O narrative genre refers to texts that tell a story. For this, a narrator or narrator, character, plot, time, and space. The narrator can be omniscient, observer or character of the narrative, which can contain a free direct, indirect or indirect speech.
Thus, the narrative genre presents, among others, these main subgenres:
epic
romance
tale
novel
fable
Read too: Narrative chronicle - textual genre marked by the brevity of actions
narrative structure
The text of the narrative genre tell a story, the plot, and presents the following elements:
Storyteller
And the narrative voice, that is, the one or the one who tells the story. Therefore, we should not confuse this voice with the author's voice, as it is also configured in a fictional strategy.
omniscient or omnipresent narrator
narrator in 3The people, what have full knowledge of the characters, like thoughts, intentions and details of their individual stories. This can be seen in the following excerpt from the short story “Pílades e Orestes”, from the book
relics of old house (1906), of Machado de Assis, wherein storyteller he even knows the subtle impressions of the Quintanilha character:“Quintanilha felt tears in her voice; so it seemed to him, at least. He asked him to keep the will; [...] only the harsh sound of the pen running across the paper answered him. [...]. The consultation of the books was done with such melancholy that it saddened the other.”
observer narrator
narrator in 3The people, what does not have full knowledge of the characters, therefore, it restricts itself to narrating its actions. Just like in this excerpt from the novel By night (1983), of Caio Fernando Abreu (1948-1996):
"He came back suddenly and leapt into the room, face violent, fist clenched, extended toward the belly of the other."
Narrator character
narrator in 1The people. Thus, the character himself tells the story, which gives readers a partial view of facts. This is what happens in this excerpt from the short story “Frederico Paciência” from the book new tales (1947), of Mario de Andrade (1893-1945):
“Frederico Paciencia was wonderful, dirty from football, sweating, flushed, spilling life. He looked at me with smiling tenderness. Maybe there was, there was a little pity.”
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Character
The characters are the story participants, who acts or who is affected by the plot, which can be flat (without complexity, superficial and predictable) or round (complex, with depth and unpredictable).
So the character round or spherical it is very similar to a real being. For example, Capitu, character from the book Dom Casmurro (1899), of Machado de Assis (1839-1908), is a round character, since it is complex to the point that, until our days, we do not know if she was innocent of betrayal or underhanded.
As an example of flat characters, we can name the villain and the hero of the juvenile children's book series Harry Potter (1997-2007), by J. K. Rowling. In this work, both Voldemort and Harry are predictable, as they behave the way a villain and a hero behave, as they represent the fight of good against evil. This type of character is typical of entertainment narratives, as too much complexity can alienate readers who just want to “pass their time” and have fun.
Time
chronological time
Similar to clock time, that is, regular, indicator of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years, in short, the so-called physical time. Thus, past, present and future projection are well demarcated. As an example, let's read the excerpt from the short story the new california (1910), of Lima Barreto (1881-1922):
“The chemist had been living in Tubiacanga for years, when, one fine morning, Bastos saw him enter through the drugstore. The pharmacist's pleasure was immense. The sage had not deigned until then to visit anyone and, [...]."
psychological time
It's not related to the space, but to the interior of the character, it's the stream of consciousness time, which occurred in the character's mind, therefore, is relative, enabling the blurring of boundaries between present, past and future. As we can see in this excerpt of the novel Passion according to G.H. (1964), of Clarice Lispector (1920-1977):
“Oh, my unknown love, remember that I was trapped there in the collapsed mine, and that by then the room had become an inexpressible familiar, just like the true familiar in the dream. And, as in the dream, what I cannot reproduce for you is the essential color of your atmosphere. As in the dream, the 'logic' was different, it was one that doesn't make sense when you wake up, because the greater truth of the dream is lost.
But remember that all this happened while I was awake and immobilized by daylight, and the truth was a dream was happening without the anesthesia of the night. Sleep with me awake and only then will you be able to know of my great sleep and you will know what the living desert is.
Suddenly, sitting there, a weariness all hardened and without any lassitude had taken me. A little more and he would petrify me.”
Space
It's the place where the plot takes place (the plot, the story told in the narrative). Your choice can be random, but it can also be directly associated with the character's characteristics, as in the novel Dried lives (1938), of Graciliano Ramos (1892-1953). The space of this narrative, characterized by drought, determines the character of the characters, who end up assimilating, in their personalities, the brutality and dryness of the environment:
“He was brutal, yes sir, he had never learned, he couldn't explain himself. Was he arrested for this? How was? So you put a man in jail because he can't speak properly? What harm did his brutality do? He was always working like a slave. He unblocked the drinking fountain, fixed the fences, healed the animals—he had taken advantage of a worthless farm hull. Everything in order, they could see. Was he to blame for being rough? Who was to blame?”
