Narraitve theory
- 2. • There are some theories linked to narratives that seem to be outlined by Russians from stories from quite a long time ago. One of these theorists is called Propp, his theory was about the characters in stories and the types that exist. • There are 8 character types outlines by Propp, these are: The hero, the villain, the princess/prize, the donor, the helper, the princesses father, the false hero and the dispatcher. • I think that a few of these are present in my story book The Loaf Of Bread Man. I will identify these on the next few slides and ones which do not match in my story I will find from other books and films that exist. Vladimir Propp
- 3. Character Types • The Hero – The hero in my story is the loaf of bread man, the reason for this is because he is the main character of my story and it is his adventure. Usually in narratives the hero has something which makes them different from all the other characters such as special abilities or talents which makes them better than other people, it could be said in my story the loaf of breads talent is is sense of adventure and how he can out run pretty much everything. • The Villain – The villain in most narratives is usually someone who apposes the hero and is usually shown as morally bad. Usually they lack the morals of the hero, this helps to highlight how good the hero is, the villain is someone who tries to prevent the hero from fulfilling his goal. In this case the villain is the animals along the way that want to eat the loaf of bread, the duck and the bird. Another example of a villain could be Tuco Salamanca, as he apposes Walt and wants to stop him from selling his meth where he does and stealing his customers with better meth. • The Princess/Prize - This can take a few forms, it can be a physical person, or an object and in some cases it can be a concept. And this is usually something that the hero works towards getting in the narrative. In my story the prize is more of a concept, it is the idea of freedom, but this changes along the way as he realizes what he actually wants is to be exactly where is started and wants a sense of security. In other stories such as Shrek, the princess is a woman that Shrek wants, princess Fiona, and his quest to get her back.
- 4. Character Types • The Donor – The donor in narratives is someone who gives something to the hero, this can be something magical or something that aids the hero. This gift is not always given to the helper for free, they can give it in the form of a riddle or something that may benefit the donor. In my story there is no donor, but an example of one from Breaking Bad could be Gus Fring, although he is also a sort of villain, he gives Walt the means that he needs to mass produce meth and make more money, but this benefits Gus as it means he has a hold on Walt and makes Gus a lot of money in the process. • The Helper – This is a character in a narrative which helps the hero on the quest that they may be on and is there when they need them most to assist them. An example of a help in my story could be the dog as he is there as soon as the bread needs him and takes him home to what he realizes is his prize. An example from Breaking Bad of the helper is Jesse Pinkman, he is there for Walt when he needs him and helps him to fulfill his quest of providing for his family. • The Princesses Father – In classic narratives this is a key figure that the hero has to try and persuade and is often very protective. Propp did note in his theory that this is quite hard to distinguish sometimes as the princess and the princesses father can be the same sort of character. In my story these isn’t a princesses father, but in other stories such as Shrek the the King is the princesses father as Shrek has to try and win him over to be involved with his daughter.
- 5. Character Types • The False Hero – This is a character in narratives which at first appears to act heroically and may at first be mistaken for a real hero, but as time passes you realize that they are not a her at all and are actually quite evil, usually trying to steal the heroes thunder. The false hero can usually do everything the hero wants to do such as stealing the princess from the hero. There is no false hero in my story book. But in Breaking Bad there is a false hero, I think it is Gus Fring , as at first he appears to be helping Walt but then you see how bad and evil he is throughout the series and how he is pretty much using Walt for his own gain. • The Dispatcher – This character is the one which sets the hero out on his quest, in classic stories this can be a family member or a friend. In my story I do not think there is a dispatcher as no one really sends him off, you could argue that the person who made him could be the dispatcher, but in reality the loaf of bread set out on his own accord because of his urn for adventure. In Finding Nemo the dispatcher is Dory as she is the one who helps Marlin on the way to find his son and spurs him on to do so.
- 6. Narrative Structure Components • The Russian structuralist Todorov was someone who though that all narratives followed the same path a three step version and a five step version. • The three step version includes an Equilibrium, the disequilibrium and then a new equilibrium. • The equilibrium is where the story starts, a normal day in the life for the character in the book. No matter what it is it is a normal day for your character. • The disequilibrium is where the story actually starts, something out of the ordinary happens to changing things up in the characters life. It could be something very small or something huge, whatever it is the story is now about the character reacting to the event and trying to get things back to normal again and back to equilibrium. • The new equilibrium is where the story ends and everything returns to normal for the character, or whatever normal now is for the character.
- 7. Narrative Structure Components • In my story the equilibrium is at the start of the story where the bread is being made, as this sets the scene and is a pretty normal day in the life of bread, because bread gets made quite a lot. • The disequilibrium of my story is when the loaf of bread decides that this time he wants to go out for an adventure, which is not normal in a loaf of breads life. • The new equilibrium of my story is when the loaf of bread goes back to his house as he is back where he started and back in the bread maker, ready to be eaten by the person who made it.
- 8. Narrative Structure Components • Claude Levi Strauss is a French theorist who came up with a theory called binary opposition. The theory of binary opposition is the idea that there can only be a story if it contains two opposing sides coming together and the conflict is what is the main drive for the story. • A few examples of binary opposition are: good vs. Evil, Humans Vs. Animals, Young Vs. Old etc. • In my story I do not believe that I really have any binary opposition as my story is not about 2 opposing sides coming together, it is about 1 character on his journey and the loaf of bread alone is pretty much the driving force of this story. Some could argue that the binary opposition in my story is Bread Vs Animals.
- 9. Types of Structure • All narratives have a certain type of structure, these are as follows: • Open Narrative – this is a story which does not reach an ultimate conclusion, it just goes on and on, an example of an open narrative is a comic book as a lot of the time these do not reach conclusions and just run book to book. • Closed Narrative – this is a story which will end up reaching a conclusion, for instance most films have a closed narrative as they start and end within the time that they are shown usually. An example of a closed narrative is my book as it reaches a conclusion at the end. • Single Strand Narrative – this is a story which has one massive story line, usually this is used in children's books as it can get confusing when there are lots of little stories running along side a man one. An example of a single strand story is Cinderella as it is all just one big story.
- 10. Types of Structure • Multi-strand Narrative – this is a story which has a lot of different story lines, these are usually in very developed series on television and in some films. An example of a multi- strand narrative is Friends as this has multiple different story lines running through at the same time. • Linear Narrative – this is a story which starts from the beginning and runs all the way through to the end in chronological order, which event in the story leads onto the next. This is a very popular way of telling stories because it is very simple and easy to follow and is often used in films, books, television and journalism. • Non-linear Narrative – this is a type of story that does not follow one single path, it can jump backwards and forwards in time, this can be used to explain characters back stories better. An example of this type of narrative is Pulp Fiction. • Realist Narrative – this is a story which reflects real life quite strongly and has realistic events throughout, these Narratives usually try and outline someone's day to day life. An example of this could be Fresh Meat or the Inbetweeners. • Anti- realist Narrative – this is the complete opposite of realist narratives and often include things which would never really happen in real life, using completely fictional locations and characters. Usually this sort of narrative is used in sci-fi, an example of this is Star Trek or Star Wars.