A narrative is defined most simply by Martin Kreiswirth in Merely Telling Stories? Narrative and Knowledge in the Human Sciences in which he says a narrative is “Something happened; or, better, someone telling someone else that something happened” [1]. While this Kreiswirth’s stance functions as a vague definition, the word narrative is most properly defined in greater depth. In order to come up with a proper definition I will examine a couple of other scholarly definitions of narrative.
In The Cambridge Companion to Narrative David Herman provides an in-depth definition of narrative. Herman defines narrative as “a structured time-course of particularized events” introducing “a CONFLICT into a STORYWORLD” that conveys the experience of the conflict in discussion [2]. The one segment that I have a problem with here is that Herman implies that a conflict is necessary for there to be a narrative. I find that a story doesn’t require a disruption to the norm. This is mostly seen in status updates on Facebook or Twitter, in which people share their everyday life through short updates. The flaw with this definition is that it makes a narrative seem to require extreme or bizarre circumstances when it can merely be a casual daily event that is being shared.
The definition of narrative that is amongst the most accurate has to be Gerald Prince’s approach in Dictionary of Narratology. In this work Prince defines narratology as “The representation of one or more real EVENTS communicated by one, two, several (more or less overt) NARRATORS to one, two, or several (more or less overt) NARRATEES” [3]. This approach to defining narrative encompasses what is being shared and the actual “act” of narrative. Instead of alluding to a medium that conveys the story, Prince’s approach is more direct and simplifies the process of actually sharing a narrative between the source and the receiver. It also shows that a narrative doesn’t require disruption, but can be a simple description of any event regardless of how “disruptive” it may be to the norm. In summation Prince’s simplified approach best describes what a narrative conveys and how a narrative is conveyed.
[1] Kreiswirth, Martin: Merely Telling Stories? Narrative and Knowledge in the Human Sciences. Poetics Today 21:2 (Summer 2000), p. 294.
[2] Herman, David (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 279.
[3] Prince, Gerald: Dictionary of Narratology. Revised edition. Lincoln, London: University of Nebraska Press 2003, p. 58.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Conceptualizing Narratology
Martin Kreiswirth defines narratology as “Something happened; or, better, someone telling someone else that something happened.”[1] In the simplest terms, Kreiswirth's definition does a fine job at explaining narratology. However, it does little to better one's understanding into the complexities of the concept. A narrative is more than a sender reporting events to a willing receiver. The term narrative refers to a useful weapon for dissemination of information from the perspective of the author. It is a chance for individual thought to be voiced and heard.[2] Therefore, a narrative is not just an interesting story but rather a display of an author's emotional state with an underlying meaning to promote certain action.[3] Being an active participant is a crucial role in conceptualizing narratology. Not only is the narrator creating an active audience but s/he is an active agent by formulating his/her thoughts through a public medium.[4] Thus, it is important to note that a narrative is a story but not all stories are narratives if these standards cannot be met.
[1] Kreiswirth, Martin: Merely Telling Stories? Narrative and Knowledge in the Human Sciences. Poestics Today 21:2 (Summer 2000), p. 294.
[2]Marie-Laure: Toward a Definition of Narrative, in: Herman, David (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2007, p. 29.
[3] Marie-Laure: Toward a Definition of Narrative, in: Herman, David (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2007, p. 29.
[4]Abbott, H. Porter: The Cambridge Companion to Narrative (Cambridge Introductions to Literature). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002, p.16.
- Narrative -
Narrative
A narrative is a story, comprised of common character(s), setting(s), and event(s) that is filtered and processed through any number of minds. All have narrative elements acting on them at all times, as “even fixed, silent instruments like paintings can convey the events,” [1] shaping the raw external reality into each personal meaning. Narratives exist in nature as all living things do, perpetually growing and changing around their environments. Abbot claims that events, in order to achieve the classification of ‘narrative’, must “belong to the same chronology from beginning to end and share the involvement of at least one character” [2]. I believe this distinction is generally accurate, because of all the events that take place in the world there are only a certain few that are significant to us as human beings. A series of events directly involving a human character is intrinsically related to on some level by any other human, but since stories about humans are no longer rare, we now commonly require that these humans share our more specific characteristics such as sex, age, and ethnic makeup. While Abbot’s description is certainly relevant to human beings, I find it incomplete overall. The act of kicking a piece of dirt, for example, would not be considered narrative by most people because it is irrelevant to them -- However the colony of ants that was forced to relocate everyone and everything they’d ever known will certainly be telling the story for generations.
