Narrative mode

The events in many stories follow a specific pattern in order to make the storyline interesting and relatable. Joseph Campbell calls this occurrence the monomyth or in other words, The Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey is separated into three parts: The Departure, Initiation, and The Return. Each of these sections consist of smaller events that mostly all happen within stories that obey the rules of the monomyth. One of the multiple movies that exemplifies this is Mulan. In this movie, the main…

In writing a story, a certain level of theory and technicality must be applied to the narration. Narration is important as it controls the mood, direction and the "regulation of narrative information”, between the reader and the story (1980, p. 41). In the opinion of Gérard Genette, narration is essentially diegesis, in that it can achieve no more than an impression of mimesis by making the story appear real and alive to the reader. Narration can impersonate reality, it will always appear as…

In the story, “Good Country People,” there are many themes; however, the main theme is identity. Throughout the story, many identities are shown but by the end of the story the real identities of the characters are revealed. O’Connor enlightens the reader they may often be fooled directly by an individual who is pursuing a separate identity. For example, during the story, the Bible Salesman fools the community by betraying their trust in him, Mrs. Hopewell rudely misjudges others, and Joy…

Symbols From the Raven and Masque of the Red Death Why do authors put symbols into their stories? Well symbols can help people picture and relate to something in the story. In the stories The Raven and The Masque of the Red Death they each used three categories of symbols. They used loss of control, death, and lastly false sense of security. These three categories took the stories to the next level. It made the readers be able to picture and relate to the story in their own way. So what symbols…

up an underlying message from the author. Specifically, an author would strive to deftly utilize the essential structural elements of a story such as a well-developed plot, detailed characterization, and concrete settings in creating a compelling narrative. Or, an author may put emphasis on one particular literary element to convey the theme. In “Hills Like White Elephants”, a story that is centered around a couple’s conversation on the overarching issue of abortion, Ernest Hemingway…

In the Curious Incident, Christopher is shown to be different through his behavior problems, inability to socialize and his odd choices of likings. Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night-time was published in 2003, and was hugely criticized for its inaccurate interpretation on the Asperger’s syndrome, by the people suffering from it if not directly pointed at. However, this was one of Christopher Boone’s, the main character’s, most defining features as it made him…

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is a classic narrative into America’s roaring twenties. All of the characters and their accounts are reflected and represented through the eyes and viewpoint of the main narrator, Nick Carraway. Subsequently, this novel is told from the first-person point of view or subjective viewpoint. Nick Carraway narrating the story then presents an informational bias. In addition, his character motives and judgements tend to contradict themselves. Because of this,…

In Four Souls, we are introduced to many characters and different narrators. The story is told by Polly Elizabeth, Nanapush, and Margaret. Each of these narrators gives us a different perspective of what they see happening in their lives. They also give us a perspective on what is going on in Fleurs Life. Nanapush and Margaret tell the story in a Native American perspective. Polly tells the story in a European American perspective. These narrators are also in the story and they are all connected…

Beloved occurred when she was a young child. She tells them in such a way that forced the reader to face that. Rhodes says, “Memory is a disorienting, disjointed function which Morrison captures through the complex layering and interweaving of her narrative structure.” This is seen with Beloved’s narration. It is disorienting and seemingly changes time and location, even when it becomes clearer the second time around. Beloved tells her childhood memories first, describing them in the best,…

Odili’s imminent struggle within “A Man of the People,” written by Chinua Achebe, to narrate the various complexities of power and morality between the ruler and ruled can be seen throughout use presence of inaccurate, retrospective narrative; as well as irony, parody and allegories such as altruism versus self-interest as well as compliance versus coercion. The search for meaning in the New Nation, therefore, is perceived to be unfixed, and the definitions of morality and power are blurred by…