THE chronicnarrative it is a genderliterary marked by brevity of actions occurred in a determined time and space. Stories usually feature agile dialogues, marked by the possibility of exploring humor, with surprising and/or unusual endings.
In a very usual way, characters and situations are placed in a fictional way, although they are worked everyday themes, in which reflections on human behavior are carried out in order to build social criticism. Considering the intentionality of the genre, it is common to usecolloquial language, from day to day, reflecting the characteristics of characters.
It is quite common for the authors of narrative chronicles to explore facts and events of the present time, and to build narrators who look through the "keyhole", revealing the behavior of people in front of social, political, artistic, individual, collective issues, among many others, but that the human being is focus.
Read too: How to make a text cohesive?
How to make a narrative chronicle
In order to produce a narrative chronicle of excellence, it is essential to keep in mind a text project that includes:
An interesting everyday subject, through which it is possible to carry out reflections, social criticisms;
Identification of the best type of narrator, whether observer or character, to tell the story;
Determination of the scenario and time of the narrative, that is, when and where the actions will be experienced and triggered;
A surprising ending, in addition to choosing whether the approach will allow the use of humorous speech to hold the reader's attention and make reading fluent and pleasurable.
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Finally, let's see what Artur da Távola says about how to write a chronic:
The chronicle is (and will be) the reading of the future: compact, fast, direct, sharp, penetrating, instantaneous (it dissolves with daily use). [...] The chronicle is a hiatus, an interruption of the news, a sigh of the sentence, an outburst of the paragraph, a relax from the direct and dry style of the newspaper's writing, of which it claims to be the literary hiatus, the literature of the newspaper. The journalism of literature. Journalistic Literature. A pause in subjectivity, alongside the objectivity of information. A moment of reflection, given the peremptory opinion of the editor. [1]
Also know: Argumentative chronicle: see its characteristics
Main characteristics of the narrative chronicle
It is a short text, usually produced to be published in newspapers, magazines or even books.
Well-defined time and space. Often, actions take place in a single scene, in a single instant.
for its character of narrative fast, agile, the text has few characters and can be narrated with a focus on the first or third person of the speech.
The language of the narrative chronicle is simple, it can be colloquial, representative of the characters and the narrator's own look at the facts.
It is a text in prose, and it can even be written only with the use of dialogues, without the interference of the narrator. The title is usually creative, and the ending is surprising.
It works with everyday issues, themes close to readers' experiences, with the aim of placing the human being in the focus of observation, building social criticism.
Video lesson on narrative chronicle
Example of narrative chronicle
At the restaurant
Carlos Drummond de Andrade
– I want lasagna.
That woman's draft – four years at the most, blossoming in her ultra-miniskirt – entered the restaurant with determination. She didn't need a menu, she didn't need a table, she didn't need anything. She knew perfectly well what she wanted. I wanted lasagna. The father, who had barely finished parking his car in a miracle spot, appeared to direct the dinner operation, which is, or was, the responsibility of the parents.
– Honey, come here.
– I want lasagna.
– Listen here, darling. First, choose the table.
– No, I've already chosen. Lasagna.
What a stop - it was read in his father's face. Reluctantly the little girl condescended to sit down first, and then order the dish:
– I'll have lasagna.
– Little girl, why don't we order shrimp? You like shrimp so much.
– I like it, but I want lasagna.
– I know, I know you love shrimp. We order a very nice shrimp frittata. OK?
– I want lasagna, Dad. I don't want shrimp.
- Let's do something. After the shrimp, we make a lasagna. What about?
– You eat shrimp and I eat lasagna.
The waiter approached, and she was soon instructing:
– I want lasagna.
The father corrected:
– Bring a shrimp fry for two. Careful.
The little thing pouted. So you couldn't want to? Did you want it on her behalf? Why is it forbidden to eat lasagna? These questions could only be read on her face, for her lips held reserve. When the waiter returned with the dishes and the service, she attacked:
– Man, do you have any lasagna?
– Perfectly, miss.
The father, on the counterattack:
– Did you provide the fry?
– Yes, doctor.
– Of very large shrimp?
– Nice ones, doctor.
- Well, then, see me a chinite, and for her... What do you want, my angel?
– A lasagna.
– Bring her some orange juice.
With the draft beer and orange juice, came the famous shrimp frittata, which, to the surprise of the entire restaurant, interested in the development of events, was not refused by the lady. On the contrary, he pampered her, and well. The silent manduction attested, once again, in the world, the victory of the strongest.
– There was something, huh? - commented the father, with a well-fed smile - Next Saturday, we'll repeat... Combined?
– Now the lasagna, isn't it, Daddy?
- I'm satisfied. Such great shrimp! But are you really going to eat?
– Me and you, okay?
- My love I...
– You have to accompany me, do you hear? Order the lasagna.
The father lowered his head, called the waiter, asked. Then a couple at the next table clapped their hands. The rest of the room followed. The father didn't know where to go. The little girl, impassive. If, at this juncture, the young power is staggering, then, in full force, the ultra-young power is coming.
Source: O Poder Ultrajovem and over 79 texts in prose and verse, 1972.
Read too: Ciao: the last chronicle by Carlos Drummond de Andrade
Representatives of narrative chronicle in Brazilian literature
![Clarice Lispector is a great representative of the Brazilian narrative chronicle. [1]](/f/ff457b7fbb611454f7e83488b6831fa5.jpg)
According to some historians and literary critics, from the 30's of the twentieth century, the chronicle has established itself as a Brazilian textual genre, when renowned authors began to publish texts of this nature, especially in newspapers. Examples of great authors who wrote chronicles:
Mario de Andrade;
Manuel Bandeira;
Carlos Drummond de Andrade;
Fernando Sabino;
Paulo Mendes Campos;
Érico Verissimo;
Clarice Lispector, between others.
That much the dedication of these writers like the newspaper growth in Brazil they greatly contributed to the chronicle being disseminated and taken as a literary genre, falling in the Brazilians' tastes and establishing itself as a text close to its readers.
More recently in our history, we can mention Rubem Braga and luis Fernando Seeívery as great representatives of the genre. It is noteworthy that, with the advent of digital media, it is possible to find this text circulating not only in books and newspapers, but also in other vehicles, which contributes to the popularization of the chronicle and its access more made easy.
Image Credit:
[1]National Archives
Grades:
[1] TÁVOLA, Artur da. Be young. Rio de Janeiro: New Frontier, 1985, page 54.
by Sara de Castro
Professor of Castro