Narrative is the most ubiquitous concept innate to mankind. It “is present in all times, in all societies…there is not, there has never been anywhere; any people without [it].” [3]
[1]- Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print. pg 15.
[2]- Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print. pg 14.
[3] Barthes, Roland. “An introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative”. Volume 6, No.2 (1975), pg. 237. Print.
What is a narrative?
When answering the question what is a narrative, it’s best to start with the simplest explanation. Kreiswirth sums it up nicely saying that a narrative is “someone telling someone else something happened.” [1] Something happens and someone knows about it. That someone is the narrator and they compile a message that is to be sent out to narratees. As Fischer states in her keynote Defining Narrative this narrative text “is in a virtual, hybrid verbal and/or visual, sound as well in a mimic/facial and gestural/bodily text. [2] When it comes to narratives in the cyber world anything can be used from pictures, video, sound, text and written word. There are so many different ways that a narrator can convey a story that the audience is widened from just one narratee to the potential of millions of different narratees.
[1] Kreiswirth, Martin: Merely Telling Stories? Narrative and Knowledge in the Human Sciences. Poestics Today 21:2 (Summer 2000), p. 294.
[2] Fischer, Annemarie. “Defining Narrative.” Global Media Narratives. Binghamton University. Binghamton, NY. 2/24/2011. Keynote.
The Narrative
A narrative is the transmission of a story from a source of information to another party. The source, or narrator, tells a representation of an event to another person or to a group of people, the naratees. The narrator can be a reporter, a writer, a painter, or an average human being who has a story to tell. In modern times, the naratee accesses a narrative through the Cyber; through the various means of verbal or visual communication, as a story written on the web or newspaper, or through human gesture or expression. A narrative can be real or fictional, so every literary work is a form of narrative. In his work, The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative, Porter H. Abbott stated that, “…even fixed, silent instruments like paintings can convey the events of a narrative.” [1] A narrative can be anything that tells a story. A person’s reaction to a touchdown, the lyrics to a rap song, or even a painting of a house can be considered as a narrative. The use of the various means of the Cyber has changed the way in which many narratives are told. It is quick and convenient to log onto a news website such as CNN.com and watch videos or read articles. It is evident that the rise of technology has changed the face of narratives, but the definition of a narrative remains the same.
Abbot, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print, p. 15.
Narratives: Human voices amidst a sea of automated online content farms, and emerging artificial intelligences
When attempting to understand what constitutes a narrative, one can easily reference a structuralist approach by Barthes[1], or a more textbook oriented discourse by Abbott[2], of what constitutes a narrative. While this foundation may be an effective starting point, further refinement is needed during this era of digital information, when computational technology speeds double almost every two years. It now will become more important than ever to define a narrative by who can create, and what cannot ever, create a narrative.
The main support for this idea can be found in the list created by Marie-Laure Ryan, which begins by her usage of the idea of chronotopos,[3]to begin a list of stipulations necessary in order to create a narrative. The topos in her argument is that a “Narrative must be about a world populated by individuated existents.”[4], which is then coupled with the chronos dimension, wherein she adds “This world must be situated in time and undergo significant transformations…The transformations must be caused by non-habitual physical events.”[5] After using chronotopos to tie the narrative into space and time, a further “mental dimension” is added in which “Some of the participants in the events must be intelligent agents who have a mental life and react emotionally to the states of the world...Some of the events must be purposeful actions by these agents.”[6]These set forth the conditions necessary which differentiate that, that it is only humans who can truly ever create a narrative.
In the current state of the cyber realm a new presence has only begun to emerge; the presence of aggregated content farms, and digital creations, created solely by computers. These content farms can already digest large volumes of information on their own, and with the aid of some artificial intelligence programming and nary a human input, they can convert that information into seemingly human like answers and responses which could fool many people into thinking it was written by a human. These same computers are learning to master the recreation of language and writing. Couple this with the recent advances of a supercomputer on Jeopardy!, named Watson, who vied with human contestants in a battle of human versus artificial intelligence. Watson’s superior computational speeds and continuously refined search algorithms, easily allowed it to best his human counterparts.
