Chopin External Narration - 695 Words

Name: Luke Ott-Liddy Number: 0810234 Module: EH4001 Critical Practice 1 Lecturer: Dr David Coughlan Tutor: Dr Jason King Date: 02 November 2009 Giving examples from Chopin’s The Awakening, explain what you understand by internal and external narration, restricted and unrestricted narration, and focalisation. How does the narrative point of view in The Awakening contribute to its theme of â€Å"an awakening†? Chopin’s â€Å"The Awakening† is told in third person, the narrator uses both internal and external narration. The narrator describes the actions and appearances of the characters within the story--this is known as external narration â€Å"when she enters the parlor, Robert is nowhere to be found. He has left a note†.(148) This contrasts†¦show more content†¦We gain a better understanding of the characters when we hear their thoughts and feelings. We learn, for instance, that Edna is not content with the life she is living through internal narration. â€Å"An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her souls summer day.†(Chopin The Awakening 8). Using both internal and external narration can be seen as essential in the creation of realistic and complex characters within Chopin’s â€Å"The Awakening†. We must be able to see Edna’s face in our minds eye as well as be able to feel her emotions in order for her to seem real to us. The narrator’s knowledge is unrestricted in this novel, there is no information that he/she is not aware of , this is known as omniscient narration. This is of great benefit to the reader and makes us feel more involved in the story, for example we know how Edna feels about Robert before she tells him. â€Å"For the first time, she recognized the symptoms of infatuation which she had felt incipiently as a child, as a girl in her early teens, and later as a young woman.† Is third person omniscient narration essential to this short story? John Morreall believes that omniscient narration was born simply through convenience, both for author and reader. â€Å"It is simpler to listen to and make up a story that begins with â€Å"OnceShow MoreRelatedTheme Of To Build A Fire And The Story Of An Hour1666 Words   |  7 Pagesantagonists, albeit in very different ways, and are what ultimately lead to their demise. In the same year William James died in 1910, Jack London wrote â€Å"To Build a Fire.† After reading this story it might first appear, through the third-party narration, that the man as the subject of the story might have never given this concept of thoughts influencing reality any thought at all. As one reads â€Å"The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of lifeRead MoreStory of an Hour by Lawrence L. Berkove3379 Words   |  14 PagesBerkove (essay date winter 2000) SOURCE: Berkove, Lawrence L. â€Å"Fatal Self-Assertion in Kate Chopins ‘The Story of an Hour.’† American Literary Realism 32, no. 2 (winter 2000): 152-58. [In the following essay, Berkove contends that Chopins narration of â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is ironic rather than straightforward.] Kate Chopins thousand-word short story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† has understandably become a favorite selection for collections of short stories as well as for anthologies of AmericanRead MoreDistinctively Visual Learning and Teaching Program8860 Words   |  36 Pagesis young, naive and over confident, it is only years later that he looks back upon this time with affection and caring. Do you find the narrator reliable; can you trust the narrator’s description of the situation? The narration is very observational, the use of first person narration can make the pictures and visions clouded in perspective. We only gain one view- even Paul’s father’s view is relayed by Paul- of the situation. The tone suggests years have passed, affecting the picture provided by the