Revision paper

A narrative is present in almost every aspect of human entertainment, art and creativity. They have been used time and again to express certain phenomena thought to be real or just an imagination. Herman (2009) defines narratives as recounting using words, an event that took place or something that is imagined to have happened. He argues that a narrative is the way a story is told and that is the reason why it is usually expressed as a written and/or oral narrative. Furthermore, a narrative is the way a story is structured or framed when narrated. It is the reporting or recounting of imagined or real events that are linked together and delivered through a series of recorded or spoken words or films and movies (Archakis and Tsakona). While a story is a series of events, a narrative retells the same events in a story and at times may omit some parts of the story to retain just those parts that are relevant and significant to what the author aims to put across.

Narratives are usually written with the aim of telling or sharing a story; it also provides a good avenue to express oneself and gain an understanding of the self and attitude towards different situations. It is a means through which an individual can shape his/her social actions and a medium of self-expression. Narratives can be structured in the following key parts: orientation-who is the character, the setting of the story and what the story is about, compilation-the problem or conflict, and series of events, resolution and finally a moral lesson. Consequently, to achieve their purpose, narratives are mostly structured following some conventional elements. Such steps include a plot; how the story will be told. Themes; the aims or objective of the narrative, it is what the author wants to communicate through a narrative. The setting; it is the place where the different scenes of the narrative will occur, and how the scenes can be painted to create a strong and interesting mood and finally help to develop the context of the story. In Junot Diaz, “The Money” Diaz created the setting of the story in their house where his best friend steals all their money and other items. Money was very important to his mother that they were brought up to fear anything that concerns money at the point they could not take even a coin from their Mami’s savings. It can be a physical place or an imaginary place that only exists in the mind of the author. Characters, they are the people that help develop or involved in the story. Characters can be identified through their different behaviors and personality. Finally, the last element is conflict, this is the problem faced by the characters. Conflicts help build tension in the story and should drive and inspire the actions of the characters. Like in Alice Walker, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self”, the main character’s actions are deeply inspired and driven by her quest for beauty, “I do not pray for sight, I pray for beauty”, which she later realizes comes from within. The character had a problem of self-acceptance.

Narratives can be used as an effective and powerful medium to accomplish a purpose, show a concept or convey an idea. Narratives not only provide information about self, other people or the earth but as a process, it can also shape or guide our experiences and thus allow us to give the world a meaning and make some sense of the surrounding. Thus, narratives have the ability to share or push forward an idea or a purpose of anything the author wants to convey to the audience (Baldwin). A good example is from Walker, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is Self” Walker aims to convey the importance of self-acceptance and hint the idea that beauty comes from within (Palacios). Relatively, narratives are deeply connected to the values of social justice, such as discrimination and race, and social work thus it has the ability to shape the person we are and ways in which we relate with other people. In Dana Canedy’s “The Talk: After Ferguson, a Shaded Conversation About Race”, Canedy aims at enlightening Black-American mothers to “teach their black men about their race and what they stand for in life when they are still young” (Canedy). The narrative conveys the purpose to remedy and reduce or prevent acts of discrimination between the Black and the Whites.

Emphatically, it is important to know how to engage an audience using narratives. This will further the effectiveness of narratives in conveying ideas and a purpose. Hence, to effectively engage an audience during the narration, it is advisable to pay attention to key details. Being keen to details will help the narrator to convey accurate, relevant and precise information. Secondly, it is key, to be honest, and entertaining because a captivating and entertaining story will capture the attention of the audience. A story that lacks fun will be deemed by the audience as boring and as such the narrator will totally lose them on the way. Furthermore, during narration it is important to engage the audience by asking them questions or asking for their opinion on a subject, this will make them feel part of the story and have the urge to keep up with the story in order to have an answer in case of a question. Moreover, it is good to make the story emotional and look at the audience when speaking so as to capture the emotions of the audience and make them feel you confident of your work. It is also important to be audible and clear enough so that the audience can hear better and understand what is being said (Abbott).

Conclusively, narratives remain an integral part of human life as it touches in almost all sections of life, from entertainment, speeches, art, culture, to human creativity. Narratives can be fictional (imaginary) or non-fiction (real) depending on the creativity of the author. It is the simplest method of expressing oneself, thoughts and ideas. It does not have many or complex rules as other forms of texts. Generally, it includes such elements as characters, setting, plot, problem or conflict and themes that make it a strong method of expression. Essentially, narratives influence the way human beings relate and associate with each other, are a good form of conveying a purpose, can be used to sensitize people through campaigns and can be used to teach the culture and traditions of a society. Narratives can help people understand the importance of being human by reminding them of their history.

Works Cited

Abbott, H. P. The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Archakis, Argiris and Villy Tsakona. The Narrative Construction of Identities in Critical Education. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Baldwin, Olive. Narrative Social Work: Theory and Application. New York: The Policy Press: Publishing with a Purpose, 2013.

Canedy, Dana. The Talk: After Ferguson, a Shadow Conversation About Race. Ferguson, 2014.

Herman, David. Basic Elements of Narrative. United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell, A Johnny Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Publication, 2009.

Palacios, Melanie. "Transcript of Alice Walker: Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self." Prezi (2012):1.