Throughout our existence, humans have been able to have the privilege to relate information to one another. From the wall paintings of the ancient pyramids to yesterday’s newspaper’s headlines, the way we convey information and experiences to each other has linked our existence to our surroundings thus creating a sense meaning, relevance, and importance to the world we live in. Each piece of information that is relayed to one another is processed to form a coherent idea creating a narrative. It could be as simple as Abbot’s example of a child crying, “I fell down,”[1] to something as complex as the passing of the once oral tale of Homer’s The Odyssey. Abbot states, “Given the presence of narrative in almost all human discourse, there is little wonder that there are theorists who place it next to language itself as the distinctive human trait.”[2] In other words, humans abilities to create a narrative is what distinct us as conscious, decision making, and perceptual beings. Herman agrees that narrative is about the human experience while also embodying other traits, that narrative involves other qualities of human life including problem solving, conflict, interpersonal relations, and the temporality of existence.[3]
[1] Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. 2cnd Ed. Cambridge University press. pg. 1.
[2] Abbott, H. Porter. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. 2cnd Ed. Cambridge University press. pg. 1.
[3] Herman, David. The Cambridge Companion to Narrative. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2007. p.24.
I really enjoyed your analysis of narratology. It did a good job of simplifying all the dense theories from the readings. I especially liked that you gave each function inherent within the definition of narratology. It really helped me compartmentalize the many facets that create a holistic approach to the concept. One critique however that I have with your post is that it could use a once over reading. Your points were so strong that the lack of editing weighed it down a little. Overall though, the post was very insightful and a joy to read.
ReplyDelete