Watson demonstrated the ability of a computer to understand the difficult nuances of subtle human questions. Combine this ability with the easy consumption of huge volumes of facts, and the recreation of written language and it may be entirely possible for a computer like Watson, to someday crowd out the true narratives and voices of humans in the online world. And one day the content they create may compete with our own voices as humans. But those voices, if they do emerge, will always be deficient in their ability to tell narratives. They not only lack the chronotopos of the human endeavor, but the very essential human understanding, experience, and perspective. Which is what makes our narratives so unique, so rich and so unequivocally human.
[1] Barthes, Roland. “An introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative”. Volume 6, No.2 (1975)
[2] Abbott, H. Porter: The Cambridge Companion to Narrative (Cambridge Introductions to Literature). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002
[3] Bakhtin, M. Mikhail: Chrono topos . Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 2008
[4] Ryan, Marie-Laure: Toward a Definition of Narrative, in: Herman, David (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2007, p. 29.
[5], Marie-Laure: Toward a Definition of Narrative, in: Herman, David (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2007, p. 29
[6] , Marie-Laure: Toward a Definition of Narrative, in: Herman, David (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2007, p. 29
We would simply be globalmedia, if it were not for "narratives."
A narrative is a story that is told to inform and describe an occurrence of events that have taken place. In order for people to want to take an interest in a narrative, it must describe something that is foreign to them. Marie-Laure Ryan describes what a narrative must entail when she says, “non habitual physical events…It must communicate something meaningful.” [1] People do not want to hear about something that they already know or something that they have heard a similar story about. In order for someone’s interest to be piqued, they must be introduced to an idea that they have never heard before and it must have an impact on them. Without meaning, what is a narrative?
Abbot voices an opinion on narratives by stating that, “it is hard to believe that the appetite for narrative is something we learn rather than something that is built into our genes.” [2] Although it seems second nature for us to find interest in narratives, it is because we have been taught ourselves how to interpret them. The reason why it is necessary to be taught the thirst for a narrative is because sometimes it is not easy to get a full grasp of. Narratives aren’t always delivered in text form. A picture can tell a story of events that occurred and brought about change in some aspect of life. It is not easy to just see something and automatically understand its importance, which is why we must believe that an appetite for narratives is to be taught.
Whether or not narratives provide interest to you, they are necessary and will always be an important aspect of life. Gaining knowledge from other’s first hand experiences is something that cannot be taken for granted. Events that take place that can’t be seen first hand need to be understood by experiencing them through someone else. Barthes states, “Moreover, in this infinite variety of forms, it [narrative] is present in all times, in all societies; indeed narrative starts with the very history of mankind; there is not, there has never been anywhere; any people without narrative.” [3] Not only does this notion of narratives apply to the past but it will be enforced in the future. There is no way around utilizing narratives and there is no reason to ever try to. Narratives provide us with information and experiences that we can not adequately provide for ourselves.
[1] Ryan, Marie-Laure: Avatar of Story (Electronic Mediations, Volume 17). London, Minneapolis: University of Minnestoa Press 2006, p. 98. Print.
[2] Abbott, H. (n.d.). The Cambridge introduction to narrative (Second ed., p. 3). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press
[3] Barthes, Roland. “An introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative”. Volume 6, No.2 (1975), pg. 237. Print.
Abbot voices an opinion on narratives by stating that, “it is hard to believe that the appetite for narrative is something we learn rather than something that is built into our genes.” [2] Although it seems second nature for us to find interest in narratives, it is because we have been taught ourselves how to interpret them. The reason why it is necessary to be taught the thirst for a narrative is because sometimes it is not easy to get a full grasp of. Narratives aren’t always delivered in text form. A picture can tell a story of events that occurred and brought about change in some aspect of life. It is not easy to just see something and automatically understand its importance, which is why we must believe that an appetite for narratives is to be taught.
Whether or not narratives provide interest to you, they are necessary and will always be an important aspect of life. Gaining knowledge from other’s first hand experiences is something that cannot be taken for granted. Events that take place that can’t be seen first hand need to be understood by experiencing them through someone else. Barthes states, “Moreover, in this infinite variety of forms, it [narrative] is present in all times, in all societies; indeed narrative starts with the very history of mankind; there is not, there has never been anywhere; any people without narrative.” [3] Not only does this notion of narratives apply to the past but it will be enforced in the future. There is no way around utilizing narratives and there is no reason to ever try to. Narratives provide us with information and experiences that we can not adequately provide for ourselves.
