Sri Wahyuni

Sri Wahyuni

Class/Semester     : C/3

NPM                    :10211210363

How to Write Narrative Text

Narrative is a text focusing specific participants. Its social function is to tell stories or past events and entertain the readers. Narrative text is a kind of text to retell the story that past tense. The purpose of the text is to entertain or to amuse the readers or listeners about the story. A narrative text will consists of the following structure:

1. Orientation: Introducing the participants and informing the time and the place

2. Complication: Describing the rising crises which the participants have to do with

3. Resolution: Showing the way of participant to solve the crises, better or worse

Language Features of Narrative

· Using processes verbs

· Using temporal conjunction

· Using Simple Past Tense

Kind of Narrative text :

1. Legend : Sangkuriang, Malin Kundang, etc.

2. Fable : Mousedeer and crocodile.

3. Fairy tale : Cinderella, Snow white, Pinocchio, etc.

4. Science fiction

The Elements and Structure of Narrative

Narrative writing is not just a writing style. As much as narrative demands creativity, it also demands discipline. Much of that discipline falls into the three categories examined here:

1.                  Development of the elements or ingredients of a story.

2.                  Development of the narrative structure.

3.                  Knowing what not to use in the story itself and how to use supplementary ³layers´ to enhance  the story presentation and to tell the story using multi-media.

 The elements of narrative is Journalists tend to think in terms of the basics of journalism: Who, what, when, where, why, how. Narrative journalists must think in terms of story elements: setting, character, plot, conflict, climax, resolution, dialogue, theme, action, scenes.

 Elements shape reporting is The story elements shape not only your writing but your reporting. For instance, you can answer who´ with a name and some basic details, perhaps age, hometown, occupation: Steve Buttery, 51, a writing coach. However, if you’re developing a character, you seek and find considerably more: Air Force brat, preacher’s kid, Yankee fan, cancer survivor, novelist wannabe, father, husband, former editor, lousy athlete, Eagle Scout, writing coach, itinerant journalist, game creator, wise guy. ³When´may be a place on the map, where´ a point on the calendar or clock. Setting demands description. It demands relationship in time and place to other events and places. Setting is a time and place where you transport the reader to watch the action unfold. Plot is not a set of events, but a series of events, each flowing from the one before and leading to the next. Conflict demands resolution, or explanation.

          I found the source in the some books and the website. The some books were gotten from the Senior high school in 1 until 3 grades. The book’s titles are Kharisma. While in the website, I found the examples of the Narrative text. The website are :  http://understandingtext.blogspot.com/2008/09/cinderalla-story-clearest-example-of.html

http://understandingtext.blogspot.com/2008/12/example-of-narrative-text-smartest.html

          In to write narrative text, I find the contradictory between the source in the some book which is I study it and the source in the website. In the some books which are I found, read and study it, I found the generic structure of narrative text is Coda (The subject which can we get in the story).

The examples of narrative are:

The Smartest Parrot

Once upon time, a man had a wonderful parrot. There was no other parrot like it. The parrot could say every word, except one word. The parrot would not say the name of the place where it was born. The name of the place was Catano.

The man felt excited having the smartest parrot but he could not understand why the parrot would not say Catano. The man tried to teach the bird to say Catano however the bird kept not saying the word.

At the first, the man was very nice to the bird but then he got very angry. “You stupid bird!” pointed the man to the parrot. “Why can’t you say the word? Say Catano! Or I will kill you” the man said angrily. Although he tried hard to teach, the parrot would not say it. Then the man got so angry and shouted to the bird over and over; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”. The bird kept not to say the word of Catano.

One day, after he had been trying so many times to make the bird say Catano,  the man really got very angry. He could not bear it. He picked the parrot and threw it into the chicken house. There were four old chickens for next dinner “You are as stupid as the chickens. Just stay with them” Said the man angrily. Then he continued to humble; “You know, I will cut the chicken for my meal. Next it will be your turn, I will eat you too, stupid parrot”. After that he left the chicken house.

The next day, the man came back to the chicken house. He opened the door and was very surprised. He could not believe what he saw at the chicken house. There were three death chickens on the floor. At the moment, the parrot was standing proudly and screaming at the last old chicken; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”.

