Elements Of Narrative One Of The Starting Points For

Elements of Narrative

One of the starting points for interpreting and writing about imaginative works is to analyze the elements of narration. Here are some questions that may lead you to consider how the various elements are working in a particular text.

Theme the central meaning of a text •What is this work about? •What evidence can you provide to reveal this is so? • How is theme expressed through character or action, scenes or language, the social and material conditions within the text?

The Theme •What issues or ideas are raised? •About individuals and their emotional, private or political lives? • About social or racial justice? •Are the ideas limited to members of the group represented by the characters (age, class, race, nationality, dominant culture)? •Are these ideas applicable to general conditions of life? • What values are embodied in the

Characters— •How are ideas in the work expressed by character? •What actions bring out important traits of the character? • Is this character realistically depicted? •If not, is the character supposed to represent an idea,

How is the character described? Why is this important? To what extent do the traits and the character’s actions permit you to judge him/her? Is the character consistent or inconsistent? Believable or not? Dimensional or stereotypical? Has the character changed in any way