Amadou Hampathe Ba

In the chapter 6 “Narrative” by Jonathan Culler, the author discusses about the correlation between event, plot and discourse. We realize that in the twentieth, the narrative has become the significant instrument in the literary education. For my example, I would like to talk about the novel “The strange destiny of Wangrin” by Amadou Hampathe Ba. The event took place in west Africa during the colonization. Wangrin was a translator of French to the local language (dialect), he was employed by the French colony. He became very famous in his region and make wealth because of the corruption in the way he was interpreting the language to the local population. He was a person who believed in magic and finally end his life in a tragic situation. For many west African intellectuals, the way the author related the event to a narrative history show how writers can inspire readers in the articulation and presentation of the language. To make sense of the history, the author Amadou Hampathe Ba uses rhythm, chronology and arguments to give sense and pleasure to the readers about the event. The plot was very educative and is considered as set of knowledge. Furthermore, the narration of the story was discoursed because it shows how the writing explains the social situation of the population during the colonization.

In the section “What stories do” the author Culler presents the importance of the stories, its effects on our society. The benefit of the function of the story is multiple, it gives us a pleasure of reading and interact with people in a fictional situation. Also, the stories teach us about the world by helping readers to be able to analyze real or unreal events because some novel relate real facts or fictions. For that reason, it is one of the best ways to improve our knowledge.

In literary works, authors utilize different narrative point of view to represent a story. As I know, most of them involves first person narrator and third person narrator. Consequently, the effect of the two ways are different. First person narrator could enable readers to engage into the character together and enjoy a sense of reality. And third person narrator could have a lot of thematic options and tend to directly receive clues. Plus, descriptions of plots are added into works in different ways like flashback that making structure impressive. A movie I watched called “Forrest Gump” is displayed as first person narrator. The story depicts several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a slow-witted but kind man who created some amazing stories witnesses several historical events in the United States as well as conveys a kind of spirit. The development of plots naturally comes along with a sense of intimacy and reality.

The plot definitely plays an important role in a narrative. It interacts with narrative and make the literary work as a whole. The structure would be modified leading to an interesting and detailed thing. In addition, it guides us to think and analyze things in various dimensions.

One of my favorite novels so far is The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. I wrote on different perspectives about this novel. Writing and discussing different plots and events about this novel was difficult for me. However, it was very interesting at the same time because there were always clear connections between the events, even though the plots were very different. Based on the way I interpreted this novel; I could say that the narrative of this novel sets up two main points. The first important point discussed in the story is related to the challenges of an Indian couple, especially for the woman, faced when moving up to the United States from India. Its plot introduces Ashima as a traditional Bengali woman that while trying to adapt to her new lifestyle kept behaving the same way she had done in India. Throughout the novel, the narrator discussed the plot by presenting different scenarios where the readers can identify the difficulty, pain, and tears Ashima went through, and how she kept herself as a traditional Indian woman in a place so different from the one she was born and lived for many years. The second and very important point of this novel discussed the suffering of this Indian couple’s son. Its plot introduces Gogol as a depressive character who has not known how to handle two such different cultures. The Indian culture inherited from his parents and the American culture from the place he was born. In the same way, as in the first plot, the narrator discussed this plot by presenting this depressed boy, Gogol, in different situations where he is more related to the American culture,  how is trying to avoid everything about the Indian culture, and also how he got involved in the same culture he is trying to avoid.

There are two points that I find most interesting in chapter six about the narrative. The first one is the presentation and the second one is the focalization. In these subjects, culler discussed some questions that help us to have a better understanding of the narrative in general. Some of these questions are, who speaks, who speaks to whom, who speaks what language, who sees, etc. I think it is very important to have in mind those questions and learn how to identify them because that will help us not only when we are reading a story but when we are about to write a story too.