[1] Ryan, Marie-Laure: Avatar of Story (Electronic Mediations, Volume 17). London, Minneapolis: University of Minnestoa Press 2006, p. 98. Print.
[2] Abbott, H. (n.d.). The Cambridge introduction to narrative (Second ed., p. 3). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press
[3] Barthes, Roland. “An introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative”. Volume 6, No.2 (1975), pg. 237. Print.
What should be considered a narrative? an age old question
Defining the term narrative is no easy task; many scholars and philosophers have debated what constitutes a narrative. Some people believe the definition of a narrative should be very broad, and encompass many different forms of communication and information transfers. Other people believe in a more traditional definition of narratives; they must be stories which meet certain criteria. Which definitions are better is open to debate, but considering narratives have existed at least since civilizations took form, it is clearly an important tool of human interaction.
Matrin Kreiswirth offers a very general definition for the term narrative. According to Krieswirth, a narrative occurs whenever “Something happened; or better, someone telling something else that something happened. (294)” By this definition, basically all human interaction can be considered a narrative. Marie-Laurie Ryan has much more rigid guidelines for what is considered a narrative. According to her, a narrative must have spatial, temporal, mental, formal and pragmatic dimensions. Based on Ryan’s definition, a narrative must include a world that is undergoing a transformation, characters that care and respond to the transformation, and it must ultimately lead to closure and convey a meaningful message to the audience. Both of these definitions were coined by renowned scholars, but they are both very different. The question still remains, what should be considered a narrative?
There are aspects of each definition which, when combined, come out to a more complete definition of a narrative. Kreiswirth’s definitions main strength is its non-exclusivity. By having such a simple definition, many instances where information is transferred and a message is communicated that may not fit the traditional storytelling definition of a narrative are included. However its strength is also its weakness, because it is likely to include many interactions where no meaningful information is transferred. In this respect, Ryan’s definition has merit because it ensures that something is happening in the narrative, that actions and emotions will be present. According to Ryan, a narrative is not just words on paper or mindless communication—it requires a thoughtful human author, it cannot be developed by a computer programmed to write. A complete definition of a narrative would be any time a transformation happens and a character responds to this transformation with some sort of action. This definition includes forms of narratives other than just stories while also ensuring that they have some sort of meaning to the audience that is receiving them.
Kreiswirth, Martin: Merely Telling Sotries? Narrative and Knowledge in the Human Sciences. Poetics Today. 21:2 (Summer 2000), p. 294.
`Ryan, Marie-Laure: Toward a Definition of Narrative, in: Herman David (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2007, p. 29.
Narrative as Self, Self as Narrative
A narrative is a human attempt to tell a story, either one based on a true occurrence, or an imagined one. This telling process requires two parties, which are best described by Prince as the “NARRATORS” (those who tell the story), and the “NARRATEES” (those to whom the story is told). [1] A narrative may be presented in any medium in which communication is possible, such as print, spoken words, images, etc.
Humans are the only species on Earth to tell stories, making narratives a “distinct human trait”. [2] But why is this so? Why are narratives so important? Why do people pay to see movies, or spend their free time watching the news?
It is because, as Abbott states, “narrative is the principal way in which our species organizes its understanding of time.”[3] But this statement does not go far enough- narrative is the way in which humans derive meaning. When someone hears a story, or recalls a story from his/her own past, he/she begins to contemplate the significance of that narrative, and the resulting contemplation contributes to that person’s personality. In other words, one’s interpretation of a narrative builds and reflects the character of him/herself.
And not only do narratives make people who they are- people create narratives everyday, not only through the narratives they imagine, but the narratives created by an individual’s actions. With this perspective, the connection and cyclical nature of narratives can be seen- the self makes the narrative, and the narrative makes the self.
[1] Prince, Gerald: Dictionary of Narratology. Revised Edition. Lincoln, London: University of Nebraska press 2003, p. 58.
[2] Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Second Edition. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2008, p1.
[3] Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Second Edition. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2008, p.3.
