Narrative Text
Narrative Text A narrative text is a type of text that tells a story. It can be based on real or imaginary events and often follows a structured sequence. Narrative […]
Narrative Text
A narrative text is a type of text that tells a story. It can be based on real or imaginary events and often follows a structured sequence. Narrative texts are commonly found in fairy tale, legend, fable, myth, mystery, romance, horror, science fiction, etc.
The Social Function
The function of a narrative text is to entertain, inform, or teach the readers through storytelling.
1. To Entertain:
Imagine reading a funny story about a mischievous cat who tries to steal cookies from a jar but ends up getting his head stuck. You’re probably laughing and enjoying the silly situation. That’s the entertainment function at work! The main goal of this kind of story is to make you feel amused or have a good time.
2. To Inform:
Imagine reading a cool story that takes place in ancient Rome. The people and what happens might be made up by the writer. But as you read, the author might describe what clothes people wore at that time, what kind of jobs they had, or how they celebrated holidays. So, while you’re enjoying the story, you’re also picking up some knowledge about Roman history and culture without even realizing it! It’s like a history lesson hidden inside a fun story! The information isn’t just listed out like in a textbook; it’s part of the story itself.
3. To Teach:
Consider the story of “The Tortoise and the Hare.” It’s an engaging tale about a slow but steady tortoise winning a race against a fast but overconfident hare. While it’s a simple story, it teaches us a valuable lesson about the importance of perseverance and not underestimating others. Many fables like this use storytelling to convey a moral or a piece of wisdom.
So, in a nutshell:
Entertain: Makes you feel happy, excited, or amused.
Inform: Gives you knowledge about something in a story format.
Teach: Conveys a lesson or moral through the events and characters.
The Generic Structure
A well-written narrative text typically follows this structure:
Setting: It refers to the time and place where the story takes place.
Background: It provides important context for understanding the story, such as past events, character relationships, or cultural and historical details.
Example: “Once upon a time in a small village, there lived a kind young girl named Lily. She loved helping others.”
This example introduces:
- Time: “Once upon a time” – This is a classic way to start a fairy tale, indicating a time in the distant past.
- Place: “in a small village” – This sets the location of the story.
- Character: “a kind young girl named Lily” – This introduces the main character and gives a brief positive trait.
- Background (briefly implied): “She loved helping others” – This gives us a little initial insight into Lily’s character and hints at potential future actions or relationships within the story.
Orientation focuses on the basic who, where, and when to get the story started.
Example: “One day, a terrible storm destroyed Lily’s village, leaving many people without homes. She didn’t know what to do.”
Example: “Lily decided to gather everyone and rebuild the village. With teamwork, they restored their homes and lived happily again.”
Example: “From that day on, Lily learned that kindness and cooperation can overcome any challenge.”
The Language Features
- Using Past Tense
It is logical since the stories typically happen in the past. They can use simple past, past continuous or past perfect tense.
- Using action verbs
Action verbs are verbs that show the performance of action. They specifically describe what the subject (person, animal, force of nature, or thing) of the sentence is doing, e.g.: run, walk, cry, scream, explode, kick, etc.
- Using temporal conjunction
Temporal conjunctions express relationships with time, in the flow or sequence of events, e.g.: before, after, during/while (a period or an activity), since, until, when.
The Example
The Clever Rabbit and the Hungry Lion
Once upon a time, in a dense forest, there was a mighty and cruel lion. Every day, he hunted the animals, making them live in fear. The terrified animals gathered one day and decided to send one animal each day as a sacrifice to the lion, hoping to stop his ruthless hunting.
When it was the clever rabbit’s turn, he thought of a plan to save himself and the other animals. He walked slowly toward the lion’s cave, making sure to arrive late. The lion, growing impatient, roared in anger when he saw the rabbit.
“Why are you late?” the lion demanded, baring his sharp teeth.
The rabbit bowed respectfully and replied, “Oh mighty king, I was on my way here when another lion stopped me. He claimed to be the true king of this forest and refused to let me pass. He said he is stronger than you.”
