"Narrative paradigm" is the twenty fourth chapter from the book "A First Look at Communication Theory" by Em Griffin. This theory of communication was initiated by Walter Fisher. Fisher adopted this concept from storytelling since according to him the most pertinent communication to human beings is storytelling. The aspect of narrative paradigm is important in analyzing the state of communication between human beings. A narrative involves the interpretation of both the verbal and the non-verbal aspects which are arranged in a logical manner in order to come up with the intended meaning. The process of communication is largely influenced by factors from the past and also the experiences that have been gained throughout the years. The narrative …show more content…
concept is mainly based on the notion that the listener and the narrators are the main players in the formation of a story which consequently forms communication. A narrative is mainly comprised of the listeners and the narrator who recite events from their lives in order to form a story. The paradigm of narrative primarily forms or is comprised of two principles, which in this case include coherence and fidelity.
Coherence is mainly referred as the content of communication which only becomes effective when it provides the intended meaning to the listener. In addition, coherence can also be largely defined as the degree through which a narrative makes sense. In order for a story to become effective, there are three main factors that should be considered such as the credibility of the characters, the structure of the narrative and also the resemblance between different stories. The other principle is fidelity, which reveals the reliability and the credibility of the events that are being narrated. The effectiveness is mainly based on the persuasion of the listeners depending on whether they accept the results or not. There are particular values that should be followed in order to define or unravel whether the story is reliable or not. In order for a story to attain the status of fidelity, it is imperative to consider a number of factors such as the assessment on whether the narrative has been distorted or not. Another factor to consider is whether the events are factual or not. Another factor that should be considered is the assessment on the importance of the story that is being assessed, the patterns of reasoning that were being followed when the story was being narrated and how the argument in the story has influenced the decisions that are being made by …show more content…
the listeners. Although, there are many proponents of narrative paradigm, there are some critics that have emerged as well. Some of the critics are of the opinion that it makes the analysis of a study impossible since the narrative paradigm is a broad concept of human communication. The opponents are therefore of the perception that communication does not always have to be narrative for instance in fantasy stories, which are mainly based on the imaginations of an individual and thereby defying the narrative principles such as reliability and structure. Narrative paradigm is evident in real life since they are a reflection of the different states of human communication.
In addition to considering the community as a structure of events, the people will only consider the events as credible only when the narrative is reliable to them. In addition, studies can also be enforced in order to augment their understanding on the different mechanisms of human communication which can consequently be applied to different fields. For instance, a person I knew, Jacob, believed in the existence of extraterrestrials. Jacobs spent most of his time researching about the presence and invasion of aliens and this led him to associate different abnormal events in his life with the existence of the extra-terrestrial beings. A majority of his friends that were close to him however opposed his assertions about extra-terrestrial beings and they were opposed to majority of his arguments. There were however a few of them who believed in his assertions. The reason why majority of his friends rejected his assertions is mainly because of the notion that the assertions were vague, mysterious, and were not backed by any facts. This therefore affirms that people mainly accept narrations mainly based on the principles of fidelity and coherence and this may explain why the assertions put forth by Jacobs were rejected by his friends. The few who accepted his assertions mainly associated his assertions based on their cultural backgrounds and
experiences.
There are four main modes of discourse: expository, narrative, descriptive, and persuasive. In Mary Rowlandson’s A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, it is apparent in the title that it is a narrative. Like Mrs. Rowlandson’s literature, Olaudah Equiano’s From Africa to America is a narrative. A narrative form of literature is a story, account of events, or experiences, whether it is true or fictitious. In this case their stories were their real experiences and they gave the reader actual facts and information, also making it expository. "The closeness of the place and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us." (73) This is a perfect example showing that Olaudah Equiano’s narrative is also descriptive, giving the reader vivid images in his mind, whereas Rowlandson’s narrative rarely has descriptive content. These works of literature may also be portrayed as persuasive by the quote of, "..Overwhelmed with the thoughts of my condition.." (7) Mary Rowlandson was overwhelmed with her emotions. This quote may persuade the reader ...
Often, when a story is told, it follows the events of the protagonist. It is told in a way that justifies the reasons and emotions behind the protagonist actions and reactions. While listening to the story being cited, one tends to forget about the other side of the story, about the antagonist motivations, about all the reasons that justify the antagonist actions.
The truth is subjective and how we see the truth impacts the way we understand meaning. Each individual’s memory is a result of what they deem to be true. Sarah Polley questions this concept through her film ‘Stories We Tell’ and brings to light the topic of reliability and subjectivity in terms of memory and the truth.
Storytelling is a way of expressing one’s imagination through fanciful adventures and serve a variety of purposes. One important reason is to capture a special moment and endure it but mostly because it unites us and of course entertains us. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, and Tim Burton’s The Big Fish, storytelling is seen as more important than the truth. Throughout the novel Life of Pi, and the film The Big Fish, it can be argued that the truth is intertwined with the lies in each story to form a new kind of truth. An example of this would be when Pi retells his story to the two Japanese men in a way in which he makes the animals human and introduces a different version of the truth. Both the film and movie also share a unique way of story telling because what they both share is a common moral “quest” which involves the main character, who is usually the hero, must overcome challenges in order to achieve a goal or reward at the end.
