Time Control: The Narrative

Time: A peculiar concept, perceived only by those of us lucky enough to have the brain capacity to do so. In general, we divide time into the familiar units, seconds, minutes, and hours to determine duration, but is this always the most efficient method to communicate something such as an experience? Is there a way to compress or extend a moment in time without numbers? It is in this perspective that we speak of the narrative, both a concept used by humankind, and a form of writing[1]. When one needs to tell a story, or recall a series of events, we use the narrative not only to share the time-line, but to think it as well.

“I played a game of football.” This sentence begins a broad, yet effective narrative. The narrator, in this case being the person who experienced the event, tells of a football game, with however little detail. The most interesting part about this simple sentence is that it gives us a sense of a time-frame without having to indicate a specific measurement. How long was the game? 2 hours? 1 hour? To how many points did you play? It doesn’t matter, because through our experiences, we have a general idea of the duration of a sports game. H. Porter Abbot describes the narrative in a similar sense: “…Its appearance coincides, roughly, with the first memories that are retained by adults of their infancy, a conjunction that has led some to propose that memory itself is dependent on the capacity for narrative.”, meaning that even children at an early age are capable of understanding the idea of the narration.

We are allowed to take an indefinite amount of time and compress it into a moment in history for the sake of the story. We can extend the perceived experience by providing more detail (perhaps the anticipation of a single play, a description of the halftime show, or the feeling of victory after the final touchdown). With the power to essentially control time within the reading, the narrative provides a powerful tool in communication and writing.

[1,2] Barthes, Roland and Duisit, Lionel. “On Narrative and Narratives”. New Literary History. Vol.6 No.2 (1975), p.1-3,