Narrative Text; Definition, Generic Structures, Purposes, Language Features

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In this article, we will discuss narrative text. Do you know the definition, structure, and examples of narrative text in English? If not, you can find a complete discussion in this article!

Do you still remember your childhood bedtime stories? Or the story of the origin of a place whose truth is not yet known but is still told from generation to generation? You can rewrite the story in English text. The type of text that can be used is narrative text. In this article, we will discuss the definition, function, basic framework, and characteristics of the text.

Narrative Text

Definition of Narrative Text

Narrative Text is one of 13 types of English text (genre) born from narration as well as Recount Text, Anecdote Text, Spoof Text. Then, the definition of narrative text is an imaginative story to entertain people

Perhaps you need to know that narrative text, in the writing and composition lecture is usually called narration, which is one of type of text in a literary language. Usually, the narrative text contains good fiction stories, non-fiction stories, animal stories (fable), folktales, fairy tales, myths, legends etc. In a simple word everything about story is included in narrative text.

Generic Structure of Narrative Text

# Orientation : It is about the opening paragraph where the characters of the story are introduced.
# Complication : Where the problems in the story developed.
# Resolution : Where the problems in the story is solved.
# Coda / reorientation (optional) – lesson from the story

Purpose of Narrative Text

The Purpose of Narrative Text is to amuse or to entertain the reader with a story.

Language Feature of Narrative Text

– Past tense (killed, drunk, etc.)
– Adverb of time (Once upon a time, one day, etc.)
– Time conjunction (when, then, suddenly, etc.)
– Specific character. The character of the story is specific, not general. (Cinderella, Snow White, Alibaba, etc.)
– Action verbs. A verb that shows an action. (killed, dug, walked, etc.)
– Direct speech. It is to make the story lively. (Snow White said, ”My name is Snow White”). The direct speech uses present tense.

Kinds of Narrative Text
fable
folktales
fairy tales
myth
legend

Example of Narrative Text

Example of Narrative Text about Animal

True Friends

Once upon a time, there were two close friends who were walking through the forest together. They knew that anything dangerous can happen any time in the forest. So they promised each other that they would always be together in any case of danger.

Suddenly, they saw a large bear getting closer toward them. One of them climbed a nearby tree at once. But unfortunately the other one did not know how to climb up the tree. So being led by his common sense, he lay down on the ground breathless and pretended to be a dead man.

The bear came near the one who was lying on the ground. It smelt in his ears, and slowly left the place because the bears do not want to touch the dead creatures. After that, the friend on the tree came down and asked his friend that was on the ground, “Friend, what did the bear whisper into your ears?” The other friend replied, “Just now the bear advised me not to believe a false friend.”

Moral of the Story- A true friend in need is a friend indeed.

Fox and Cat

One day a cat and a fox were having a conversation. The fox, who was a conceited creature, boasted how clever she was. ‘Why, I know at least a hundred tricks to get away from our mutual enemies, the dogs,’ she said.

‘I know only one trick to get away from dogs,’ said the cat. ‘You should teach me some of yours!’
‘Well, maybe someday, when I have the time, I may teach you a few of the simpler ones,’ replied the fox airily.

Just then they heard the barking of a pack of dogs in the distance. The barking grew louder and louder – the dogs were coming in their direction! At once the cat ran to the nearest tree and climbed into its branches, well out of reach of any dog. ‘This is the trick I told you about, the only one I know,’ said the cat. ‘Which one of your hundred tricks are you going to use?’

The fox sat silently under the tree, wondering which trick she should use. Before she could make up her mind, the dogs arrived. They fell upon the fox and tore her to pieces.

Moral : A single plan that works is better than a hundred doubtful plans.

The Ant and the Dove

One hot day, an ant was seeking for some water. After walking around for a moment, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell unintentionally into the water.

She could have sunk if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly put off a leaf from a tree and dropped it immediately into the water near the struggling ant. Then the ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground.

Not long after at that, there was a hunter nearby who was throwing out his net towards the dove, hoping to trap it in this way.