1. Growing up we all heard stories. Different types of stories, some so realistic, we cling onto them farther into our lives. Stories let us see and even feel the world in different prespectives, and this is becuase of the writter or story teller. We learn, survive and entertain our selves using past experiences, which are in present shared as stories. This is why Roger Rosenblatt said, "We are a narrative species."
Narratives are an important part of an essay as they create a sense of tone needed to describe a story or situation with ease. If the narrative is not correct, it can leave a false impact on the readers or viewers because it lacks the main tone of the story. Having a perfect narrative can not only enhance a story, but it can also prove evidence. In her essay, “An Army of One: Me”, Jean Twenge provides some of the best examples of how narratives enhance a story and she also emphasizes on how the tone of storytelling matters on the impact that the story would have on its readers or listeners. Apart from Twenge, Tim O’Brien also focuses on how the narrative of the story can help in understanding the truth and falsity of the story in his essay, “How to Tell a True War Story.” In addition to O’Brien, Ethan Watters also emphasizes on the narrative of cultural progress in his essay, “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan”, when he talks about the anti-depressants to be sold in Japan. All three authors agree to the fact that narrative, the art of telling a story or explaining a situation, has a major impact on the story and on how it is taken by the audience.
A successful descriptive narrative gives the necessary information for a reader to know the material of a text. For instance, narrating the text of a story allows the audience to connect with the feelings of the narrator. A description incorporates visuals so that the audience can recognize the image being portrayed. “Shooting an Elephant” and “The Lottery” are both descriptive narratives. Descriptive narratives give the reader a clearer understanding of the passage. “Shooting an Elephant” is the stronger descriptive narrative because of vivid sensory detail, manipulating the perception of the reader, and Orwell’s use of conflict.
In ‘unreliable narration’ the narrator’s account is at odds with the implied reader's surmises about the story’s real intentions. The story und...
In the simplest form, there is a basic structural pattern to narratives, as expressed through Tzvetan Todorov’s explanation of narrative movement between two equilibriums. A narrative begins in a stable position until something causes disequilibrium, however, by the end of the story, the equilibrium is re-established, though it is different than the beginning (O’Shaughnessy 1999: 268). Joseph Cam...
Within the fictional worlds of Haroun and the Sea of Stories, the characters realize that stories are not mere entertainment, but are crucial to their lives. Fictional stories are crucial pieces to Rashid Khalifa since he relies on them for a career and brings him enjoyment. They are also important to a politician because storytelling is a critical part of a politician’s survival and livelihood since they rely on the storytellers to persuade and convince people to vote for them. Most importantly they are important to Guppees since they depend on stories to be the source of all there speaking, and the pages of Gup (the army) they depend on stories to help them fight. All in all stories can
lead you to believe the narrator could be trusted to relate to you the true
The importance of a story is to have a purpose and meaning, through this, people are able to engage and learn with what is being told to them, it has to have a connection to the past, bringing it to the present and to involve both the body and mind senses. Through storytelling the audience should gain an understanding and have a sense of emotion touched and come alive, they should also be able to explore the possibilities within their culture and feel a deep connection to country.
A successful descriptive narrative displays the necessary information for a reader to explain or develop speculations within the material. Narrating the text of a story, told through one or more narrators, allows the audience to connect with the feelings of the narrator. A description includes imagery for the audience’s recognition. Furthermore, descriptive narratives have a purpose and are there for a reason. “Shooting an Elephant” and “The Lottery” are both descriptive narratives. Descriptive narratives show a clearer understanding of the passage; therefore, the stronger text is “Shooting an Elephant” because of its detail and the plot’s conflict.
First, the reader/audience is faced with the question of the way individual sentences of a speech relate to one another. Whether they are connected in a strictly logical way, whether they form a more associative series, they always emphasize the structure of a character’s level of awareness. All significant deviations from the normal frequencies in the areas of syntactic and lexical selection and combination can also serve to delineate a character: the frequency of certain sentence types (such as statements or questions), the predominance of active or passive forms, the use of parallelisms and antitheses, an abstract or concrete vocabulary, figurative speech, the emphasis on certain semantic groups and the frequency of idiomatic or clichéd expressions.
Villaume and Donald J. Cegala, “Interaction Involvement and Discourse Strategies: The Patterned Use of Cohesive Devices in Conversation,” Communication Monographs 55 (1988): 24. See also, Betty Bamberg, “What Makes a Text Coherence?” College Composition and Communication 34 (1983): 417-29; Rachel Giora, “Notes towards a Theory of Text Coherence,” Poetics Today 6 (1985): 699-715. By providing some illustrations, Giora and Bamberg argue that although a text contains cohesive devices, readers will not regard the text as a whole to be coherent unless they can find a broader theme over the whole discourse. Hence, some scholars prefer the more inclusive term “local coherence” instead of syntactic