Analysis the Generic Structure
Orientation: It sets the scene and introduces the participants/characters. In that parrot story, the first paragraph is the orientation where reader finds time and place set up and also the participant as the background of the story. A man and his parrot took place once time.
Complication: It explores the conflict in the story. It will show the crisis, rising crisis and climax of the story. In the parrot story, paragraph 2, 3, 4 are describing the complication. Readers will find that the man face a problem of why the parrot can not say Catano. To fix this problem, the man attempted to teach the bird. How hard he tried to teach the bird is the excitement element of the complication.
Resolution: It shows the situation which the problems have been resolved. It must be our note that “resolved” means accomplished whether succeed or fail. In the last paragraph of the smartest parrot story, readers see the problem is finished. The parrot could talk the word which the man wanted. The parrot said the word with higher degree than the man taught the word to it. That was the smartest parrot.

Cinderella

Once upon a time there was a girl called Cinderella. She lived with her stepsisters. They were very bossy. They made Cinderella do all the housework.

 One day an invitation to the ball came to the family. Her stepsisters would not let her go. Cinderella was sad because she wanted to go to the ball too. Her stepsisters went to the ball without her.

Fortunately, the fairy Godmother came and helped her to get to the ball. At the ball, Cinderella dance with the prince. The prince fell in love with her then married her. They lived happily ever after.

A Legend of Candy Cane

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the church,  and firmness of the promises of God.

The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It also represents the staff of the "Good Shepherd" with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used the tree small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Jesus on the Cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life, if only we put our faith and trust in Him. Unfortunately, the candy became known as a Candy Cane - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the meaning is still there for those who "have eyes to see and ears to hear".

The Purse of Gold

A beggar found a leather purse that someone had dropped in a market place. Opening it, he discovered that it contained 100 pieces of gold. Then he heard a merchant shouted, "A reward! A reward to the one who find my leather purse!"
Being an honest man, the beggar came forward and handed the purse to the merchant saying, "Here is your purse. Will you keep your word to give a reward now?"\
"Reward?" scoffed the merchant greedily counting the amount of gold. "The purse I dropped had 200 pieces of gold in it. You've already stolen more than the reward I'll give to you! Go away or I'll tell you to the police."
"I'm an honest man," said the beggar defiantly. "Let's take this matter to the court!" In the court, the judge patiently listened to both sides of the story and said, "I believe you both. Justice is possible! Merchant, you stated that the purse you lost contained 200 pieces of gold. Well, that's a considerable cost. But the purse the beggar found had only 100 pieces of gold. Therefore, it couldn't be the one you lost."
And, with that, the judge gave the purse and all the gold to the beggar.

Sleeping Beauty

Long ago there lived a King and Queen who said every day, “If only we had a child!” But for a long time they had none.

One day, as the Queen was bathing in a spring and dreaming of a child, a frog crept out of the water and said to her, “Your wish shall be fulfilled. Before a year has passed you shall bring a daughter into the world.”

And since frogs are such magical creatures, it was no surprise that before a year had passed the Queen had a baby girl. The child was so beautiful and sweet that the King could not contain himself for joy. He prepared a great feast and invited all his friends, family and neighbours. He invited the fairies, too, in order that they might be kind and good to the child. There were thirteen of them in his kingdom, but as the King only had twelve golden plates for them to eat from, one of the fairies had to be left out. None of the guests was saddened by this as the thirteenth fairy was known to be cruel and spiteful.

An amazing feast was held and when it came to an end, each of the fairies presented the child with a magic gift. One fairy gave her virtue, another beauty, a third riches and so on — with everything in the world that anyone could wish for.

After eleven of the fairies had presented their gifts, the thirteenth suddenly appeared. She was angry and wanted to show her spite for not having been invited to the feast. Without hesitation she called out in a loud voice,

“When she is fifteen years old, the Princess shall prick herself with a spindle and shall fall down dead!”

Then without another word, she turned and left the hall.

The guests were horrified and the Queen fell to the floor sobbing, but the twelfth fairy, whose wish was still not spoken, quietly stepped forward. Her magic could not remove the curse, but she could soften it so she said,

“Nay, your daughter shall not die, but instead shall fall into a deep sleep that will last one hundred years.”

