BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 7 ( Narrative Text ) Reading And Speaking Skills

BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 7- Narrative Text-  Reading And Speaking Skills IGNOU Subject

INTRODUCTION

• Narrative text narrates a story, which may be a fiction or a real event.

• A factual narrative write up is close to reality while fiction can take liberties and is based on the imagination of the writer.

• Creativity plays an important role in both fiction and non- fiction narratives. 

• According to Dr. Rahmad Husein and Dr. Anni Holila Pulungan, the social function of narrative genre is to tell a story.

• A narrative ends with a solution, either with a happy or sad ending. 

• Narratives, both in oral or written forms, have passed from one generation to other generations.

FEATURES OF NARRATIVE TEXTS

The features of narrative writings are given below

(a) Theme

• The theme implies the main idea that the text is about.

• The answer to the question - "What is this text/essay about?"- sums up the theme of a writing. 

• Themes discuss the very purpose for writing.

(b) Setting

• Setting of a narrative means the time and place where it has set in.

• The setting may be introduced in the starting of the text or slowly as the narrative develops.

• its help in engaging the readers into the story.

• Setting is an important narrative mode for the story.

• It enables a definition of the time and space of the text.

(c) Characters

• Narrative texts generally have people who comprise its contents.

• The characters could be inanimate also.

• The character remains at the center of the narrative.

• The reader needs to judge the qualities of the characters that have been there in the text.

(d) Point of view

• There are three types of points of view -The first person, second- and third- person narrative.

• In the first person, the story is narrated from the main character's point of view and thus uses the pronouns "I" and "we".

• In second person, the pronouns "you" and "your" (the author is speaking to the reader) are used.

• In third person, the story is narrated from an outside point of view and uses the pronouns 'he', 'it', 'she' and 'they'."

• For a narrative text, the first- person narrative is usually preferred.

STRUCTURE OF NARRATIVE TEXTS

• A narrative text has a beginning, a middle and an end.

• It introduces the reader to a character, the situations, the setting; divulges all the details through action and concludes with an outcome.

(i) Orientation

• It is the introduction of the narrative text where the character and setting are introduced.

• It reveals the Who and What of the story in the first paragraph.

• The purpose is to attract the reader's attention.

• It is the first sentence of the essay.

• Next, the background of the character and the situation is provided.

• So, the Orientation reveals the character, the situation, the history and the problem.

(ii) Complication

• It has the emergence of crisis that has to be resolved. 

• It unfolds the main story and the events.

• The situation paragraph describes what, how and why of the story

(iii) Resolution

• This is the conclusion part of the text and includes Falling Action and Resolution.

• It is also called anti-climax.

• It shows what happens after the main event and how the problem is resolved.

(iv) Coda

• Coda/Reorientation is the ending part of the narrative.

• It has the lesson learnt after the entire story and the resolution.

• It may be a happy ending or a bad/sad ending.

• It could also be a resolution that the writer reaches and how it changed the writer in this process.

NARRATIVE TEXT SAMPLE

• Sample We arrived much late at night.

• As we were approaching the house, we heard dogs barking in the darkness. 

• Cecil and Frank felt scared as the wind was blowing from the mountain forest. 

• The night air was extremely cold and damp in that late horrible winter.

• We were only few metres from the huge house when we heard shootings from behind. 

• Three stout officers in Nazi uniform appeared and one of them asked us to produce our ID cards.

• Cecil and I were frozen to scares. 

• Calmly Frank showed his ID card and the three tough men in their military uniform saluted at us. 

• They let us go. 

• Frank waved his hand and the three men disappeared in the darkness followed by the dogs barking.

• We were safe to pass through the most dangerous check point at the border. 

• I will never forget that horrible and threa- tening night.

READ MORE- BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 6 ( Descriptive Text )