Humans are the only species on Earth to tell stories, making narratives a “distinct human trait”. [2] But why is this so? Why are narratives so important? Why do people pay to see movies, or spend their free time watching the news?
It is because, as Abbott states, “narrative is the principal way in which our species organizes its understanding of time.”[3] But this statement does not go far enough- narrative is the way in which humans derive meaning. When someone hears a story, or recalls a story from his/her own past, he/she begins to contemplate the significance of that narrative, and the resulting contemplation contributes to that person’s personality. In other words, one’s interpretation of a narrative builds and reflects the character of him/herself.
And not only do narratives make people who they are- people create narratives everyday, not only through the narratives they imagine, but the narratives created by an individual’s actions. With this perspective, the connection and cyclical nature of narratives can be seen- the self makes the narrative, and the narrative makes the self.
[1] Prince, Gerald: Dictionary of Narratology. Revised Edition. Lincoln, London: University of Nebraska press 2003, p. 58.
[2] Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Second Edition. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2008, p1.
[3] Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Second Edition. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2008, p.3.
Narrative and The Human Connection
A narrative is an explicit human emotional transmittance. It reminds me of the aura yet it is more than an indescribable feeling; it is a communicated story that occupies a certain time and space. A narrative should be able to be transmitted to someone else through language. Language includes film, photography, music, or any other way humans communicate ideas whether it is art or merely body language. To Herman, conflict is an essential part of narrative.[1] However, a narrative could be an expressed experience. Watching a cat clean her kittens, either in nature or in a film, is a narrative because the human thought process creates a narrative naturally. It might remind the viewer of the innocence of animals, or the joys of motherhood. The human mind creates a narrative from image even without a specific conflict.
Gerald Prince is mistaken when he attributes the rising usage of the word to laziness or a “hedging device, to avoid strong positions.” He laments that we do not use words such as explanation, theory, hypothesis, ideology, or message.[2] However, the word narrative has evolved to be very different than those words because of the connotation; it implies an emotional connection from the sender to the receiver. As Ryan says, “narrative is about human experience” and “interpersonal relations.” [3] “Narrative is universal” since it expresses emotions everyone has. [4] This is why each unit of a narrative, whether they be words or a stroke of paint, is chosen for a very specific reason.
In the Williams Carlos Williams poem “This Is Just to Say,” one can visualize the ice cold plums, the ice cold silence of being alone, and feel the ice cold uneasiness of taking something without permission, perhaps sexually. [5] This is similar to Barthes’ James Bond example. In the line “he picked up one of the four receivers,” four is not just there to express the number of phones. After all, according to Barthes, the word four never just means “four” in a linguistic context. A room with four phone receivers implies a business-like, urgent setting. It creates an emotional context and a the time and space is communicated to the audience.[6] “Art does not acknowledge the existence of noise… it is a pure system…” Barthes explains.[7] Whether artistic or not, narrative has no room for noise. It has a mission to clearly communicate emotion, time and space to foster a connection from human to human.
[1] Herman, David. The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.
[2] Ryan, Marie-Laure. "Toward a Definition of a Narrative." The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Ed. David Herman. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.
[3] Ryan, Marie-Laure. "Toward a Definition of a Narrative." The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Ed. David Herman. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. Print.
[4] Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative."New Literary History 6.2 (1975): 238-72. Print.
[5] Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print.
[6] Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative."New Literary History 6.2 (1975): 238-72. Print.
[7] Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative."New Literary History 6.2 (1975): 238-72. Print.
Narrative
Narrative is best defined by Roland Barthes: "Among the vehicles of narrative are articulated language, whether oral or written, pictures, still or moving, gestures, and an ordered mixture of all those substances."[1] To go even further, I would say that narrating is a form of art, a skill that takes takes practice and creativity. The whole idea of a narrative, or story, can change when different words are used by the narrator. The narrator paints a picture to the naratee(s) of an event of object. If the narration is weak, the naratee is not engulfed in the story as one would be with a more convincing, or better narrative.
