What is Narrative

"Narrative is the representation of events, consisting of story and narrative discourse, story is an event or sequence of events (the action); and narrative discourse is those events as represented" (Abbott 19). Narrative is a story consisting of events that are experienced by entities, characters passing through time. These events are somehow communicated to the audience through "narrator, actor, paint, or some other means" (Abbott 15).

Outside of the actual story, the other main aspect of narrative is it's discourse and the resulting interpretation. As narratives take their "storyworlds" into the "cyberworld" and the media outlets for narrative include oral, written and visual, the audience is widened. The meaning of a narrative is open to interpretation and will be perceived in many different ways. "We are always called upon to be active participants in narrative, because receiving the story depends on how we in turn construct it from the discourse" (Abbott 21). Ryan discusses the "common pool of mental operations: comparison, distinction, deduction, induction, sequencing.., and seeking explanation through causal relations" (Ryan 27). Every audience will use these same mental operations to interpret the narrative, but due to their individual experiences, culture, location and knowledge they will all reach a different conclusion.

I disagree with Herman's definition of narrative because of the element of conflict. I believe that a narrative can exist as a story told without any disruption. For example, reading someones narrative of the recalled events of their daily life would still be considered a narrative, but they may not have intended to narrate "what it's like to live through disruption," but rather only a sequence of events (Herman).

Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print.

Herman, David. The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. New York: Cambridge Unviersity Press, 2007. Print.