DEFINITION
OF NARRATIVE TEXT
Narrative
text is a text to amuse or entertain the readers. A narrative text can also be
used to stimulate emotion or to do teach. Narrative deal with problematic
events which lead to a crisis or turning point of someone kind, which in turn a
resolution.
THE
GENERIC STRUCTURES OF THE NARRATIVE TEXT:
1. Orientation : This part tells about the setting of the story (the
time/place of the story) and the main characters of the story.
2. Complication : This part includes situations, activities, or events that lead
problem (s) / complication (s) to the climax.
3. Resolution : The problem or complication is solved here. It shows the
end of the story, usually a happy ending.
Other
generic structures of the text:
· Evaluation : (optional) a step back to evaluate the plight (the
narrator’s viewpoint).
· Coda :
(optional) changes of the characters of lesson / value of the story.
· Re-orientation : (optional)
THE
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF NARRATIVE
1. Use of adjectives to build noun
groups to describe the people, animals or things in the story, such as… a nice,
diligent and kind-hearted man.
2. Use of time connectives and
conjunctions to sequence events through time, such as however, although, later,
then.
3. Use of adverbs and adverbial phrases
to locate the particular events, such as once upon a time, long time ago.
4. Use of past tenses, such as Aji Saka
went to the kingdom, measured the size of the turban.
5. Use of action verbs to indicate the
actions, such as fleed, explained, provided, smashed.
6. Use of saying and thinking verbs to
indicate what characters are feeling thinking or saying, such as told,
realized, decided.
THE
EXAMPLE OF NARRATIVE TEXT:
-
Legend: like toba, Malin Kundang, etc.
-
Fable: Crocodile and mouse deer, etc.
-
A fairy
tale: Snow white, cinderella, etc.
-
Mystery: mirror, the ring, ghost ship, etc.
-
Science
fiction: spiderman, fantastic 4, etc.
The
Example of Narrative Text
Malin
Kundang
Orientation A long time
ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatra, a woman and her son
lived. They were Malin Kundang and her mother. Her mother was a single parent
because Malin Kundang's father had passed away when he was a baby. Malin
Kundang had to live hard with his mother.Malin Kundang was a healthy, dilligent, and strong boy. He usually went to sea to catch fish. After getting fish he would bring it to his mother, or sold the caught fish in the town.
Complication
One day, when
Malin Kundang was sailing, he saw a merchant's ship which was being raided by a
small band of prates. He helped the merchant. With his brave and power, Malin
Kundang defeated the pirates. The merchant was so happy and thanked to him. In
return the merchant asked Malin Kundang to sail with him. To get a better life,
Malin Kundang agreed. He left his mother alone.
Many years
later, Malin Kundang became wealthy. He had a huge ship and was helped by many
ship crews loading trading goods. Perfectly he had a beautiful wife too. When
he was sailing his trading journey, his ship landed on a beach near a small
village. The villagers recognized him. The news ran fast in the town; “Malin Kundang
has become rich and now he is here”.
An old woman
ran to the beach to meet the new rich merchant. She was Malin Kundang’s mother.
She wanted to hug him, released her sadness of being lonely after so long time.
Unfortunately, when the mother came, Malin Kundang who was in front of his well
dressed wife and his ship crews denied meeting that old lonely woman. For three
times her mother begged Malin Kundang and for three times he yelled at her.
At last Malin
Kundang said to her "Enough, old woman! I have never had a mother like
you, a dirty and ugly woman!" After that he ordered his crews to set sail.
He would leave the old mother again but in that time she was full of both
sadness and angriness.
Complication Finally,
enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he didn't
apologize. Malin Kundang just laughed and really set sail.
Resolution In the quiet
sea, suddenly a thunderstorm came. His huge ship was wrecked and it was too
late for Malin Kundang to apologize. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship.
He fell on a small island. It was really too late for him to avoid his curse.
Suddenly, he turned into a stone.
