Homework 1.3

Essays that tell a story are called narratives. It may be a personal experience, something you’ve read, or something you’ve seen. There are several narrative conventions that an author uses throughout the piece. A writer constructs the many pieces of a story using literary elements and techniques referred to as narrative writing. An author can use the narrative writing format to tell a story. The objective is to explain the significance of the event in addition to providing an interesting story. Narrative structure refers to the interaction between plot and story elements, such as characters, settings, and events. The elements of narrative writing create a compelling story and are essential to its development. An author uses narrative structure to keep his readers engaged by explaining what is happening and keeping them informed about what is happening. It encourages the authors to visualize themselves as the story’s lead character. An author can affect the tone of a narrative by choosing the elements the narrator highlights in a certain event. Through the use of the character’s changing emotions, language and thoughts. My narrative writing can be improved by having a relevant story, so I can attract the reader’s attention. The best type of narrative to use for my story will rely on the objectives I have for the essay I’m writing. My concern about writing an educational narrative is that it could be disorganized and lack structure if not done correctly. The structure of a narrative may have a significant impact on how a story is going to make you feel.

Homework 1.3

So far in this unit the narratives that we have read have one or more topics in common. The narratives “Maybe I Could Save Myself by Writing” by José Olivarez and “Mothers Tongue” by Amy Tan both have in common that when moving to a new country it can be difficult to adjust to a new norm or just feel at home. Often times you feel out of place which can have you thinking, “I wanna go back home”. For example, in José Olivarez’s story, he talked about how he wanted to go back home to Mexico because HE would make sense there. He claims he would “live a good, anxiety-free life”. In Amy Tan’s situation her mother apparently speaks “broken” English which makes communication to others difficult. Also, because of how her mother speaks she’s prone to people taking advantage of her. For example, when she was trying to get her CAT scans since the hospital lost it and showed no remorse. But when her perfect English speaking daughter got on the phone with the doctor she was reassured that they would look for it and apologized. In “The Fourth of July” by Audre Lorde, the narrative is about racial discrimination. Unlike the other narratives, Audre was born in America (New York) but she was colored. So, she had hardships of her own, especially when her family went to Washington D.C. for vacation. They couldn’t even sit inside a a place to have ice cream as a family because they’re not white. Overall, the three narratives have faced some type of self discovery or discrimination.