Narrative TheoryDigital Media Foundations

Arfa ShahK1109528

What is a narrative?

A narrative essentially tells a story to the reader. A narrative doesn’t have to be linear where the story is told

in chronological order with a beginning, middle and an end. A narrative can also be non-linear where the story isn’t told

in a chronological order- a non-linear narrative can take the form of a flashback, flash forward, story told from the perspective of different characters at different points in time.

In order to understand different narratives, theorists such as Todorov, Propp and Levi-Strauss detailed a list of common conventions that can be found in narratives.

Tzvetan Todorov Tzvetan Todorov is a literary theorist who highlighted that each story, whatever the

genre, follows the same structure:1. The environment within a story begins with a state of calm (equilibrium).2. The calm is then disrupted (disequilibrium)3. The disequilibrium passes and a new equilibrium is produced towards the end of

the narrative.In more the detail, Todorov details that there are 5 stages a narrative can go through:4. The environment is in a state of calm, everything is as it should be.5. The calm is disrupted by an event6. There is then a recognition that a disruption has occurred. 7. There is an attempt to repair the damage caused by the disruption. 8. Peace is stored and there is a new equilibrium.

Todorov states the narrative of the text is usually driven by the characters attempts to restore equilibrium to the story and that the disruption itself is abrupt and takes place outside the normal social and moral framework of society e.g. Someone is kidnapped, murdered and the characters of the story have to solve the mystery.

Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic in the 1920swho was interested in the narratives of Folk Tales.He found that characters in stories acted asnarrative functions and drove the plot of the story forward. He said that the characters ofnarratives provided structure to the text andidentified 8 character types:

1. Hero- a character who is seeking something2. Villain- aims to block the hero’s journey3. Donor- provides an object with magical qualities4. Dispatcher- sends the hero a message which leads

the hero to go on his quest.5. False hero- disrupts the hero’s quest and success by

making false claims and tries to win over the princess. 6. Helper- aids the hero in his quest. 7. Princess- Is the reward for the hero and usually used

by the villain in his plots.8. Father- rewards the hero for his effort usually by

allowing him to be with the Princess.  

Example of Propp’s theory: Shrek 2

Shrek- HeroIn Shrek 2, Shrek seeks to be reunited with Fiona after her Father arranges for him to be killed to ensure the best future for Fiona. Shrek believes in order to reunite with Fiona, he must become human and seeks to find a potion.

Charming- False HeroOnce Shrek drinks the potion and becomes human, he rushes to the castle but finds that Charming is there impersonating Shrek. He does this with the aim to marry Fiona and become the Prince.

Fairy Godmother- Villain & DonorThe Fairy Godmother wants her son, Charming, to become the Prince and plots with Fiona’s father to get rid of Shrek. She also acts as an unwilling donor as the potion which Shrek needs to become human is produced at Fairy Godmother’s potion factory.

King Harold- Fiona’s Father and unwilling VillainKing Harold rewards Shrek with Fiona once he wins the heart of the people. The reason why King Harold becomes the unwilling villain of the story is to fulfil his promise to Fairy Godmother that Charming will become Prince otherwise he will be turned back into a frog.

Fiona- PrincessShrek wins back Fiona once he convinces her that Charming is not the human version of Shrek. Fiona is manipulated by Fairy Godmother and King Harold into believing that Charming is Shrek.

Donkey- HelperDonkey helps Shrek by aiding him in breaking into the factory and stealing the potion and then helps him reveal Charming’s true identity to the citizens of “Far Far Away” in order to win back Fiona.

Claude Levi-StraussLevi- Strauss was a social anthropologist and studied myths of tribal

cultures. He found that stories that are told unconsciously mirror the values and myths of a culture. He argued that these values and myths are expressed in the form of binary oppositions.

Levi-Strauss argued that we understand words not solely on their meaning, but in relation to its opposite component, or its “binary opposite”. He argued the words represent society’s values and ideas therefore the meaning of words is a relationship between two different ideas.

For example, the only way we can understand the word “villain “ is by looking at its opposite, the “hero”. In modern society, a hero is kind, noble and brave whereas a villain is the complete OPPOSITE- selfish, unkind, evil.

Other examples of binary opposites are- light and day, love and hate, masculinity and femininity, young and old, light and dark.

Roland Barthes Barthes was a French literary theorist and along with Todorov, Propp and Levi-

Strauss, suggested that there are 5 codes that can describe the meaning of a text.

He also said that texts can ‘open’ which means they can be interpreted in many different ways, or, ‘closed’ which suggests the text has one dominant interpretation.

The 5 codes are: 1. The Hermeneutic Code: This code refers to the ambiguity/mystery in a

text. The purpose of the hermeneutic code, also referred to as the enigma code, is to leave the audience wanting to know more and therefore keeps them hooked to the story (seen mostly in horrors, thrillers, mystery e.g. Who is the killer of the text?)

2. The Proairetic Code: This code builds tension by referring to incidents in the text which indicates that something else might happen- this keeps the audience guessing. Barthes stated that the Hermeneutic Code and Proairetic Code are “dependent on” one another to increase the suspense within the story and to keep the audience interested.

Roland Barthes continued...3. The Semantic Code: This code relates to the connotations

contained within a text which gives additional meaning to the text.

4. The Symbolic Code: Is very similar to the code above however it organises semantic meanings into a wider framework of meaning. This is done by creating new meanings, tension and drama out of opposing ideas.

5. The Referential Code: This code refers to anything within the text which utilises wider and external framework of knowledge grounded in “truth”- for example scientific, historical knowledge.