NARRATIVE
What is a narrative?
A narrative is a text that tells a story and, in doing so, entertains the audience.
The purpose of a narrative, other than providing entertainment, can be to make
the audience think about an issue, teach them a lesson, or excite their
emotions.
Written narratives often take the form of novels. The story is usually told
by a narrator. If the narrator is one of the characters in the story, the story is
said to be told in the
first person
. If a person outside the story is the narrator,
then the story is being told in the
third person
.
Examples of narrative texts include:
myths
fairytales
Aboriginal dreaming stories
science fiction
NARRATIVE
Features of a narrative
Constructing a narrative
The steps for constructing a narrative text are:
an
orientation
in which the narrator tells the audience about
WHO
is in the
story,
WHEN
the story is taking place and
WHERE
the action is happening
a
complication
that sets off a chain of events that influences what will
happen in the story
A
sequence of events
where the characters react to the complication
A
resolution
in which the characters solve the problem created in the
complication
a
coda
that provides a comment or moral based on what has been learned
from the story (an optional step).
Grammatical features of a narrative
Narratives usually include the following grammatical features:
nouns
that identify the specific characters and places in the story
adjectives
that provide accurate descriptions of the characters and settings
verbs
that show the actions that occur in the story
NARRATIVE
The narrative scaffold
1. Orientation
In this paragraph the narrator tells the audience
who
is in the story,
when
it
is happening,
where
it is happening and
what
is going on.
2. Complication
This is the part of the story where the narrator tells about something that will
begin a chain of events. These events will affect one or more of the
characters. The complication is the trigger.
3. Sequence of events
This is where the narrator tells how the characters react to the complication.
It includes their feelings and what they do. The events can be told in
chronological order (the order in which they happen) or with flashbacks. The
audience is given the narrator’s point of view.
4. Resolution
In this part of the narrative the complication is sorted out or the problem is
solved
5. Coda
NARRATIVE
MODEL OF A NARRATIVE
The Drover’s Wife
(adapted from a short story by Henry Lawson)
The two-roomed house is built of round timber, slabs and stringy-bark and floored with split slabs. Bush all round-bush with no horizon, for the country is flat. The drover, an ex-squatter, is away with sheep. His wife and children are left here alone.
Four ragged, dried-up looking children are playing about the house. Suddenly one of them yells ‘Snake! Mother, here’s a snake!’
It is near sunset, and she knows the snake is there. She makes up beds for the children and sits down beside them to keep watch all night.
She has an eye on the corner and a green sapling club ready by her side. Alligator, the dog, lies nearby.
It must be one or two o’clock in the morning. The bush woman watches and listens, thinking about her life alone whilst her husband is gone.
It must be near daylight now. The hairs on Alligator’s neck begin to bristle. Between a crack in the slabs an evil pair of small, bead-like eyes glisten. The snake-a black one-comes slowly out.
Alligator springs. He has the snake now. Thud, thud as the woman strikes at the snake. The dog shakes and shakes the black snake. The snake’s back is broken. Thud, thud is head is crushed.
She lifts the mangled reptile and throws it on the fire. The eldest boy watches it burn and looks at his mother, seeing tears in her eyes.
He throws his arms around her and exclaims, ‘Mother, I won’t never go droving; blarst me if I do!’
