Narrative Techniques

This section delves into the importance of narrative techniques in fictional text analysis. It emphasizes that students should consider not only the story itself but also how it is told, as these techniques significantly influence the reader's perception.

The narrative techniques are categorized into three main areas:

1. Structure: This includes elements such as plot, exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement.

2. Chronology: This covers techniques like backstories, flashbacks, flash-forwards, and foreshadowing.

3. Narrative situation: This encompasses aspects such as point of view, narrator reliability, tense, irony, and dialogue.

Definition: Foreshadowing refers to clues provided early in the story that hint at future developments.

Example: In a flashback, the narrative is taken back in time to reveal past events relevant to the current story.

Character Analysis

This section provides guidance on analyzing characters in novels, films, and plays. It emphasizes the importance of examining various aspects of characters, including their traits, roles, and development throughout the story.

Key points for character analysis include: • Personal data (name, age, sex, ethnic group, home) • Social background, family, job, and interests • Outward appearance and main character traits • Language, actions, and behavior • Mood, thoughts, and feelings • Past influences and relationships with others

The section also distinguishes between flat characters (those who don't change) and round characters (those who undergo changes and are presented in detail).

Vocabulary: Protagonist refers to the main character, while antagonist is the character in conflict with the protagonist.

Definition: Direct characterization involves explicitly stating a character's traits, while indirect characterization requires the reader to interpret a character's thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Writing a Summary

This final section focuses on the skill of summary writing, which is crucial for all forms of writing. It explains that a summary aims to highlight the major points of a piece of writing and outline the most important facts.

The guide emphasizes that a summary should: • Briefly restate the author's main ideas (for non-fictional texts) or retell a story in your own words (for fictional texts) • Be much shorter than the original text, typically half or a third of the original length

Highlight: Writing a summary helps in obtaining a better orientation and understanding of the structure and contents of a text, which is essential for additional analysis and evaluation.

The section begins to outline steps for summarizing a non-fictional text, emphasizing the importance of careful reading as the first step.