Narrative
perspective
First two
weeks are spent explaining the following material.
Definition of
narrative analysis
Narratives or stories occur when one or more
speakers engage in sharing and recounting an experience or event. Typically,
the telling of a story occupies multiple turns in the course of a conversation
and stories or narratives may share common structural features.
How do I analyze the narrative
perspective?
To analyze
narrative perspective you look for and identify the perspective from which the
story is being told and the omniscience or limitedness of information known and
conveyed. There are two possible perspectives from which to tell a story: from
without the story and from withing the story. There several degrees of
knowledge conveyed: only personal knowledge, knowledge of one or more
characters, knowledge of all the characters. Let's elaborate on these.
If a story is told from a perspective that is without (outside of) the story, the narratorial voice[AC1] is not a character in the story. The narratorial voice can be thought of as the voice of an oral story teller: someone who recounts a story that is devoid of their own personal involvement. If a story is told from within (inside of) the story, the narratorial voice is a character in the story. The narratorial voice can be thought of as belonging to a character who has a share of the action and conflict and resolution that comprises the story. This may be a central character and is often the main character or it may be a minor character who is a participant and observer--or maybe even just an observer.
When the story is told from a narratorial perspective without the story, the narrator may be fully omniscient and know the thoughts, feelings, motives, and emotions of every character and thus be able to reveal anything any character thinks or feels etc. On the other hand, this external type of narrator may be limited in perspective with knowledge of only one or a few of the characters thoughts, feelings etc. Other characters would be reported on based only on their words and actions and visible attitudes--things readily observable to the narrator.
When the story is told from a narratorial perspective from within the story, the narrator is limited to what they themselves feel or think or desire. In other words, the only thoughts, feelings, emotions, or motives they know are their own. They also know what they can observe of other character's actions, words, or visible attitudes. They also can know and report what other characters confide to the them of their own inner feelings, thoughts, or motives.
So to analyze the narratorial perspective, you look for the location within or without of the narrator and you identify the level of knowledge present. Then you can label the perspective as third person (without the story and using he, she, and it) with limited knowledge, which is called limited third person, or as third person with omniscient knowledge, which is called omniscient third person. Or you can label it as first person (within the story and using I, me, my, mine, we, us, etcas well as he and she etc) with limited knowledge, which is called first person.
If a story is told from a perspective that is without (outside of) the story, the narratorial voice[AC1] is not a character in the story. The narratorial voice can be thought of as the voice of an oral story teller: someone who recounts a story that is devoid of their own personal involvement. If a story is told from within (inside of) the story, the narratorial voice is a character in the story. The narratorial voice can be thought of as belonging to a character who has a share of the action and conflict and resolution that comprises the story. This may be a central character and is often the main character or it may be a minor character who is a participant and observer--or maybe even just an observer.
When the story is told from a narratorial perspective without the story, the narrator may be fully omniscient and know the thoughts, feelings, motives, and emotions of every character and thus be able to reveal anything any character thinks or feels etc. On the other hand, this external type of narrator may be limited in perspective with knowledge of only one or a few of the characters thoughts, feelings etc. Other characters would be reported on based only on their words and actions and visible attitudes--things readily observable to the narrator.
When the story is told from a narratorial perspective from within the story, the narrator is limited to what they themselves feel or think or desire. In other words, the only thoughts, feelings, emotions, or motives they know are their own. They also know what they can observe of other character's actions, words, or visible attitudes. They also can know and report what other characters confide to the them of their own inner feelings, thoughts, or motives.
So to analyze the narratorial perspective, you look for the location within or without of the narrator and you identify the level of knowledge present. Then you can label the perspective as third person (without the story and using he, she, and it) with limited knowledge, which is called limited third person, or as third person with omniscient knowledge, which is called omniscient third person. Or you can label it as first person (within the story and using I, me, my, mine, we, us, etcas well as he and she etc) with limited knowledge, which is called first person.
Third week
starts with the explanation of ‘narrative event analysis’ and then students are
shown passages. Passages are solved (explained). Students read some passages; and then they
are given passages to solve in a way they have learnt to solve. One passage as
well is pasted below
Students are taught analyzing the literary text. Following material
is explained and many solved passage are explained and then students are to
solve passages in a way they have learnt. Material and only one passages is
pasted below
When discussing a literary text, it is easy to get sidetracked
into describing what happens in the text rather than analyzing
the text. That is, you might give an accurate summary of the characters and
what happens in the text, instead of providing, for example, an explanation of
the theme and how the various elements in the story contribute to making the
theme more evident.
If you simply tell the reader of your essay what happens in the
text, you have not helped them to understand the text better because the reader
can easily have read the text him or herself. Analysis, on the
other hand, provides the reader with some insight into the events of the text:
- What are the ideas that lie at
the centre of the text?
- How are these ideas presented
in the text (e.g. through metaphor and symbolism, through dialogue,
through supernatural events, etc.)?
1. Read the following extract from a student' s essay on the
novel, Jane Eyre:
[1] "I must be
provided for by a wealthy marriage" (p. 343). [2] These were the
circumstances surrounding a young Edward Rochester's marriage to Bertha Mason.
Rochester's father had given all of his money to his older son Rowland, leaving
Edward penniless, so he had to marry wealth. [3] The Masons were acquaintances
of the family, so where better to find a match than with a wealthy family in
the West Indies who were willing to give Edward 30,000 pounds for marrying
their daughter Bertha. [4] Rochester knew nothing of the money "My father
told me nothing about her money; but he told me Miss Mason was the boast of Spanish
Town for her beauty; and this was no lie. I found her a fine woman. . . tall,
dark and majestic" (p. 343). [5] When they married, Rochester and Bertha
had barely spoken, they had simply appearances to go by and for Edward this was
all he needed. [6] The Rochester narrative in the novel paints him as a naive
young man doing what his father told him was best. [7] It could almost be said
that he was tricked into the marriage.
Which sentences provide a
description of the text and which make an evaluation or analysis of the
characters and events of the text? Select them from the list below[AC2] .
Description:
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Sentence
1
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Sentence
2
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Sentence
3
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Sentence
4
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Sentence
5
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Sentence
6
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Sentence
7
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Evaluation/Analysis:
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Sentence
1
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Sentence
2
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Sentence
3
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Sentence
4
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Sentence
5
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Sentence
6
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Sentence
7
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Further students learn ‘Writing a Literacy
Narrative’ and some other things.
[AC1]Why
naratorial? How does this differ to the narrating voice? Is the theoretical
underpinning Genette? It feels like it could be (Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method).
[AC2]I’ve
done something similar with my dissertation students to teach them about
writing their analysis.
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