Narrative Writing

What comes to your mind when we are talking about narrative essay? Pocahontas, Harry Potter, or what? Yep, some might want to talk about  folktale,  fable, myth, legend, and so on because  they are parts of narrative story. Simply a narrative means story. Therefore, when you are asked to write a narrative essay, it means you have to tell about  a story. But what makes it different from the other story? Narrative essays are presented through  a defined point of view, often the author's, so there is feeling as well as specific and often sensory details provided to get the reader involved in the elements and sequence of the story. On the other hand, the narrative essay makes a point and that point is often defined in the opening sentence, but can also be found as the last sentence in the opening paragraph. It has some elements that one needs to consider, as the beginner you might want to pay attention of five elements of narrative story; setting, theme, mood, character, and plot.

Setting is actually about where which belongs to place (at home, in the bedroom, at school, etc), and 'when' which belongs to time (year, day, clock). Meanwhile,  theme refers to the basic idea, or point of the story. however, theme can also include a value of a story. The third is mood, it is the feeling that the writer usually employs in a story (sad, happy, etc). Characters are the people who take the role in a story, there is main character and minor character. Each type of character adds to the story and helps the audience understand the storyline.The last is plot, it is simply defined as the chain of events of a story. As the chain of events, it  makes up a story, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect, or by coincidence. One is generally interested in how well this pattern of events accomplishes some artistic or emotional effect. In plot, actually we begin with  exposition which introduces all of the main characters in the story. It shows how they relate to one another, what their goals and motivations are, and the kind of person they are. Then we go on with 'rising action' by which the conflict begins and comes to 'climax' which is presumably as the turning point of story. The following is falling action (the loose ends are being tied up) and resolution (it is a final confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist, where one or the other decisively win).

In addition, many students might imagine a narrative story as legend, myth, folktale, and so on. But there is a narrative which is called  PERSONAL NARRATIVE. What is personal narrative? As narrative defined, it is a story that tells an event in person's life. Therefore, it is written from the person memory. Hence, as a narrative it should have elements of a narrative (mentioned earlier) and it should express a person's thoughts and feeling.


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