See too:Anguish: novel by Graciliano Ramos
Types of narrative speech
Direct speech
It is the speech of the character (or the characters). Note this dialogue from the book the Bruzundangas (1922), by Lima Barreto (1881-1922):
“—Has Dr. Sicrano already written anything?
- Why do you ask?
"Don't they say he's going to be elected to the Academy of Letters?"
— It is not necessary to write anything, my dear; however, when he was in Europe, he sent beautiful letters to friends and...
"Who read them?"
'Friends, of course; and, moreover, he is a doctor of great practice. Isn't that enough?”
Indirect speech
The narrator or narrator speaks for the character. As an example, we highlight this excerpt from the novel Poncia Vicencio (2003), of Conceição Evaristo:
“When they fell silent, it was the black soldier who approached, saying his name was Nestor and that, if Luandi wanted to, he would be employed. It was to sweep, clean, take care of the cleanliness of the police station. And since he couldn't read or sign, he couldn't be a soldier.”
Free or semi-indirect indirect speech
It is the reproduction of the character's thoughts by the narrator or narrator. You can see this, even in the book Poncia Vicencio, in this excerpt:
“He remembered the mission he had spent some time in his land. It was at that time that his sister Poncia had learned to read. He already accompanied his father in the garden work. It's your sister? He had already covered the four corners of the city, he was looking at the black girls, looking for a face that was her own. Did the sister know how to read, how was her life?"
narrative subgenres
Epic: narrative poem
Romance: long prose narrative
Tale: short prose narrative
Novel: prose narrative, with dimensions between the short story and the novel
Fable: short narrative, starring animals and with a moral
Classification of texts in the narrative genre
Narrative texts can be classified as follows:
→ monophonic: focused on one character, the protagonist. Example: the metamorphosis (1915) by Franz Kafka (1883-1924).
→ Polyphonic: focused on multiple characters. Example: the tenement (1890), of Aluisio Azevedo (1857-1913).
→ Closed: focused on action and not reflection. Thus, there is no opening for the readers' imagination, everything is informed. Example: detective novels, as they must present a solution to the mystery at the end of the work, which happens in books like the curse of the mirror (1962), of Agatha Christie (1890-1976), and in so many works by the writer.
→ open: focused on reflection and not action, not everything is expressed, the plot has gaps that must be filled by readers. Example: Dom Casmurro, by Machado de Assis. To this day, it is not known whether Capitu betrayed her husband and narrator of the story, Bentinho.
→ Linear or progressive: follow a chronological sequence, and facts, events, are considered more important than reflection. Example: Harry Potter, by J. K. Rowling.
→ Vertical or analytical: there is reflection on the facts that occurred and on their influence on the characters. For example, this excerpt from the metamorphosis, in Franz Kafka:
“Upon hearing these words from the mother, Gregor recognized that the lack of any immediate human communication, linked to uniform life among the family, during these two months, should have confused his understanding, otherwise he could not understand how he could have the courage to seriously wish his room was emptied.”|1|
→ Psychological: centered on the functioning of the human mind, on the thoughts of characters or narrators, on their fragmentary states of consciousness. Therefore, in this type of text, the importance of the facts narrated is minimized and the expression of thought is overvalued, which we observe in this excerpt from Passion according to G.H., by Clarice Lispector:
“And a let down. But disillusionment of what? If, without even feeling it, I should barely be tolerating my just-built organization? Perhaps disillusionment is the fear of no longer belonging to a system. However, it should be said like this: he is very happy because he was finally disillusioned. What I was before was not good for me. But it was from this no-good that I had organized the best: hope. From my own evil I had created a future good. The fear now is that my new way doesn't make sense? But why don't I let myself be guided by what happens? I will have to run the sacred risk of chance. And I will replace fate with probability.”
Note that in the text vertical or analytical, the reflection arises from a fact. already in the psychological, the intense stream of consciousness independent of a particular fact.
