Task 9Narrative theories

After analysing one hundred folk tales and identifying the narrative elements involved, Vladimir Propp came to the conclusion that they all include 31 plot elements or functions.He also saw that there were only eight character types even with the large amount of different characters. These character types were;

1. HeroThe hero is the one to lead the narrative; they are usually looking for something or are need to solve a problem. With most stories, the hero is the one the reader/viewer will want to succeed.The hero in my story would most likely be Alice as she is the main character throughout and is also the main character in the original story of Alice in Wonderland.

2. VillainThe villain is the character who will create a problem or issue for the hero. They are shown as morally bad and this will turn the audience against them as they are striving for the hero. In my story, there isn’t really a villain as such however, Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat and White Rabbit cause chaos for Alice and disrupt her environment.In the original Alice in Wonderland, The Queen of Hearts is the villain as she attempts to kill Alice.

3. Princess/PrizeThe princess in normal stories is someone the hero will strive for and that the villain will have taken. The price in the story will give the hero incentive to do something.The incentive in the original Alice in Wonderland was to get back home to the real world; this would be seen as the prize. In my version of the story, Alice wants the other characters to go back to Wonderland after messing her house up.

4. DonorThe donor normally gives something to the hero that will help them; this could be a clue, weapon, power or advice.

My story doesn’t have a donor as the hero, Alice, doesn’t need any advice from the other characters. In the film version, the donor would be the Caterpillar as he gives Alice advice.

5. HelperThe helper is the character that supports the hero with their quest throughout the story.Again, the characters that are in my version of the story are classed as the helper as they do not help Alice with what she wants to do. The helpers in the film version would be most of the other characters such as the White Rabbit and the Caterpillar who advises Alice.

6. Princess’ FatherThe princess’ father will give the task to the hero. They may be in competition with the hero for affection from the princess.There is not a character in my version of the film that wants the princess’ affection.An of a film that adopts this theory example is King Triton in The Little Mermaid as he battles for Ariel’s attention as she is distracted by Prince Eric.

7. False HeroIn children’s stories, the false hero is the person/character that is often mistaken for the real hero at first but then proves themselves to be a bad character.

8. Dispatcher The dispatcher is the character that will send the hero on their mission; this is normally a family member e.g. mother or father.In the film version of Alice in Wonderland, the dispatcher could be classed as the White Rabbit as he is the one that leads Alice down the rabbit hole.

Narrative Structure Components:Todorov was a Russian theorist who created a theory that he believed applied to any film, he came up with a narrative pattern, which is;Equilibrium –

This is the beginning of the story. A state of equilibrium is where everything in the story is normal or balanced. Everyday life is how it is; this may be good or bad.Disequilibrium – The disequilibrium is normally an event or character that will disturb or unbalance the everyday life. This is the interesting part of the story where the most happens and the reactions to the event are shown.Return to equilibrium – This is where the film or story will be coming to an end. The return or restoration is when everything in the story is back to normality and normal, everyday life continues.

Todorov’s theory applies to Alice in Wonderland (film version) as the equilibrium of the story is when Alice is in the real world and doing things she does everyday when she sees a white rabbit, this is the point of the story where the disequilibrium is caused. Alice will go down the rabbit hole and her life will be different, the story is of Alice wanting to get back home. The return to equilibrium is when Alice eventually gets home after completing tasks in Wonderland.In my children’s book version of Alice in Wonderland, the equilibrium is that Alice now spends a lot of her time in wonderland and therefore this is a normal setting for her. The disequilibrium is when they decide to go to the real world to Alice’s house; the return to equilibrium is when Alice sends the other characters home and then wakes up in her bed.

Binary Opposition:A French theorist named Claude Levi Strauss was the first person to come up with the idea of Binary Opposition. Binary Opposition is the theory that a story can only make sense or be classed as a story when there are two opposing sides. The sides are:Good vs. EvilMen vs. Women Young vs. OldHumans vs. Creatures

Types of structure:Open: The open narrative structure means that the story wont reach

a conclusion. An example of this is a soap opera/TV drama as they run on to each new episode.Closed: Most films follow this structure, it means the story will come to an end within the time frame they have.Single Strand: A single strand narrative means it will just have one storyline. This structure is often used with children’s book, as it would be rather confusing for young children.Multi-Strand: This type of narrative means there will be many different storylines going on at once and will feature lots of storylines about a variety of characters.Linear: a linear narrative is where the story will follow until the end; all events will be in order.Non-linear: the plot of a non-linear story will jump about in time order; this may be through flash backs/forward.Realist: this is a story that reflects a real life situation, the events could happen to anybody.Anti-realist: anti-realist stories include events that are highly unlikely to happen in real life e.g. sci-fi and fantasy films.My story of Alice in Wonderland follows a closed narrative structure as Alice returns home. It is also anti-realist as it would not happen and is single strand as it is a book intended for children.