Guessing what he should do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net and the dove flew away quickly from this net.
The morality: One good turn deserves another.

Example of Narrative Text – Androcles

Androcles

A slave named Androcles once escaped from his master and fled to the forest. As he was wandering about there he came upon a Lion lying down moaning and groaning. At first he turned to flee, but finding that the Lion did not pursue him, he turned back and went up to him. As he came near, the Lion put out his paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into it, and was causing all the pain. He pulled out the thorn and bound up the paw of the Lion, who was soon able to rise and lick the hand of Androcles like a dog. Then the Lion took Androcles to his cave, and every day used to bring him meat from which to live.

But shortly afterwards both Androcles and the Lion were captured, and the slave was sentenced to be thrown to the Lion, after the latter had been kept without food for several days. The Emperor and all his Court came to see the spectacle, and Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena. Soon the Lion was let loose from his den, and rushed bounding and roaring towards his victim. But as soon as he came near to Androcles he recognized his friend, and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog.

The Emperor, surprised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him the whole story. Whereupon the slave was pardoned and freed, and the Lion let loose to his native forest.

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

Terjemahan

Androcles

Pada suatu hari seorang budak bernama Androcles melarikan diri dari majikannya menuju hutan belantara. Saat sedang berjalan-jalan di hutan, dia bertemu dengan seekor singa yang sedang mengerang kesakitan. Karena terkejut, Androcles segera melarikan diri, tetapi ternyata singa tersebut tidak mengejarnya. Androcles penasaran ingin tahu apa yang terjadi dengan singa tersebut. Saat dia mendekat, sang singa menunjukkan kakinya yang bengkak dan berdarah. Ternyata, ada sebuah duri besar yang menusuk kaki sang singa. Androcles segera mencabut duri tersebut, lalu membalut kaki sang singa. Tidak lama kemudian Sang singa kembali dapat berjalan. Sang singa sangat senang, dia menjilati Androcles sebagai rasa terima kasihnya. Sang singa mengajak Androcles ke tempat tinggalnya di gua. Setiap hari Sang singa membawakan daging segar untuk Androcles.

Pada suatu hari pasukan kerajaan dikirim untuk mencari budak-budak yang melarikan diri. Pasukan tersebut berhasil menemukan Androcles dan membawa Androcles serta Sang singa ke kerajaan. Karena melarikan diri Androcles akan diberi hukuman bertarung dengan seekor singa yang telah berhari-hari tidak diberi makan.

Pada hari yang ditentukan, raja dan para pembesar kerajaan datang ke arena untuk menonton pertarungan antara Androcles dan Singa. Androcles segera dibawa menuju tengah arena. Kemudian Sang singa yang lapar dilepaskan dari sangkarnya ke dalam arena. Sang singa segera berlari dan mengaum menuju calon korbannya. Tetapi setelah dekat, Sang singa mengenali ternyata itu adalah Androcles, sahabatnya. Sang singa mengibas-ngibaskan ekornya dan menjilati Androcles.

Sang Raja terkejut, lalu memanggil Androcles dan memintanya menceritakan kisahnya dengan Sang singa. Selanjutnya budak itu (Androcles) diberi maaf dan dibebaskan , sedangkan Sang singa kembali dilepaskan ke hutan.

Terima kasih adalah tanda hati yang mulia

Example of Narrative Text : Legend

The Legend of Catu Island

A long time ago there was a village in Bali. The people worked as farmers. One of the was Jurna. He was a diligent farmer. He always had a great harvest. However he was never satisfied. He wanted to have better and better harvest.

“I will promise to gods. If they give me better harvest than I have now, I will give them offerings and I will share the harvest to the neighbors,” said Jurna to his wife.

“I agree, But remember, you have to keep your promise,” said his wife.

Soon, Jurna had better harvest. He had more rice than he had before. He was happy. And as promised, he prepared offerings to the gods and he also shared to his neighbors. They were very happy.

Jurna was not satisfied. He wanted to have better and better and more harvest. Therefore he promised to gods that he would double his offerings and his sharing to the neighbors.

