Narrative Text

A. Definition (Pengertian)
Narrative text is an imaginative story to entertain or amuse people Or Narrative
text is a story with complication or problematic events and it tries to find the
resolutions to solve the problems. An important part of narrative text is the narrative
mode, the set of methods used to communicate the narrative through a process
narration. (Teks narasi adalah cerita imaginatif yang bertujuan menghibur orang).

B. Purposes (Tujuan)
The Purpose of Narrative Text is to amuse or to entertain the reader with a story
(untuk menghibur pembaca).

C. Generic Structure of Narrative Text (Struktur umum dari Teks Naratif):

1. Orientation: It is about the opening paragraph where the characters of the

story are introduced. (person, time, and place).
Orientation merupakan bagian awal dari sebuah struktur narrative text. Selain terdapat
keterangan tempat atau waktu, bagian orientation mengandung jawaban dari
pertanyaan who, when, dan where. Atau yang disebut perkenalan tokoh, latar tempat
serta waktu di dalam cerita.

2. Complication: Where the problems in the story developed.

Munculah masalah pada bagian ini, yang seringkali terbagi menjadi tiga jenis.
Complication dalam struktur narrative text dapat berupa natural conflict (masalah
tokoh dengan alam), social conflict (masalah tokoh dengan tokoh lain), dan
psychological conflict (masalah tokoh dengan dirinya sendiri/perang batin).

3. Resolution: Where the problems in the story is solved.

Resolution berisi penyelesaian atas masalah yang terjadi.

4. Re-orientation/ Evaluation
Sometimes (generic structure) narrative text can be contained:
Orientation, Complication, Evaluation, Resolution, and Reorientation. Even
though “Evaluation” and “Reorientation” it is optional; can be added or not.
Evaluation contains of controlling and evaluating a love adventure or conflict
Reorientation contains the conclusion of the end story
Di evaluation, biasanya penulis mengkhususkan pesan moral serta kesimpulan cerita di
sebuah paragraf akhir. Tujuannya untuk benar-benar mengakhiri sebuah cerita.

D. Language Features (Ciri Bahasa)

 Using Past tense (killed, drunk, etc)

 Using Adverb of time (Once upon a time, one day, etc)

 Using Time conjunction (when, then, suddenly, etc)

 Indicate Specific character. The character of the story is specific, not

general. (Cinderella, Snow White, Alibaba, etc)
  Using Action verbs. A verb that shows an action. (killed, dug, walked, etc)

 Using Direct speech. It is to make the story lively. (Snow White said,”My
name is Snow White). The direct speech uses present tense.

 Contain Moral Value/ Impression (Never under estimate others/ the weaker,
Never tell lie, never cruel to others, etc).

E. Kinds of Narrative Text (Jenis-Jenis Narrative text)

(1) Folklore
Satu dari sepuluh jenis narrative text ini dikenal dengan folklore atau cerita
rakyat. Cerita dari folklore merupakan cerita turun temurun dari leluhur hingga
menjadi sebuah tradisi, baik lisan maupun setengah lisan. Salah satu contoh folklor
paling terkenal di Indonesia adalah Bawang Merah Bawang Putih.

Narrative Text – The legend of Telaga Warna

Long time ago, there was a kingdom in West Java. The kingdom was ruled by a
king named His Majesty Prabu. Prabu was a kind and wise king. But it was a pity that
Prabu and his queen hadn’t got any children. The queen often cried. That was why
Prabu went to the jungle. There he prayed to God every day, begging for a child.
A few months later, the queen got pregnant. Nine months later, a princess was born.
Prabu and Queen loved their beautiful daughter so much. They gave whatever she
wanted. It made Princess turn into a very spoiled girl.
One day, the princess celebrated her 17th birthday party. Many people gathered in
the palace. Then, Prabu took out a necklace which was made from gold and jewel.
“My beloved daughter, today I give you this necklace. Please, wear this necklace,” said
Prabu.
“I don’t want to wear it! It’s ugly!” shouted the princess. Then she threw the
necklace. The beautiful necklace was broken. The gold and jewels were spread out on the
floor. Everybody couldn’t say anything. They never thought that their beloved princess
would do that cruel thing. In their silence, people heard the queen crying. Every woman
felt sad and began crying, too. Then, everybody was crying. Then, there was a miracle.
Earth was crying.
Nowadays, people called the lake “Telaga Warna”. It means “Lake of Color”. On a
bright day, the lake is full of color. These colors come from shadows of forest, plants,
flowers, and sky around the lake. But some people said that the colors are from the
princess’s necklace, which spreads at the bottom of the lake.

(2) Fabel
Cerita fabel atau cerita tentang binatang yang “seakan-akan” berperilaku
menyerupai manusia. Fabel merupakan salah satu jenis narrative text yang
mengandung banyak pesan moral.

Examples :

a. One day there was a miser who sold all that he had to buy a lump of gold. After
buying the gold, he buried it in a hole in the ground by the side of an old wall and
went to look at daily. One of his workmen realized his frequent visits to the spot
and decided to watch his movements secretly. He soon discovered the secret of
 the hidden treasure and stole it. The next day the miser found the hole empty and
began to tear his hair and to make loud lamentations. A neighbor, seeing him
overcome with grief and learning the cause, said, "Pray do not grieve so.” “Then
take a stone, and place it in the hole, and fancy that the gold is still lying there. It
will do you quite the same service; because when you placed the gold there, you
had it not, as you did not make the slightest use of it."

Moral: The worth of material wealth comes from what you do with it. If you do
nothing with it, it doesn’t mean anything.

b. The Mouse Deer And Crocodile

Once upon time there were a smart mouse deer. He lived near a river.
The mouse deer used to go to the river to drink.
One day, the mouse deer was thirsty. He wanted to drink in the river but he
knew that crocodiles were staying and waiting underwater to eat him. He
thought hard and got bright idea. He said out loudly. “I will put in my leg and
find out whether the water is warm or not” Of course the mouse deer did not
do what he said. He did not put his leg but the mouse deer took a wood stick
and put one end into the water. Blurrr…! Surely a crocodile grabbed the
wood stick and pulled it underwater. Seeing that, the mouse deer laughed and
said “Stupid crocodile! Can’t you see the difference between a wood stick
and a leg?” Then the mouse deer ran to another side of the river and drink
some water.
On the following day, the mouse deer was hungry. He wanted to eat
some grass on the side of the river so he had to to cross the dangerous river
which was full of crocodiles. Again he thought hard and found another smart
idea and said loudly “Crocodiles come up!” then some crocodiles rose from
the water. They looked happy and saw their sharp teeth and said “Hello,
Mouse Deer. Do you come to be my lunch? We are hungry” The mouse deer
just smiled and replied. “Sorry, Crocodiles, not today, I come to you to
bring an invitation from the king. You are invited to the party. The king
ordered me to count all crocodiles in this river so he knew how to prepare
enough meal for you.”All the crocodiles felt happy and said “Really…? Tell
us what to do,” said a crocodile. “You have to line up from this side of the
river to the other side,” said the mouse deer. Not long after that the crocodile
got all his friends and family. He ordered to lined up across the river.
The mouse deer then jumped on the Crocodile’s back. “One,” the mouse
deer counted. He jumped onto the next crocodile, “Two.” And he jumped
again on the next crocodile, “Three.” he kept jumping until he arrived on the
other side of the river. “Just enough,” said the mouse deer. “I have counted
all of you” He laughed and ran to the field of grass.

(3) Myth
Myth atau mitos merupakan kisah berlatar masa lalu, yang biasanya bercerita
tentang dewa-dewa, pahlawan yang mengandung penafsiran tentang asal-usul
semesta alam. Mitos umumnya dianggap sebagai cerita faktual yang benar-benar
terjadi.

(4) Legend
 Selanjutnya ada legend atau legenda, cerita rakyat pada zaman dahulu yang
menceritakan asal-usul peristiwa sejarah atau tempat. Contoh, cerita tentang
Danau Toba atau cerita tentang Gunung Tangkuban Perahu.

(5) Fairy Tale

Kalau di Indonesia, fairy tale dikenal dengan sebutan dongeng. Cerita yang kerap
dibacakan kepada anak-anak menjelang tidur. Dongeng sendiri memiliki arti
cerita-cerita ajaib yang tidak benar-benar terjadi atau hanya khayalan semata.

(6) Love Story/Romance

Siapa yang suka baca buku kisah cinta? Love story atau cerita romansa
merupakan salah satu jenis narrative text yang berfokus pada kisah percintaan.
Salah satu cerita cinta terkenal di dunia adalah cerita Romeo and Juliet dan cerita
Layla Majnun.

(7) Text Mysteries dan Horror Stories

Text mysteries biasanya merupakan cerita misteri atau cerita-cerita yang belum
diketahui secara pasti. Sedangkan cerita horor merupakan cerita-cerita seram
tentang hantu dan makhluk tak kasat mata lainnya.

(8) Adventure Stories

Adventure stories memuat cerita tentang petualangan yang menarik dan
menantang.

(9) Historical Narrative

Cerita sejarah biasanya memuat tentang kisah atau asal mula fakta kejadian masa
lalu yang memiliki nilai sejarah. Di Indonesia sendiri, cerita narasi yang termasuk
ke dalam historical narrative adalah Perang Diponegoro.

F. Examples (Contoh):

1. Narrative Text about Fable

The Rabbit and the Turtle

One day a rabbit was boasting about how fast he could run. He was laughing at the
turtle for being so slow.

Much to the rabbit’s surprise, the turtle challenged him to a race. The rabbit thought
this was a good joke and accepted the challenge. The fox was to be the umpire of the
race. As the race began, the rabbit raced way ahead of the turtle, just like everyone
thought.

The rabbit got to the halfway point and could not see the turtle anywhere. He was hot
and tired and decided to stop and take a short nap. All this time the turtle kept walking
step by step by step. He never quit no matter how hot or tired he got. He just kept
going.

However, the rabbit slept longer than he had thought and woke up. He could not see
the turtle anywhere! He went at full-speed to the finish line but found the turtle there
waiting for him.

Narrative about Fable

Origin of the Snail House

In ancient times, the snails did not bring their home anywhere. In the beginning, snails
lived in an abandoned bird’s nest in the trees. The night was warm and the day was
cool because the leaves shaded the nest where the snails lived. But when the rains
came, the leaves could no longer block the rain that fell. Snails caught cold and wet
when the rainy season arrived.

Then the snails moved into the holes in the trunks of trees. When the day was hot, the
snails were well protected, even if it rained. It looked like that I had found a suitable
home for me, the snail said in his heart.

But on a sunny day, there came a woodpecker. Tok..tok … tok … woodpecker kept
pecking the trunks where the snails lived. Snails became very distracted and could not
sleep. With annoyed heart, snails went out of the hole in the trunk and looked for a
place to stay next. Snails found a hole in the ground, which seemed to be warm when
the night came, thought snails. Snails cleaned up those holes and decided to stay in it.
But it turned out when the night came. The rats came from all directions to damage
the hole. Again and again, the snails had to leave the hole to find a new home.

Snails then moved on to the edge of the beach filled with coral reefs. He thought that
the sidelines of the corals might be his home. Snails could take a rest peacefully in
this place. But when the tide rose up to the top of the rock, snail was swept away
along with the surge of the waves. As usual, the snails had to go away to find a new
home. When he was walking away from the beach, the snail found an empty shell.
This shape was beautiful and very light. Being tired and cold, snails went into the
shell. Snails felt warm and comfortable then he slept in it.

When the morning came, snails realized that he had found the best home for himself.
He did not need to go home in hurry if it rained. He also would not get heat anymore,
and no one would bother him. He then brought it home with him wherever he went.
2. Narrative Text about Fairly Tales

Read and understand text carefully !

Snow White

(Orientation)
Once upon a time there lived a little girl named Snow White. She lived with her Aunt
and Uncle because her parents were dead.

(Complication)
One day she heard her Uncle and Aunt talking about leaving Snow White in the castle
because they both wanted to go to America and they didn’t have enough money to
take Snow White. (Major Complication)
Snow White did not want her Uncle and Aunt to do this so she decided it would be
best if she ran away. The next morning she ran away from home when her Aunt and
Uncle were having breakfast. She ran away into the woods.She was very tired and
hungry.

(Resolution)
Then she saw this little cottage. She knocked but no one answered so she went inside
and fell asleep.

(Complication)
Meanwhile, the seven dwarfs were coming home from work. They went inside. There
they found Snow White sleeping. Then Snow White woke up. She saw the dwarfs.
The dwarfs said, what is your name? Snow White said, ‘My name is Snow White’.

(Major Resolution)
The dwarfs said, ‘If you wish, you may live here with us”. Snow White said, ‘Oh
could I? Thank you.’ Then Snow White told the dwarfs the whole story and Snow
White and the 7 dwarfs lived happily ever after.