Narratology 1

Question 1

What is the narrative?

Answer 1

• differs from other genres in that it tells a story + has a plot
• there are written + oral normatives
• fictional and non-fictional narratives
• narratives that rely on text or an other media of representation

Question 2

Story vs. discourse level

Answer 2

= “whereas the term “story” refers to the chronological sequence events, “discourse” refers to the shaping of this material by the narrator”
- narrative = story (What is told?) + discourse (how it’s told?)

Question 3

Model of narrative communication + story

Answer 3

look at pictures in notes

Question 4

“Bartleby, the Scrivener”

Answer 4

(sheets in folder)

= written bye Herrman Melville (1819-1891) in 1853 during the period of American Romanticism (1820-1861)

Plot:
- plot is marked by causally linking events –> there are single + multiple plots
- beginnings and endings are very important in a story
- stories can commence:
° in media res, in the middle of action
° in ultimas res, from the ending
° ab ovo, giving plenty of introductory + antecedent information
- there are closed + open endings:
° closed endings = conflicts are resolved; problems solved; justice regained
° open endings = characters’ fates remain open + problems unsolved
- there are expected + unexpected endings:
° expected endings = occurs “when poetic justice or a fair allocation of reward + punishment is brought to bear upon the characters”
° unexpected endings = “results from the unexpected intervention of an external agency, which hasn’t been involved in the plot up to thus point, it’s referred to a “deus ex machine” ending”

characters:
- flat vs. round characters:
° flat characters = static, types rather than individuals
° round characters = dynamic, multi-dimensional
- transparent vs. opaque:
° transparent = fully explained
° opaque = enigmatic
–> there are major + minor characters in a story, protagonist and antagonist

Question 5

What defines the Characterization?

Answer 5

= belongs to the discourse level, not the story level
- showing vs. telling:
° telling: author describes + often evaluates the motives and qualities of a character
° showing: author presents the characters talking + acting
- direct vs. indirect characterization:
° direct = narrational charact. (by narrator); figural charact. (by another character); self-charact. (by characters him- or herself)
° indirect: charact. by action and behavior

Question 6

What defines the Setting?

Answer 6

• refers to the actual place where the story is set but also to: the historical time; the cultural context; the social milieu
• a Setting is more than simply the physical location –> it can create a certain atmosphere