2. Theorists
After researching into different Theorists, I can see that there are many
who use the theory to explain narrative structure. Narrative is the way in
which a story is told in both fictional and non-fictional media texts.
Vladimir Propp
Roland Barthes
Tzvetan Todorov
Claude Levi-Strauss
3. Vladimir Propp
Propp was a Russian critic and literary theorist, he analysed over
100 Russian fairy tales in the 1920’s. Propp proposed that it was
possible to classify the characters and their actions into clearly
defined roles and functions. His character roles include:
The hero (seeks something)
The villain (opposes the hero)
The donor (helps the hero by providing a magic object)
The dispatcher (sends the hero on his way)
The false hero (falsely assuming the role of the hero)
The helper (gives support to the hero)
The princess (the reward for the hero, but also needs protection
from the villain)
The father
4. Tzvetan Todorov
Todorov was a Bulgarian literary theorist, who suggested that most
narratives start with a state of equilibrium in which life is “normal”
and protagonists happy. The state of normality is disrupted by an
outside force, which has to be fought against in order to return to a
state of equilibrium. Todorov suggested that conventional
narratives are structured in five stages:
A state of equilibrium at the outset
A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
A recognition that there has been a disruption
An attempt to repair the disruption
A reinstatement of the equilibrium
Equilibrium – Disequilibrium – New Equilibrium
5. Roland Barthes
Barthes was a French Semiologist that suggested that narrative
works with five different codes which activate the reader to make
sense of it. He also used the terms denotation and connotation to
analyse images. His codes included:
Action – a narrative device by which a resolution is produced
through action, e.g. a shoot-out
Enigma – a narrative device that teases the audience by
presenting a puzzle or riddle to be solved. This works in delaying
the stories ending pleasurably.
Symbolic – connotation
Semic – denotation
Cultural – a narrative device which the audience can recognise as
being part of a culture e.g. a “made man” in a gangster film is
part of the mafia culture.
6. Claude Levi-Strauss
Levi-Strauss was a Social Anthropologist who studied
myths of tribal cultures. He also examined stories
unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of a
culture. These are expressed in the form of binary
oppositions. Binary oppositions are a conflict between
two qualities or terms.
