Overview
Narrative is more than just a story; it is a structure for organizing information. From novels and movies to history books and personal identities, narrative provides the framework of “beginning, middle, and end.”
Core Idea
Narratives are constructed through the selection and arrangement of events (plot) involving agents (characters) within a specific setting. The way a story is told (discourse) is as important as what happens (story).
Formal Definition (if applicable)
Aristotle defined the essential element of narrative (mythos) as the “arrangement of the incidents,” emphasizing that a whole must have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Intuition
We naturally tell stories to explain our day (“First I did this, then that happened…”). This impulse to create causal links between events is the narrative instinct.
Examples
- The Hero’s Journey: A universal narrative pattern found in myths and movies worldwide.
- History: The construction of a coherent story from past events.
- Identity: The “story of my life” that we tell ourselves and others.
Common Misconceptions
- “Narrative is just for fiction.” (History, journalism, and even scientific theories often rely on narrative structures.)
- “Plot is the same as story.” (Story is the chronological sequence of events; plot is how they are presented to the reader.)
Related Concepts
- Mimesis: Representation of reality.
- Diegesis: The telling of a story.
- Hermeneutics: The theory of interpretation.
Applications
- Marketing: Brand storytelling to connect with customers.
- Psychology: Narrative therapy helps patients re-author their life stories.
- Law: Constructing a compelling narrative of events for a jury.
Criticism / Limitations
Postmodernists criticize “grand narratives” (like Progress or Enlightenment) for oversimplifying complex realities and excluding marginalized voices.
Further Reading
- Aristotle, Poetics
- Ricoeur, Time and Narrative
- Abbott, The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative