterization. For
  stories written in the first-person point of
  view, the narrator's voice, or way of telling the
  story, is essential to his or her
  characterization.

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Characterization (Continued)-

• Create characterization by choosing details that
  make real or fictional characters seem life-like
  and individual.
• To create characterization in fiction or
  non-fiction
• 1. Tell the reader directly what a character's
  personality is like (Direct).
• 2. Describe a character's appearance and manner
• 3. Portray a character's thoughts and motivations
  
• 4. Use dialogue to allow a character's words to
  reveal something important about his or her
  nature (This is the next section)
• 5. Use a character's actions to reveal his or her
  personality (Indirect).

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Characterization (Cont.)-

• 6. Show others' reactions to the character or
  person you are portraying (Example "No respect
  at all was shown him in the department. The
  porters, far from getting up from their seats
  when he came in, took no more notice of him than
  if a simple fly had flown across the reception
  room." --Nikolai Gogol, "The Overcoat)
• 7. Give fictional characters meaningful names or
  use real people's nicknames that relate to their
  personalities (Examples Severus Snape"Severus"
  means "strict" or "severe" in Latin. Severus
  Snape is a strict professor who treats Harry
  harshly.Sirius Black"Sirius" is the brightest
  star in the Canis Major or "Great Dog"
  constellation. Sirius Black is a wizard who
  transforms into a black dog.Peeves"To peeve"
  means "to annoy." Peeves is a ghost who pesters
  people at Hogwart's School.J. K. Rowling, Harry
  Potter series)

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Characterization (Continued Again)-

• Characterization Self Check
• Ask yourself these questions when trying to
  understand characterization
• What does the character look like?
• How does the character behave towards others? How
  do others behave toward the character?
• What does the character seem to care about?
• What adjectives does the author use to describe
  the character's personality?
• What does the character think or say?

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Move Narrative Voice Slides

• Add Narrative Voice Slides

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Mood and Tone (Introduction)

• Mood is the feeling a text arouses in the
  reader happiness, peacefulness, sadness, and so
  on.
• Tone is the overall feeling, or effect, created
  by a writers use of words. This feeling may be
  serious, humorous, or sarcastic.

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Narrative Voice-

• How to create and recognize narrative voice.
• By using different forms of narrative voice, you
  will be able to give your characters specific
  personalities and recognitions based on their
  speech, tone, mood, diction, dialect, gender,
  attitude, etc. and etc. (in other words, the
  possibilities for narrative voice are endless).

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Narrative Voice

• Dialogue The verbal exchanges between characters.
  Dialogue makes the characters seem real to the
  reader or audience by revealing firsthand their
  thoughts, responses, and emotional states.
• Diction A writers choice of words, phrases,
  sentence structures, and figurative language,
  which combine to help create meaning (5 basic
  types).
• Formal diction (High Diction) consists of a
  dignified, impersonal, and elevated use of
  language it follows the rules of syntax exactly
  and is often characterized by complex words and
  lofty tone.
• Informal diction (Colloquial Diction) represents
  the plain language of everyday use, and often
  includes idiomatic expressions, slang,
  contractions, and many simple, common words (See
  Dialect).

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Narrative Voice

• Poetic diction refers to the way poets sometimes
  employ an elevated diction that deviates
  significantly from the common speech and writing
  of their time, choosing words for their
  supposedly inherent poetic qualities.
• Archaic diction Words that are old-fashioned and
  no longer sound natural when used, (Exp. I
  believe thee not for I dont believe you.)

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Narrative Voice (Continued)

• Dialect A type of informational diction. Dialects
  are spoken by definable groups of people from a
  particular geographic region, economic group, or
  social class. Writers use dialect to contrast and
  express differences in educational, class,
  social, and regional backgrounds of their
  characters (socioeconomics).
• Well, I be durn if I like to see my work washed
  outen the ground. William Faulkner.

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Narrative Voice (Continued II)-

• Some ways to create narrative voice You can make
  different characters recognizable by creating
  differences in
• 1. Diction (Dialect, vocabulary, etc.)
• 2. Gender specific voice
• 3. Attitude (sarcastic, moody, angry, happy, etc)
• 4. Sentence length and type
• 5. Tone

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Setting

• Setting the time, place, physical details, and
  circumstances in which a situation occurs.
• Settings include the background, atmosphere or
  environment in which characters live and move,
  and usually include physical characteristics of
  the surroundings.
• A setting may be simple or elaborate, used to
  create atmosphere, lend credibility or realism,
  emphasize or accentuate, organize, or even
  distract the reader

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Setting (for both narrative stories, and poetry)-

• Setting is both the spatial (place/space), and
  the temporal (time). But, the physical
  properties creating a setting are not as
  important as the function of the scene in the
  mind of the writer and reader.
• A setting can be scenery against which the
  characters exist and move, or it can represent a
  symbolic force, acting upon the characters and
  reinforcing elements of the narrative. Think of
  this setting in The Necklace She suffered
  from the poorness of her house, from its mean
  walls, worn chairs, and ugly curtains (De
  Maupassant 1).

