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.
I liked how broad your definition of a narrative was, thinking outside the box and touching a wide range of different possibilities. I thought "a person's reaction to a touchdown" was an interesting type of narrative, with the implication that many similar actions were all narratives as well.
ReplyDeleteI thought this definition of narrative was interesting because it not only drew upon aspects of verbal and written narratives, but visual narratives as well. It's also important to acknowledge the transition of narratives into the cyber realm, which you did. Lastly, it was smart to include that not only is the story a narrative, but the narratee's reaction as well.
ReplyDeleteJason I enjoyed reading your viewpoint and definition of a narrative. I like how you view a naratee as a reporter, a writer, a painter, or an average person. You really showed how anyone telling a story through words or images is a naratee. I find it interesting that you included an image as a narrative because you are right images tell stories as well.
ReplyDeleteI thought there variety you gave to the position of narrator is very accurate. You understand what a narrative is and the vehicles available to the narrator to help convey the story. The use of videos and images are almost essential to narratives when we use the internet as the medium
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