After reading chapter 6, I gain a better understanding about events, plot and discourse of a story. Events are shaped into plot to develop the story. The plot is the basic element of stories, which is presented by discourse (which can from different angels). In a story, I think sometimes the most important part is the plot because it can attract people’s attention by its twists and turns, which can make them continue reading. If the plot at the beginning or the middle part were not appealing, readers would quit reading. This is the reason why I consider narrative is difficult but important.

A movie that I watched before, which contains many interesting plots and it make the ending of the movie quite contrasted with the beginning. A 70 years old retired man, Ben, applied for an intern program in a startup because he found life was quite boring after retirement. After he was admitted, he was assigned to work with the CEO, Jules. But Jules was quite skeptical about him at first and did not assign him the work. There are many plots showing how Jules keep a distance with Ben. At that time, I assumed that Ben would be fired soon. However, with a great personality and observation, Ben took care Jules in a careful way and gave her practical advice in work and life. The relationship between them became ease and they became soul mates at last, which was a great transformation.

In the “What stories do” section, Culler claimed stories can give readers pleasure and teach readers about the world. And  the pleasure of narrative is linked to desire and the movement of narrative is driven by desire. I totally agree with this point. I believe one of the reasons why many people love suspense  movies is that the twists and turns in the plots make people become more eager to know the truth by catching up. And most of the movies end with a satisfying ending, such as criminals are caught and polices’ and lawyers’ efforts pay off. It follows people’s desire and give readers pleasure. After all, if movies end as escaped criminals are at large, these kinds of endings are quite discouraging. Besides, through stories, we can find many different opinions and it can make us think deeply and gain a new view on things.

After read the chapter six “Narrative” by Jonathan Culler, the author has discussed the importance of plot and discourse of a story. plot is considered as the fundamental element of a story. A good story consists of a beginning, a middle and an end. There are connections between one and another, which offers pleasure to audience since it is rhythmic for the order. And discourse is the term that can be described as various ways to display the story based on different sequence of acting. I am the person who loves watching TV shows, dramas and movies, especially those relate to detective and suspense. A good detective or suspense drama or movie is able to catch audience’s attention due to exciting plot, and sometimes they are unpredictable, which provides opportunity for audience to imagine what is going to happen afterward. I still can remember there was a detective movie that I watched couple years ago about a boy hid the fact that he killed his girlfriend, and a detective tried to find who was the murderer. During the time I watched that movie, I assumed that the murderer was another guy based on the beginning and middle of the plot. Then, when it came to the end, there was a reverse of the entire story that the murderer was the girl’s boyfriend. I was shocked since I thought he was innocent.

I totally agree with author’s idea that narrative is what the exact meaning behind the story. Because the function of narrative, the plot of story gives us pleasure, emotional resonance, knowledge and imagination. And at the same time, it also teaches us how this world works and how we look at this world in different ways. The narrative of each story can bring all readers to the world that is constructed by the author to feel and understand the actual feeling from those characters in that story, which provides the real life experience to all readers to make them more socialized and understand the operation of the true world.

1. In my writing, the leading point is plot and discourse. When I started writing, I thought of my writing structure and, also there are many difficulties that I face as a writer. I am writing to represent one of my brother’s life events. My brother, Bawanjot, needs to purchase a little dog. He goes to the pound and starts glancing through the cages for his future dog. Toward the finish of the cages, he sees a little, sweet earthy colored dog with a white spot on its nose. Immediately, he realizes he needs to adopt him. After the dog gets shots and a clinical check, he and the dog, Sky, return home together. In this example, the composition acquaints us with my brother and his contention. He needs a doggy yet doesn’t have one. The rising activity happens as he enters the pound and starts looking. The peak is the point at which he sees the dog he had always wanted and chooses to adopt him. At the end, my brother and his dog joyfully head home. The plot is the thing that makes a story. It gives the story character advancement, tension, energy, and passionate delivery. It permits a creator to create subjects and above all, contention that makes a story sincerely captivating; everyone realizes that it is so difficult to quit viewing a film before the contention is settled. Discourse is the principle power which works behind a wide range of human exercises and changes in social texture; while Innovators property discourse to advancement and progress. 