See too: Fantastic short story – a genre that goes beyond the limits of reality
Summary
narrative structure:
-
Storyteller:
- omniscient or omnipresent
- Observer
- Character
Character:
flat
round or spherical
Time:
chronological
psychological
Space
Types of narrative speech:
Direct
Indirect
Free indirect or semi-indirect
narrative subgenres:
Epic
Romance
Tale
Novel
Fable
solved exercises
question 1 - (And either)
After a good dinner: beans and jerky, pork ears and collard greens, greasy soft rice, skewered meat, dry pork rinds from the belly, Vidinho of green corn and a dish of cabbage broth, dinner topped off by a deep dish of hominy with lumps of sugar, Nhô Tomé savored the strong coffee and stretched out in the hammock. The right hand under the head, as a pillow, the indefectible straw cigarette between the tips of the index finger and thumb, varnished by smoke, with long, curved nails, he stood with his belly in the air, drowsy, looking at the slats of the roof.
Whoever eats and doesn't lie down, the food doesn't enjoy it, thought Nhô Tomé... And he began to nod off. His slumber was short-lived; Aunt Policena, as she passed the room, cried in amazement:
— Eh! Sir! Are you going drumi now? No! No way... Take a bruise and can die of a head attack! After the frame in a farm... more after dinner?!
Cornelius Pires. conversations by the fire. São Paulo: Official Press of the State of São Paulo, 1987.
In this excerpt, taken from a text originally published in 1921, the narrator
a) presents, without making explicit value judgments, customs of the time, describing the dishes served at dinner and the attitude of Nhô Tomé and Tia Policena.
b) devalues the cultured norm of the language because it incorporates the characters' regional language into the narrative.
c) condemns the habits described, giving voice to Tia Policena, who tries to prevent Nhô Tomé from going to bed after meals.
d) uses sociocultural and linguistic diversity to demonstrate its disrespect for populations in rural areas in the early 20th century.
e) manifests prejudice in relation to Aunt Policena when transcribing her speech with the errors typical of the region.
Resolution
Alternative A. In the fragment, the narrator in 3The person presents the customs of the time, but does not make personal judgments about them.
Question 2 - (UFJF)
TEXT 1:
Chiquinho Azevedo
(Gilberto Gil)
Chiquinho Azevedo
boy from Ipanema
already saved a boy
On the beach, in Recife
On that day Momó was also with us
took the boy
To a clinic across the street
And the doctor didn't want
come and meet us
At that time our blood got really hot
boy dying
It was that agony
And the doctor just wanted
by money
At that time I saw how sick the world is
It was discussed a lot
A fight was threatened
twelve liters of water
took out of the belly
From the boy who finally survived
a lot of people ask me
if this story happened
it happened my people
I'm counting
it happened and it happens
every day out there
it happened and it happens
That this world is anyway
Gil, Gilberto. How much. CD Warner Music, 1997. Track 6.
The lyrics of Gilberto Gil's song, presented as Text 1, is predominantly characterized by:
a) Describe
b) narrate
c) Disseminate
d) argue
e) Symbolize
Resolution
Alternative B. In the lyrics of the song in question, the narrative genre is predominant, as it tells a story, therefore, it presents a narrator-character (“I'm telling you”), in addition to characters (Chiquinho Azevedo, a boy, Momó, a doctor and the narrator), plot (drowning and attempt to save the boy), time (past and present), and space (beach and clinic in Recife).
Question 3 - (And either)
Garcia had gone to the corpse, had lifted his handkerchief and had contemplated the dead features for a moment. Then, as if death had spiritualized everything, he bent down and kissed her forehead. It was at that moment that Fortunato arrived at the door. He stopped short in amazement; it couldn't be the kiss of friendship, it could be the epilogue of an adulterous book […].
However, Garcia bent down to kiss the corpse again, but then he could no longer. His kiss broke into sobs, and his eyes could not contain the tears, which came in spurts, tears of silent love, and hopeless despair. Fortunato, at the door where he had stayed, calmly savored this burst of moral pain that was long, very long, deliciously long.
ASSIS, M. the secret cause. Available at: www.dominimopublico.gov.br
Accessed on: 9 Oct. 2015.
In the fragment, the narrator adopts a point of view that follows Fortunato's perspective. What makes this narrative procedure unique is the record of (a)
a) indignation at the suspicion of his wife's adultery.
b) sadness shared by the loss of the beloved woman.
c) astonishment at Garcia's display of affection.
d) the character's pleasure in the suffering of others.
e) overcoming jealousy due to the commotion caused by death.
Resolution:
Alternative D. The narrator takes the character's perspective at the end of the fragment, in which the pain “very long, deliciously long” is mentioned. Thus, the adverb “deliciously” indicates Fortunato's pleasure in the face of others' suffering.
Note
|1|Translated by Marcelo Backes.
by Warley Souza
Literature teacher
