1. The Purpose of Narrative Text
The purpose of narrative text is to amuse or entertain the readers.
Narratives deal with problematic events which lead to a crisis or turning point of some kind, which in turn a resolution.
2. The Generic Structure (Parts) of Narrative Text
There are three parts of narrative text, those are:
1) Orientation
It sets the scene and introduces the participants of the story.
2) Complication
It shows when the crisis arises.
3) Resolution
It shows when the crisis is resolved, for a better or worse condition.
Note:
The structure of narratives occurs in the text variously. A text may have only one complication and resolution, but another text may have more than one complication and resolution.
3. The grammatical features of narratives
There are some grammatical features of narratives, those are:
1) Use of adjectives to build noun groups to describe the people, animals, or things in the story, such as …. a nice, diligent and kind-hearted man;
2) Use of time connectives and conjunctions to sequence events through time, such as however, although, later, then;
3) Use of adverbs and adverbial phrases to locate the particular events, such asonce upon a time, long time ago;
4) Use of past tenses, such as Aji Saka went to the kingdom, measured the size of the turban ….;
5) Use of action verbs to indicate the actions, such as fleed, explained, provided, smashed; and
6) Use of saying and thinking verbs to indicate what characters are feeling, thinking, or saying, such as told, realized, decided.
Example of Narrative Text
The Ducks and the Fox
One day, two ducks walked along the road to go to the lake for their swim. In the middle of the road, they met Mr. Fox. He sat under the tree.
“Hello, sisters. Where are you going?” asked Mr. Fox.
“Good morning, Mr. Fox. We are going to the lake over there. We want gto swim. Would you like to join us?” asked the ducks.
“No, thanks. Do you both come along here every day?” asked Mr. Fox.
“Yes, we always walk here every morning,” said the ducks.
“Delicio ….I….I….mean nice to see you both,” said Mr. Fox.
The next day, the first duck said, “Are we going to swim today? I bet that Mr. Fox is waiting for us and he has a bad plan.”
“I know. I have a plan for him too,” said the second duck.
On their way, they met Mr. Fox again.
“Hello, sisters. Going to swim again?” asked Mr. Fox.
“Yes, we are. Why don’t you take us to the lake and protect us from bad animals?” said the second duck.
“Of course. It’s my pleasure,” replied Mr. Fox.
“This is an easy way to have a free lunch. I have a big bag with me now,” thought Mr. Fox.
Three of them walked to the lake and sang some songs.
“When I say run, let’s run fast together,” said the second duck, “Run!!!!”
They ran so fast and jumped into the lake. Mr. Fox jumped upon them, but he forgot that he could not swim. So, Mr. Fox drowned in the lake. He failed to get his free lunch.
