Narrative

Roland Barthes states that there are, “Countless forms of narrative in the world” (Barthes, 237). These narratives are the way in which stories are told, belonging to certain levels of discourse (Felluga). Barthes explains that narrative is everywhere, all the time, and in fact, nobody is without narrative. He refers to the way in which an individual can simply tell a story about their day, producing a narrative for himself. In doing so, he includes certain parts, like meeting a pretty girl on the way to work, and discludes other parts, like logging onto Facebook during his break. Marie-Laure Ryan explains, “To notice objects or events in our perceptual environment is to construct embryonic stories about them” (Ryan, 3). She means that our minds tell stories much like a literary text, explaining and describing events as though we were characters in our own narrative “book” of life.

Similarly, media news, in the form of newspapers, websites, and television also portrays a narrative. Barthes explains that, “No one can produce a narrative without referring himself to an implicit system of units and rules” (Barthes, 238). For example, in a newspaper, we read a narrative written by a journalist; their interpretations of the events that occurred, as well as our own mental image of their interpretation. Seymour Benjamin Chatman explains that while reading a book, or a newspaper, “Each person creates his own mental image,” while a news broadcast on television would provide that image for us (Chatman, 101). Either form of narrative allows us to interpret information based on written or spoken words that have been provided for us, via media sources.

The internet’s endless supply of information presents us with an unlimited number of narratives from people throughout the globe. H. Porter Abbott explains that narrative is, “Something we all engage in,” making narratives every day of our lives (Abbott, 1). Online social networking makes self-narratives even more evident. Simply “Tweeting” your current status gives others a quick narrative of your life at the given time.

1. Abbott, H. Porter. "Narrative and Life, Defining Narrative." The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.

2. Barthes, Roland. Introduction to the Structural Analysis of the Narrative. Johns Hopkins UP, 1975. Print.

3. Chatman, Seymour Benjamin. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1978. Print.

4. Felluga, Dino. "Narratology Terms." College of Liberal Arts : Purdue University. Web. 12 Jan. 2011. .

5. Ryan, Marie-Laure. Narrative across Media: the Languages of Storytelling. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2004. Print.