His wish came true. His harvest was much better than before. The other farmers were amazed. They were also very thankful because he shared his harvest to them.

One day, Jurna went to his rice field. When he arrived, he saw a pile of soil on the ground. It looked like a catu. Catu was made of coconut shell. People used catu to measure the amount of rice. At home, Jurna talked about a soil which looked like a catu to his wife. She had an idea.

“Let’s make catu from rice,” she said. Jurna agreed. Later they formed the rice just like catu. On the following day, Jurna went to his rice field. He saw the soil catu was getting bigger.

“Hmm…I will make rice catu bigger than this,” said Jurna himself. He asked his wife to make bigger rice catu. He felt very satisfied. He wanted to show his rise catu to his neighbors. He hoped that his neighbors would prise him as a rich man. And they did! All the neighbors praised him. Jurna became arrogant. On the next day, Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the soil catu were not getting bigger and bigger. But he was wrong. Strangely, the soil catu was bigger.

“Don’t worry, I have much rice. I can make rice catu bigger,” said Jurna arrogantly. While he was making the rice catu, he was thinking how the neighbors would prise him.

And his wish came true. All the neighbors were so amazed by the size of the rice catu. They all said that Jurna was very rich. Jurna became more arrogant.

Then Jurna went to his rice field. He hoped the soil catu would stop growing. But he was wrong. Again, it became much bigger than before. Jurna was really upset. He made rice catu bigger than before.

It always repeated. Every time he went to his rice field he always found the soil catu became bigger and bigger.

His wife always reminded him to stop making rice catu. She said that their stock was getting lesser and lesser. She asked him to stop wasting the rice.

But Jurna ignored her. He was only thinking how he could make his rice catu bigger than the soil catu. Soon he lost all of his rice. He became poor. He regretted his bad behaviour. Meanwhile the soil catu became very big. It was like a hill. People then named it as Catu Hill or Bukit Catu. ***


Terjemahan

Legenda Pulau Catu

Dahulu kala ada sebuah desa di Bali. Orang-orang bekerja sebagai petani. Salah satunya adalah Jurna. Dia adalah petani yang tekun. Dia selalu panen besar. Namun dia tidak pernah puas. Dia ingin panen yang lebih baik dan lebih baik.

“Saya akan berjanji kepada tuhan, jika mereka memberi saya panen yang lebih baik daripada yang saya miliki sekarang, saya akan memberi mereka persembahan dan saya akan membagikan hasilnya kepada tetangga,” kata Jurna kepada istrinya.

“Saya setuju, tapi ingat, Anda harus menepati janjimu,” kata istrinya.

Segera, Jurna panen lebih baik. Dia memiliki lebih banyak beras daripada sebelumnya. Dia bahagia. Dan seperti yang dijanjikan, dia menyiapkan persembahan kepada para dewa dan dia juga berbagi dengan tetangganya. Mereka sangat senang.

Jurna tidak puas. Dia ingin panen lebih baik dan lebih baik dan lebih banyak. Oleh karena itu dia berjanji kepada tuhan bahwa dia akan menggandakan penawarannya dan membagikannya kepada tetangga.

Keinginannya menjadi kenyataan. Panennya jauh lebih baik dari sebelumnya. Petani lainnya kagum. Mereka juga sangat bersyukur karena dia membagikan hasil panennya kepada mereka.

Suatu hari, Jurna pergi ke sawahnya. Ketika dia tiba, dia melihat setumpuk tanah di tanah. Itu tampak seperti catu. Catu terbuat dari tempurung kelapa. Orang menggunakan catu untuk mengukur jumlah beras. Di rumah, Jurna berbicara tentang tanah yang tampak seperti catu untuk istrinya. Dia punya ide.

“Ayo buat catu dari nasi,” katanya. Jurna setuju. Kemudian mereka membentuk nasi seperti catu. Keesokan harinya, Jurna pergi ke sawahnya. Ia melihat tanah catu semakin membesar.

