The document discusses two narrative theories and applies them to two stories. It summarizes Tzvetan Todorov's 5-part theory of narrative structure applied to the story of "Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day". It then summarizes Vladimir Propp's theory of 7 character archetypes and applies it to the characters in "Aladdin". Finally, it provides a brief overview of Propp's theory focusing on the 7 character roles and Todorov's theory of the 5 stages of narrative structure.

1. Narrative Theory
Applying Tzvetan Todorov’s Theory to ‘Alexander
and the terrible, horrible ,no good, very bad
day’
1.)EQUILIBRIUM: Alexander gets up with gum in his hair, he usually does
clumsy things, it’s a regular thing for him. The day is the day before his
birthday and they all sit at the table for breakfast. He’s already planning for
his party tomorrow.
2.)DISTRUPTION: Another rich person at school is having a birthday party
on the same day as Alexander's. The minute his birthday strikes Alex blows
a candle and wishes all his family knew what it’s like to have a bad day.
3.)REALISATION OF DISRUPTION: Nothing turns out right for Alexander’s
family but everything turns out well for him. He realises this at school when
his sister gets sick, his dad thinks his job interview flops and his brother
gets excluded from school before the night of prom and driving test.
4.)ATTEMPT TO FIX DISRUPTION: Alexander tries to warn the family
about the curse and tells them not to do anything important for today, this
is him trying to solve the solution.
5.)NEW EQUILIBRIUM: The family decide to push through all the bad luck
and get on with the day in the best possible way. The movie ends with
Alexander’s massive birthday party.
Applying Vladimir Propp's Theory to ‘Aladdin’
Aladdin – Hero
Jasmine- Princess
Jafar- Villain, False Hero
Genie- Donor, Helper, Dispatcher
Vladimir Propp's Theory and Tzvetan Todorov’s Theory
Propps' theory is based on his studies of fairytale stories. Propp recognized
that every fairytale story has seven characters each with a special role. The
characters consist of a Hero, Villain, False Hero, a Dispatcher, Helper, Donor,
and a Princess. He soon realised that all stories are based around this
character frame. Todorov’s theory is about every story’s story line. He
noticed that every story has the same 5 parts.. An Equilibrium (everything
as it should be), Disruption (by and event),Recognition of disruption,
attempts to repair disruption, and finally a new equilibrium.