Week 15, Narrative text

Hello Class

Our topic for this week is the narrative text, narrative text is...

Purpose

The basic purpose of narrative is to entertain, to gain and hold a readers' interest. However narratives can also be written to teach or inform, to change attitudes / social opinions eg soap operas and television dramas that are used to raise topical issues. Narratives sequence people/characters in time and place but differ from recounts in that through the sequencing, the stories set up one or more problems, which must eventually find a way to be resolved.

Types of narrative

There are many types of narrative. They can be imaginary, factual or a combination of both. They may include fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction, romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, personal experience.

Features

• Characters with defined personalities/identities.
• Dialogue often included - tense may change to the present or the future.
• Descriptive language to create images in the reader's mind and enhance the story.

Structure

In a Traditional Narrative the focus of the text is on a series of actions:

Orientation: (introduction) in which the characters, setting and time of the story are established. Usually answers who? when? where? eg. Mr Wolf went out hunting in the forest one dark gloomy night.

Complication or problem: The complication usually involves the main character(s) (often mirroring the complications in real life).

Resolution: There needs to be a resolution of the complication. The complication may be resolved for better or worse/happily or unhappily. Sometimes there are a number of complications that have to be resolved. These add and sustain interest and suspense for the reader.

 To help students plan for writing of narratives, model, focusing on:

• Plot: What is going to happen?
• Setting: Where will the story take place? When will the story take place?
• Characterisation: Who are the main characters? What do they look like?
• Structure: How will the story begin? What will be the problem? How is the problem going to be resolved?
• Theme: What is the theme / message the writer is attempting to communicate?

Now you will find some short narrative stories. Read them carefully and respond the questions posted below. Good Luck !

The hound and the rabbit

One day, a hound dog went hunting by himself in the woods. He saw a rabbit in the bush and chased him out into an open. The rabbit ran. The dog followed. The rabbit ran around trees and through an open field.

When the dog began to be tired, the rabbit, with its last energy, jumped into the bush and disappeared.

As the dog turned back home, a goat herder who had seen the chase smiled at him saying, “Why did you let that rabbit go?”

“You forget,” replied the tired dog, “I was only running for my dinner. He was running for his life!”

The farmer and the goose

Long time ago a remote village, in central China, was inhabited mainly with farmers and hunters.

One day, a poor farmer lost his entire livestock because of flood. He prayed to God for help or his family would die of starvation.

Few days later, an old man with long grey beard, passed by his house took pity on him. He gave him a goose and said, “I don’t have any expensive thing to give you and hope this goose will help you to ease your hardship.”

A week later to almost surprise the farmer found an egg in his yard. This was no ordinary egg. It was a golden egg. He was suddenly overcome with joy.

Thereafter, his livelihood rapidly improved, but the farmer had forgotten his earlier hardship. He became lazy, arrogant and spenthrifty.

Strangely, the goose only laid one golden egg every six months. The greedy farmer lost his patient and slaughtered his goose thinking there were plenty of golden eggs inside its stomach.

Though he was very regretted for his foolishness, it’s already too late.

ACTIVITIES

Here you will find some reading comprehension activities. The first one is about the story 'The hound and The rabbit' and the other activity has questions for the story of 'The farmer and the goose'. Good Luck

The hound and the rabbit activity

The farmer and the goose activity

TEST TIME

Up next you must take this test. Here you will find some questions about narrative text and its elements. Good Luck !