“Hmm … saya akan membuat nasi catu lebih besar dari ini,” kata Jurna sendiri. Dia meminta istrinya untuk membuat nasi catu yang lebih besar. Dia merasa sangat puas. Dia ingin menunjukkan kenaikan catu ke tetangganya. Ia berharap tetangganya akan menghormatinya sebagai orang kaya. Dan mereka melakukannya! Semua tetangga memujinya. Jurna menjadi sombong. Keesokan harinya, Jurna pergi ke sawahnya. Ia berharap tanah catu tidak semakin besar. Tapi dia salah. Anehnya, tanah catu lebih besar.

“Jangan khawatir, saya punya banyak nasi, saya bisa bikin nasi catu lebih besar,” kata Jurna sombong. Sementara dia sedang membuat nasi catu, dia memikirkan bagaimana tetangga akan menghormatinya.

Dan keinginannya menjadi kenyataan. Semua tetangga begitu kagum dengan ukuran catu nasi. Mereka semua mengatakan bahwa Jurna sangat kaya. Jurna menjadi lebih sombong.

Lalu Jurna pergi ke sawahnya. Ia berharap tanah catu berhenti tumbuh. Tapi dia salah. Sekali lagi, ini menjadi jauh lebih besar dari sebelumnya. Jurna benar-benar kesal. Dia membuat nasi catu lebih besar dari sebelumnya.

Itu selalu diulang. Setiap kali ia pergi ke sawahnya ia selalu mendapati tanah catu menjadi lebih besar dan lebih besar.

Istrinya selalu mengingatkannya untuk berhenti membuat nasi catu. Dia mengatakan bahwa stok mereka semakin rendah dan rendah. Dia memintanya untuk berhenti menyia-nyiakan nasi.

Tapi Jurna mengabaikannya. Dia hanya berpikir bagaimana dia bisa membuat catu nasi lebih besar dari pada catu tanah. Tak lama kemudian ia kehilangan semua berasnya. Dia menjadi miskin. Dia menyesali perilaku buruknya. Sementara itu catu tanah menjadi sangat besar. Rasanya seperti sebuah bukit. Orang kemudian menamainya sebagai Bukit Catu atau Bukit Catu. ***

Related Articles : Recount Text ; Definition, Generic Structures, Purposes, Language Features

Okey, I that’s all my explanation about Narrative Text. I hope it will be useful for us. Thanks for your visiting.

Reference :
Rudi Hartono, Genre of Texts, (Semarang: English Department Faculty of Language and Art Semarang State University, 2005).
https://www.englishindo.com/2018/01/narrative-text-full-materi-contoh-2018.html
Text Genre, Grammar: Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing, Peter Knapp & Megan Watkins, New South Wales Press, Ltd : Australia
Mark Andersons and Kathy Andersons, Text Type in English 1-2, Australia: MacMillanEducation, 2003.

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9 Comments

  1. the definition of narrative text is an imaginative story to entertain people.Orientation : It is about the opening paragraph where the characters of the story are introduced.
    # Complication : Where the problems in the story developed.
    # Resolution : Where the problems in the story is solved.
    # Coda / reorientation (optional) – lesson from the story

  2. Narrative text tells a story that has a series of chronologically connected events. The purpose of narrative text is to entertain readers. Surya Gutama (33)

  3. narative text tells a story that has a series of chronologically conected events. the purpose of narative text is to entertaiment reader

  4. the definition of narrative text is an imaginative story to entertain people.Orientation : It is about the opening paragraph where the characters of the story are introduced.
    # Complication : Where the problems in the story developed.
    # Resolution : Where the problems in the story is solved.
    # Coda / reorientation (optional) – lesson from the story

  5. Definisi teks naratif adalah cerita imajinatif untuk menghibur orang.orientasi:ini tentang paragraf pembuka dimana karakter cerita di perkenalkan.
    #komplikasi:dimana masalah dalam cerita berkembang
    #resolusi:dimana masalah dalam cerita di selesaikan
    #coda/reorientasi(opsional)-pelajaran dari cerita

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