Over the years, the promises of the fairies came true — one by one. The Princess grew to be beautiful, modest, kind and clever. Everyone who saw her could not help but love her.

The King and Queen were determined to prevent the curse placed on the Princess by the spiteful fairy and sent out a command that all the spindles in the whole kingdom should be destroyed. No one in the kingdom was allowed to tell the Princess of the curse that had been placed upon her for they did not want her to worry or be sad.

On the morning of her fifteenth birthday, the Princess awoke early — excited to be another year older. She was up so early in the morning, that she realized everyone else still slept. The Princess roamed through the halls trying to keep herself occupied until the rest of the castle awoke. She wandered about the whole place, looking at rooms and halls as she pleased and at last she came to an old tower. She climbed the narrow, winding staircase and reached a little door. A rusty key was sticking in the lock and when she turned it, the door flew open.

In a little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax. The old woman was so deaf that she had never heard the King’s command that all spindles should be destroyed.

“Good morning, Granny,” said the Princess, “what are you doing?”

“I am spinning,” said the old woman.

“What is the thing that whirls round so merrily?” asked the Princess and she took the spindle and tried to spin too.

But she had scarcely touched the spindle when it pricked her finger. At that moment she fell upon the bed which was standing near and lay still in a deep sleep.

The King, Queen and servants had all started their morning routines and right in the midst of them fell asleep too. The horses fell asleep in the stable, the dogs in the yard, the doves on the roof and the flies on the wall. Even the fire in the hearth grew still and went to sleep. The kitchen maid, who sat with a chicken before her, ready to pluck its feathers, fell asleep. The cook was in the midst of scolding the kitchen boy for a mess he’d made but they both fell fast asleep. The wind died down and on the trees in front of the castle not a leaf stirred.

Round the castle a hedge of brier roses began to grow up. Every year it grew higher until at last nothing could be seen of the sleeping castle.

There was a legend in the land about the lovely Sleeping Beauty, as the King’s daughter was called, and from time to time Princes came and tried to force their way through the hedge and into the castle. But they found it impossible for the thorns, as though they were alive, grabbed at them and would not let them through.

After many years a Prince came again to the country and heard an old man tell the tale of the castle which stood behind the brier hedge and the beautiful Princess who had slept within for a hundred years. He heard also that many Princes had tried to make it through the brier hedge but none had succeeded and many had been caught in it and died.

The young Prince said, “I am not afraid. I must go and see this Sleeping Beauty.”

The good old man did all in his power to persuade him not to go, but the Prince would not listen.

Now the hundred years were just ended. When the Prince approached the brier hedge it was covered with beautiful large roses. The shrubs made way for him of their own accord and let him pass unharmed.

In the courtyard, the Prince saw the horses and dogs lying asleep. On the roof sat the sleeping doves with their heads tucked under their wings. When he went into the house, the flies were asleep on the walls and the servants asleep in the halls. Near the throne lay the King and Queen, sleeping peacefully beside each other. In the kitchen the cook, the kitchen boy and the kitchen maid all slept with their heads resting on the table.

The Prince went on farther. All was so still that he could hear his own breathing. At last he reached the tower and opened the door into the little room where the Princess was asleep. There she lays; looking so beautiful that he could not take his eyes off her. He bent down and gave her a kiss. As he touched her, Sleeping Beauty opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

Throughout the castle, everyone and everything woke up and looked at each other with astonished eyes. Within the month, the Prince and Sleeping Beauty were married and lived happily all their lives.

The conclusion about how to write the narrative text is Narrative is a text focusing specific participants. Its social function is to tell stories or past events and entertain the readers. Narrative text is a kind of text to retell the story that past tense. The purpose of the text is to entertain or to amuse the readers or listeners about the story. A narrative text will consists of the following structure:

1. Orientation: Introducing the participants and informing the time and the place

2. Complication: Describing the rising crises which the participants have to do with

3. Resolution: Showing the way of participant to solve the crises, better or worse

Language Features of Narrative

· Using processes verbs

· Using temporal conjunction

· Using Simple Past Tense

Kind of Narrative text:

1. Legend: Sangkuriang, Malin Kundang, etc.

2. Fable: Mouse deer and crocodile.

3. Fairy tale: Cinderella, Snow white, Pinocchio, etc.

4. Science fiction