Furthermore, there are two types of narrative: those that involve words and those that do not. Each form of narration has a discourse, or a way in which the narrative is exposed to the naratee. "The sentence, writes Martinent, is the smallest segment that is perfectly and systematically representative of discourse."[2] For non-word narrations - a discourse is the material used: for example an painting's discourse is the canvas and the oils used. In addition, for there to be a narrative there must be a narrator: someone telling the story, and a naratee: someone who is there to hear/see/be the story and to interpret it- "a narrative cannot take place without a narrator and a listener."[3]
I will go in so far as to say that narrative is very subjective to every listener. When someone hears a song or sees a photo, they experience a mix of intense (if the art is good) emotions that define the meaning of that narrative. These emotions vary from person to person - each listener gets a different, "unique", copy of the the narrative and is left to draw his/her own conclusions about it. What is important is that a narrative is only as good as its naratee.
[1] Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative."New Literary History 6.2 (1975): 237. Print.
[2] Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative."New Literary History 6.2 (1975): 239. Print.
[3] Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative."New Literary History 6.2 (1975): 260. Print.
Furthermore, there are two types of narrative: those that involve words and those that do not. Each form of narration has a discourse, or a way in which the narrative is exposed to the naratee. "The sentence, writes Martinent, is the smallest segment that is perfectly and systematically representative of discourse."[2] For non-word narrations - a discourse is the material used: for example an painting's discourse is the canvas and the oils used. In addition, for there to be a narrative there must be a narrator: someone telling the story, and a naratee: someone who is there to hear/see/be the story and to interpret it- "a narrative cannot take place without a narrator and a listener."[3]
I will go in so far as to say that narrative is very subjective to every listener. When someone hears a song or sees a photo, they experience a mix of intense (if the art is good) emotions that define the meaning of that narrative. These emotions vary from person to person - each listener gets a different, "unique", copy of the the narrative and is left to draw his/her own conclusions about it. What is important is that a narrative is only as good as its naratee.
[1] Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative."New Literary History 6.2 (1975): 237. Print.
[2] Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative."New Literary History 6.2 (1975): 239. Print.
[3] Barthes, Roland, and Lionel Duisit. "An Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narrative."New Literary History 6.2 (1975): 260. Print.
Telling a Story Through Narrative
Something exciting has just happened to you, what do you immediately want to do? Share the story with someone, right? The skill of story telling as well as striving for story hearing is a human condition.1 The story is what has just happened, an event that is pre-existing. The sharing of, or re-representing the story, which occurs afterward is the narrative. Narratives convey a story. 2 The narrative is a representation…of one or more real or fictive events communicated by one, two or several…narrators…to one or several narratees. It is something that moves through time, not only externally (the duration of the medium), but also internally (the duration of the sequence of events that constitute the plot)3 As aforementioned, a narrative is a re-representation of a story, thus, it is possible that a narratee hears multiple narratives that originate from one story. The qualitative differences amongst the narratives rely on the reliability, and sensibility of the narrator. There are narrators who are a part of the story, while some are simply bystanders. The latter tend to be more reliable, and deploy objective, third-person narrations.4
Within the cyber-realm one narrator has the capability to communicate with a numerous amount of narratees; who are able to quickly endow the original narrative, which creates layers of narratives that remain visibly connected to the original(s).5
1 Fischer, Annemarie. "Defining Narrative." Binghamton University, Vestal, NY. 24 Feb. 2011. Lecture.
2 Abbott, Porter H. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative: Narrative and Life. University of California, Santa Barbara: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print. 2nd edition.
3 Ryan, Marie-Laure. The Cambridge Companion to Narrative: Toward a Definition of Narrative. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.
4 Ryan, Marie-Laure. The Cambridge Companion to Narrative: Toward a Definition of Narrative. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print.
5 Fischer, Annemarie. "Defining Narrative." Binghamton University, Vestal, NY. 24 Feb. 2011. Lecture.
Narrative Definition
Narrative is a term that is used to refer to the structuring and telling of a story in one form or another. It refers to the device used by humans to transfer information from themselves to others. Abbott states that narrative is also used to explain the human understanding of time.[1] In this way, narrative creates a story developed around the passage of time, even in the case of still images. I suggest that because of this unique and powerful attribute, narrative is not only the telling of a story, but also the device by which humans morph the static into the fluid. Just as Abbott points out the creation of narrative that occurs naturally when individuals view still paintings, a similar process occurs when a person walks into a new area and assesses his surroundings. A narrative is immediately constructed to explain how the items surrounding him got in their current positions. Through narrative, people are able to view any static image and develop a chronological past leading to its current form.
[1] Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Second Ed. Cambridge University press. Print.
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