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Setting Continued-

• Questions to Consider
• 1. In a narrative, to what extent is the setting
  literally realistic or symbolical? If symbolical,
  in what way does the setting function?
• 2. In a narrative, in what way does the setting
  relate significantly to the action or conflict?
• 3. In what way does a characters response to
  setting reveal things about him or her?
• 4. In what way is the setting a reinforcement of
  the theme of the narrative?
• 5. How is the description narrated? Who is
  telling what he or she sees and what is
  happening? What difference does the point of view
  make in the nature of the description? Does the
  writer use comparisons? Allusions?
• 6. To what extent do elements of nature or the
  environment become active forces in the literary
  work, changing the action and determining the
  fate of characters?

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Setting-

• The setting is the environment in which a story
  or event takes place. Setting can include
  specific information about time and place (e.g.
  Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809) or can simply be
  descriptive (eg. a lonely farmhouse on a dark
  night). Often a novel or other long work has an
  overall setting (e.g. Tucson, at BASIS), within
  which episodes or scenes occur in different
  specific settings (eg. Mr. Jeffys Classroom).
  Geographical location, historical era, social
  conditions, weather, immediate surroundings, and
  time of day can all be aspects of setting.

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Setting (Continued)-

• Setting provides a backdrop for the action. Think
  about setting not just as factual information but
  as an essential part of a story's mood and
  emotional impact. Careful portrayal of setting
  can convey meaning through interaction with
  characters and plot.
• Changes in setting can be symbolic and crucial to
  the narrative development, characters, and to the
  events in the tale.

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Setting (Continued Again)-

• To create setting, provide information about time
  and place and use descriptive language to evoke
  vivid sights, sounds, smells, and other
  sensations. Pay close attention to the mood a
  setting conveys.
• 1. Refer specifically to place and time (BASIS
  2010)
• 2. Provide clues about the place and time by
  using details that correspond to certain
  historical eras or events (Use devices such as
  Allusion)
• 3. Describe the inside of a room where a scene
  takes place4.
• 4. Describe the weather and the natural
  surroundings
• 5. Weave details about setting into the
  descriptions of action

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Setting (Conclusion)-

• Self Check Ask yourself these questions to help
  you recognize and understand setting
• Where is it?
• When is it?
• What is the weather like?
• What are the social conditions?
• What is the landscape or environment like?
• What special details make the setting vivid?

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Theme

• Theme is a storys central idea.
• Theme differs from the subject of a story in that
  the theme is a message about life or human nature
  that a writer wants to convey.

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Cause and Effect Relationship

• In a cause-and-effect relationship, one event or
  actionthe causemakes something else happen.
• The event that happens is the effect. In some
  cases a number of causes contribute to a single
  effect, and in other cases a single cause has
  several effects.

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Cause and Effect Relationship
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Imagery Three (main) Types

• Imagery The elements in a literary work used to
  evoke mental images, not only of the visual
  sense, but of sensation and emotion as well.
• Visual Imagery Language used to evoke visual
  images.
• Example The hot July sun beat relentlessly down,
  casting an orange glare over the farm buildings,
  the fields, the pond. Even the usually cool green
  willows bordering the pond hung wilted and dry.
  Our sun-baked backs ached for relief. 

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Imagery

• Auditory (sound) Imagery Language used to evoke
  and represent sound.
• Onomatopoeia is a type of auditory imagery.
  Onomatopoeia is a word that uses the imitation of
  a sound, thus hinting at its origin. Examples
  meow (cat), beep (alarm), slam (door), croak
  (frog), etc.
• What a tale their terror tells
• Of Despair!
• How they clang, and clash, and roar!
• What a horror they outpour (Poe, The Bells)

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Imagery

• Tactile (touch) Imagery Language used to evoke
  or appeal to a sense of touch.
• Example The scratch of the sofa on the backs of
  her legs reminded Netty of the synthetic scrub of
  that shag carpet all those many years ago.

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Unreliable Narrator

• An unreliable narrator is a narrator that for
  some reason has a compromised point-of-view. In
  all stories, the narrator serves as a filter for
  the events. What the narrator does not know or
  observe cannot be explained to the reader (this
  is particularly so for first-person narrators).
  Usually, however, the reader trusts that the
  narrator is knowledgeable and truthful enough to
  give them an accurate representation of the
  story. In the case of an unreliable narrator, the
  reader has reason not to trust what the narrator
  is saying.

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Unreliable Narrator

• An unreliable narrator typically displays
  characteristics or tendencies that indicate a
  lack of credibility or understanding of the
  story. Whether due to age, mental disability,
  personal involvement, etc. an unreliable narrator
  provides the reader with either incomplete or
  inaccurate information as a result of these
  conditions. 

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Authorial Intrusion

• With "authorial intrusion," however, the author
  is very cognizant of the reader sitting there
  with book in hand, and the author breaks into
  (and away from) the text to address this reader
  directly.
• Exp. The "Dillingham" had been flung to the
  breeze during a former period of prosperity when
  its possessor was being paid 30 per week. Now,
  when the income was shrunk to 20, though, they
  were thinking seriously of contracting to a
  modest and unassuming D. But whenever Mr. James
  Dillingham Young came home and reached his flat
  above he was called "Jim" and greatly hugged by
  Mrs. James Dillingham Young, already introduced
  to you as Della. Which is all very good.