The lion’s eyes widened with fury. “What? Another lion? Show me where he is!” he roared.
The rabbit led the lion to a deep well filled with crystal-clear water. Peering into the well, the lion saw his own reflection and mistook it for another lion.
Enraged, he let out a deafening roar, but the “other lion” roared back just as loudly. Furious, the lion jumped into the well to attack his rival, only to realize too late that he had been tricked. He struggled in the water but eventually drowned.
The rabbit returned to the other animals and told them what had happened. They cheered and celebrated, relieved that they no longer had to live in fear.
From that day forward, the forest was peaceful, and the clever rabbit was hailed as a hero.
Text Analysis
Let us examine the various elements of the narrative text presented above.
The Social Function
To Entertain: It’s a cool story about a small, smart rabbit outsmarting a big, scary lion. You probably enjoyed reading about how the rabbit came up with his plan and how the lion got tricked! That’s the story entertaining you.
To Teach: The story also shows us that being smart can be more powerful than just being strong. The rabbit wasn’t strong enough to fight the lion, but he was clever enough to trick him. So, the story teaches us that using your brain can help you solve problems, even big ones.
The Generic Structure
1. Orientation:
- Setting: “Once upon a time, in a dense forest” – This tells us the time (a long time ago, typical of fables) and the place (a thick forest).
- Characters: “a mighty and cruel lion” and “the clever rabbit” and “the terrified animals.” These are the main players in the story.
- Background: “Every day, he hunted the animals, making them live in fear.” This gives us the initial situation and the problem that sets the story in motion – the lion’s cruel behavior and the animals’ fear. It also explains why the animals decide to make a sacrifice.
2. Complication:
- The main problem or conflict starts when it is “the clever rabbit’s turn” to be sacrificed. This creates suspense as we wonder what the rabbit will do. The lion’s impatience and anger when the rabbit arrives late further build this tension. The rabbit’s lie about another, stronger lion is the turning point that escalates the conflict.
3. Resolution:
- The conflict is resolved when the lion, tricked by his own reflection, jumps into the well and “eventually drowned.” The problem of the hungry and cruel lion is eliminated.
- The animals’ reaction – “They cheered and celebrated, relieved that they no longer had to live in fear” – confirms the resolution of the initial problem.
- The forest becoming “peaceful” is the positive outcome of the resolution.
4. Reorientation:
- “From that day forward, the forest was peaceful, and the clever rabbit was hailed as a hero.” This acts as a reorientation. It provides a concluding statement about the new state of the forest and the rabbit’s status, offering a sense of finality and a subtle message about the value of cleverness.
So, the story clearly follows the typical narrative structure, moving from setting the scene and introducing the problem to the climax of the trick and finally the resolution and its lasting impact.
The Language Features
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Past Tense: The story is consistently told using the past tense (“there was,” “he hunted,” “they gathered,” “he thought,” “he walked,” “the lion demanded,” “the rabbit bowed,” “another lion stopped,” “he claimed,” “show me,” “he roared,” “the rabbit led,” “the lion saw,” “he mistook,” “he let out,” “roared back,” “he jumped,” “he had been tricked,” “he struggled,” “drowned,” “returned,” “told,” “cheered,” “celebrated,” “was peaceful,” “was hailed”). This is typical for narrative texts as they recount events that have already happened.
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Action Verbs: The story is full of action verbs that make the events vivid and engaging (“hunted,” “live,” “gathered,” “send,” “walked,” “arrive,” “roared,” “demanded,” “bowed,” “replied,” “stopped,” “claimed,” “refused,” “pass,” “widened,” “show,” “led,” “peering,” “saw,” “mistook,” “let out,” “roared back,” “jumped,” “attack,” “realize,” “struggled,” “drowned,” “returned,” “told,” “cheered,” “celebrated,” “was hailed”).
The Exercise
Test your understanding on the text above by answering the following questions.
Recount Text
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