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NARRATIVE

What is a narrative?

A narrative is a text that tells a story and, in doing so, entertains the audience. Thepurpose of a narrative, other than providing entertainment, can be to make the audiencethink 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 anarrator. 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 beingtold in the third person.

Examples of narrative texts include:

myths

fairytales

Aboriginal dreaming stories science fiction

historical fiction

romance novels

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Features of a narrative

Constructing a narrativeThe steps for constructing a narrative text are:

an orientation in which the narrator tells the audience about WHO is in the story,WHENthe story is taking place and WHEREthe action is happening

a complication that sets off a chain of events that influences what will happen in thestory

Asequence of events where the characters react to the complication

Aresolution 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 thestory (an optional step).

Grammatical features of a narrativeNarratives usually include the following grammatical features:

nounsthat 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

time words that connect events, telling when they occurred.

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The narrative scaffold

1. Orientation

In this paragraph the narrator tells the audience who is in the story, when it ishappening, where it is happening and whatis going on.

2. Complication

This is the part of the story where the narrator tells about something that will begin achain 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 includestheir feelings and what they do. The events can be told in chronological order (theorder in which they happen) or with flashbacks. The audience is given the narratorspoint of view.

4. Resolution

In this part of the narrative the complication is sorted out or the problem is solved

5. Coda

The narrator includes a coda if there is a moral or message to be learned from thestory.

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NARRATIVEMODEL OF A NARRATIVE

The Drovers Wife(adapted from a short story by Henry Lawson)

The two-roomed house is built of round timber, slabs and stringy-bark andfloored with split slabs. Bush all round-bush with no horizon, for the country isflat. The drover, an ex-squatter, is away with sheep. His wife and children areleft here alone.

Four ragged, dried-up looking children are playing about the house.Suddenly one of them yells Snake! Mother, heres a snake!

It is near sunset, and she knows the snake is there. She makes up bedsfor 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 herside. Alligator, the dog, lies nearby.

It must be one or two oclock in the morning. The bush woman watchesand listens, thinking about her life alone whilst her husband is gone.

It must be near daylight now. The hairs on Alligators 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 womanstrikes at the snake. The dog shakes and shakes the black snake. The snakesback is broken. Thud, thud is head is crushed.

She lifts the mangled reptile and throws it on the fire. The eldest boywatches it burn and looks at his mother, seeing tears in her eyes.

He throws his arms around her and exclaims, Mother, I wont never godroving; blarst me if I do!

Structures

ORIENTATIONTELLING WHOAND WHERE

SPECIFIC

CHARACTERS

Grammatical

features

ADJECTIVES

PROVIDING

DESCRIPTION

USE OF TIME

WORDS TO

CONNECT

EVENTS

COMPLICATIONTHAT TRIGGERS

A SERIES OFEVENTS

SEQUENCE OFEVENTS WHERE

THECHARACTERSREACT TO THECOMPLICATION

RESOLUTIONIN WHICH THE

PROBLEM FROMTHE

COMPLICATIONIS SOLVED

CODA THATGIVES THE

MORAL TO THESTORY

VERBS SHOWING

ACTIONS

ADJECTIVES

SHOWING

DESCRIPTIONS