Narrative Text

Generic Structure

Narrative Text adalah salah satu jenis teks (genre) yang biasa digunakan untuk menulis dongeng atau cerita maupun kejadian diwaktu lampau yang mengandung permasalahan (complication), yang mempunyai langkah-langkah retorika (generic structure) yang terdiri dari: orientation, complication, resolution dan re-orientation jika ada (optional).

The Generic Structure of Narrative Text

Orientation: (Beginning or introduction)	Introduces main characters, setting and time The opening paragraph introduces characters / participants of the story and sets the scene (it answers the questions who, when, what and where)
Complication: (Middle)	The problem happens among the characters It is about the problems which involve the main characters in the story developed
Resolution: (Ending)	The problem is dissolved It is about how the problems in the story are solved (better or worse). Here, the main characters find ways to solve the problems.

The Social Function of Narrative Texts

The purpose is to entertain, create, stimulate emotions, motivate, give and teach readers.
A narrative text usually has a moral value.

A narrative text may include folktales, myths, legends, etc.

Example:

BANYUWANGI

Orientation	Once upon a time, there was a king reigned in East Javanamed Sindureja. He had a prime minister named Sidapaksa. Sidapaksa had a very beautiful wife. Sidapaksa loved his wife deeply. They lived in complete happiness. However, Sidapaksa’s mother didn’t like her daughter in law. Each day she tried to think a way to separate Sidapaksa from his wife.
Complication	One day, King Sindureja asked Sidapaksa to search for a bud of a magic flower on Mount Ijen. It was a long journey. The assignment from the king was so important and urgent. Sidapaksa had to leave his pregnant wife. Not long afterwards, a son was born. The baby’s birth gave much happiness to the young mother. However, one day, while young mother was bathing, her evil mother–in-law threw the baby into the river. Knowing that her baby had disappeared, the young mother was very sad. She could neither eat nor sleep. She became very ill. Two years passed and Sidapaksa returned from his journey. He succeeded in doing his duty. Just as he was about to enter his house, her mother told him that his wife had thrown their baby into the river. Sidapaksa believed her mother’s story. He was too angry to use his common sense. He drew his keris and approached her wife who was lying weak on her bed. “Ah, Wicked woman. Tell me why you threw our new-born child into the river. Tell me!” he said in a rough and angry voice. “Oh my dearest husband, I am innocent. I love you, and our baby. I didn’t kill our child. If you don’t believe me, carry me to the river. I will prove that I didn’t do it” replied his wife calmly. Sidapaksa took her wife to the edge of the river. Suddenly, his wife leaped up and threw herself into the river. “Oh my God! How will I know who killed my child?” moaned Sidupaksa.
Resolution	Then he looked down the water. Suddenly, two pure white flower buds appeared, one longer and taller than the other. A sweet fragrance came from them. “Sidapaksa, come and have a look here! Beside me is our child. He himself will tell you who drowned him,” the taller one spoke. “Father, my mother is innocent. Grandmother threw me into the river. Now I am happy because my beloved mother has come with me,” The smaller one spoke. Then, the two flowers vanished into the water. They left their fragrance behind. Since then, people call the city on its banks of the riverBanyuwangi. Banyu means water and wangi means fragrant.

Grammar

Ciri kebahasaan (lexica grammatical) dalam teks naratif di antaranya yaitu:

• Menggunakan Past Tense namun dapat pula dengan present tense.
• Nouns phrases sebagai subject maupun object.
• Content verbs bentuk lampau (past verbs) seperti, reigned, ordered, cursed, turned, married, dsb.
• Adjectives yang menerangkan keadaan kata benda di baliknya dan membentuk noun phrases, misalnya, long black hair, two red apples, dsb.
• Time sequence conjunctions untuk mengurutkan kejadian-kejadian, misalnya then, before that, after that, soon, when, finally, first, dsb.
• Time expressions (ungkapan waktu) seperti once upon a time, long ago, oneday, dsb.

The Simple Past Tense

The Simple Past Tense is used to talk an action that happened in the past. It is used to tell a story.

The Simple Past Tense Pattern :

Subject + to be (was/were)

Subject + verb past

To show past events you can use some adverbs of time, such as Yesterday,Last week/days…….month…...year, Two months ago, Five years …., A week ……, This morning, etc

Examples:

• Ratih was here yesterday.
• They were my classmates in elementary school.
• Lina ate pizza a week ago
• I did this homework this morning

Vocabulary

Here are some verbs taken from the text:

Verb base	Verb Past	Verb base	Verb Past
Believe Pass Give Become Ask Love Reign Have Come vanish	Believed Passed gave Became Asked Loved Reigned Had Came Vanished	Throw Return Tell Wick Say Take Leap Kill Look leave	Threw Returned Told Wicked Said Took Leaped Killed Looked Left

Note:

Become = menjadi
Reign = berkuasa
Vanish = lenyap
Wick = jahat

Leap = melompat

Noun Phrases

Noun Phrases are phrases that function in the same way as nouns, (subjects, direct objects or indirect objects)

The noun phrases in table 1 consist of adjective + noun, meanwhile noun phrases in table 2 consist of noun + noun

Adjective + Noun	Noun + Noun
complex form medical facility diagnostic procedures primary hospitals tertiary instructions modern technology acute care restricted group fast food	team effort patient’s welfare hospital personnel’s specialty hospitals patient population rehabilitation department entrance door cash register order number