2. Culler starts by determining what stories are. Stories are the manner in which we sort out things; life doesn’t just have a circumstances and logical results relationship. Stories can be centered through one character both in first person as what they watched or in third individual yet from a third person restricted perspective. Untrustworthy narration is an outcome from impediment in point of view. In the ending, Culler’s main focus is pleasure. They can give another twist to natural circumstances. Pleasure is connected to desire and when story is driven, a craving to know, we need to find the mysteries inside the portrayal, we need to know the end, to discover reality.

When I first started writing, I found it to be particularly difficult because there are many aspects to be considered as a story narrator. Because my reading volume is not abundant, it is difficult to fabricate heroes, places, and stories out of my imagination. Because I feel that warm works come from life, it is difficult to fill work with a good plot at the same time based on imagination. I think the amount of reading and experience is very important, but with a lot of training, writing becomes relatively easy. The first article I tried was a short romance novel. It was about a couple going through a series of twists and turns, but the storyline in my writing was too plain, which was very different from the idea I had conceived. Because this sense of contradiction makes me feel that my storyline does not have too many ups and downs, I feel that there is no sense of substitution.

I agree with Culler’s view that narration is the true meaning of the story. I learned that the main purpose of these stories is to bring emotional resonance, knowledge, and imagination to all readers. I feel that the narration of any story can bring the reader into the world of the article. In the world described by the author, it has its mode of operation, which will give people a desire for cognition. I think literature comes from life. It makes people more socialized. Life in the article can make us feel more substituting, and it can reflect real life from them. I think a good article can not only create its unique article world but also resonate with real life.

         When I started writing a few years ago, I found that it is difficult to be the narrator of a story because you are the one who creates heroes, places, and stories from your imagination. It is hard to imagine all of this at the same time to present a story that has a good plot. I admit that it was hard at the beginning, but it became easier with training. My first successful writing was a short fictional story that tells about a couple returning at one night with their car when a fire broke out in the forest near them. The husband rushed to rescue the injured, but after he returned he started to search for his missing wife. The plot of the whole story was to find out where the wife disappeared. I wish I could share my story with you, but it is in arabic language. 

        I agree with Culler that the narration is what makes the meaning in the stories. Also, I see that the main purpose for the stories is to give readers pleasure, knowledge and desire to explore more than what they live in their daily life. The narrative of any story can take you off to another land to live with its sadness, its happiness and with all the life in it. It makes people more social and more understanding of what real life can do for them and what it takes from them. Finally any fictional story with a good plot makes us know new personalities that we will not be able to recognize in real life, because fiction always takes us where we wish to be. 

I would like to offer my fellow classmates, and you, professor, a little games; some plot are so famous that I thought it would be interesting to try to describe them and see if you can recognize it.

1) My first story is written as a third-person narrator and tends to have an omniscient narration.
Plot: During a dark night, a young boy is dropped behind the door of his uncle and aunt, who will raise him with negligence until his 11th birthday, a day where his life will be changed forever, taking us with him for seven magical years.

2) for my second plot, I only saw the movie, so I could not describe the narrative style: Abord, a train stuck between Istanbul and London by heavy snow, a man is found dead, stabbed 12 times. A famous detective start tries to solve the murder. The plot twist is incredible as it is actually the 12 other passengers of the train who each stabbed the victim.

I agree with Jonathan Culler that story brings pleasure., teaches us, and develop our imagination. They bring a lot of emotions in a range of excitement, fear, sadness, and can carry you away to a full different world than yours. Throughout history, the narration has been used to share the news through the troubadours that were traveling from land to land, relating events and battle. They brought to sleep many excited children, who, later on, dreamed about slaying the dragon that kept the princess in her tower, and in a more awake state, they allow us, the narrates to escape this reality through the white page covered with ink.