Narrative Theory Research Articles

When a Literary Translator Took an Activist Turn: Lin Yutang’s Translation of New Democracy

ABSTRACT Lin Yutang, a world-famous writer and translator, has long been known as an apolitical cultural ambassador. This study reveals, however, that beginning from the early 1940s, Lin turned from apolitical to passionately political and his political activism found expression in translation. This article employs narrative theory to examine how Lin, as an activist translator, reframed Kuomintang-Communist conflict in China when translating Mao Tse-tung’s New Democracy. I argue that Lin’s translation was part of a public opinion warfare aimed to win American aid. Lin rendered Mao’s text in a way that could drive a wedge between Americans and Communists of China. Strategies employed included intentional mistranslation, selective appropriation, disambiguating and repositioning. This study shows that attempts to understand what motivates a translator to turn away from his or her well-beaten path can be theoretically productive.

Analisis Media Statement Kasus Lion Air Penerbangan Jt-610 Boeing 737 Max 8 Dengan Pendekatan Storytelling Michael L. Kent

The focus of this study is on how Lion Air managed crisis communication following the Boeing 737 MAX 8 crash of Flight JT-610. The research delves into the use of storytelling in media statements as a strategy for crisis communication during the aftermath of the crash. It outlines Lion Air's goals in sharing information and engaging with the public and media in the midst of this crisis. The study utilizes a qualitative text analysis to scrutinize three specific media statements released during the crisis. By applying Michael L. Kent's storytelling elements, the analysis of the media statements concentrates on factors like emplotment, narrative theory, identification, form, and masterplots. The selected statements cover the immediate aftermath of the crash on October 29, 2018; a subsequent statement on March 13, 2019, addressing broader safety concerns surrounding the Boeing 737 MAX 8; and a final statement on October 26, 2019, summarizing findings from the National Transportation Safety Committee's investigation. The research findings suggest that employing storytelling through straightforward text in media statements, incorporating credible character depiction, structured narrative, empathy, and compelling storytelling, can notably influence an organization's reputation recovery and improvement. Well-crafted and timely media releases are essential as primary information sources for the media, especially in crisis scenarios where prompt and precise information dissemination is critical. This method ensures that information, though disseminated quickly, maintains relevant and impactful storytelling aspects. The study concludes that storytelling, characterized by humanistic, empathetic, and coherent narratives across media statements, can be effectively utilized by Lion Air to uphold consistent and narrative-focused communication with the public through the media.

Narrative Space and the Figure of the Refugee in the Early Life Writing of Ocean Vuong

ABSTRACT This paper will read for the representation of space in the Vietnamese American author Ocean Vuong’s narrative essay “The Weight of Our Living: On Hope, Fire Escapes, and Visible Desperation”. The paper places Vuong’s text into conversation with theorists of narrative and architectural spaces – Yi-Fu Tuan, Umberto Eco, and Mikhail Bakhtin, among others – and draws on critical refugee studies to explore the representation of spaces and places in their relationship to Vuong’s account of refugee experience and trauma. In the essay’s manipulations of narrative space, meditations on architectural space, and engagements with theories of trauma, a spatial understanding of trauma emerges and comes to bear on first wave literary trauma theory, which the essay builds on and departs from with the suggestion that architectural space functions semiotically and is a medium of language by which topics socially and psychologically repressed can be “spoken” despite social taboos and prohibitions. Working against public discourse which reduces refugees to victims of trauma (in their country of origin) and beneficiaries of social uplift (in their resettlement country), Vuong critiques the discursive framing of the refugee as needful ward and perpetual other and works toward a means of speaking about personal experience that speaks back to dominant narratives about refugees.

A visual ethnography of parent-child interactions during ‘story-time’ in Chinese family settings

ABSTRACT Story-time serves as an interactive linguistic tool through which parents encourage their children to share narratives. Grounded in sociocultural and narrative theories, this study employed a visual ethnographic approach to explore how parents perceive and engage in story-time interactions within 33 Chinese families. Data were collected through video recordings of story-time sessions and semi-structured interviews. The findings suggest that story-time may function as a play-based educational tool, fostering positive parent–child relationships and supporting child development through activities such as child-centered reading and role-playing. Parent–child interactions were categorized into two primary types: those involving print-based materials and those centered around oral storytelling. Parents emphasized the importance of respecting their children’s preferences by allowing them to choose stories and by developing effective storytelling techniques to maximize the benefits of family story-time. Through these sessions, parents and children engaged in meaningful interactions that strengthened family bonds and contributed to the children’s holistic development.

S393 Applying Narrative Theory to Raise Community Awareness and Support to Promote Healthy Behaviors and Cancer Screening in Baltimore

S393 Applying Narrative Theory to Raise Community Awareness and Support to Promote Healthy Behaviors and Cancer Screening in Baltimore

Narrative Creativity Training: A Case Study from the US Army

ABSTRACT: Though integral to thinking about causality, narrative—in particular narrative thinking—has been overlooked in traditional approaches to creativity studies and creative problem solving. Emphasizing the intrinsically speculative and causal aspects of narrative, this study investigates the effectiveness of narrative creativity training as a means of fostering innovative problem-solving skills within the US Army. Through two experiments conducted at the US Army Command and General Staff College, this research compares the outcomes of narrative training against conventional associational creativity training. Our results suggest that specifically narrative capacities are cognitively distinct, can be directly trained, and substantially improve problem solving. This research contributes to scholarship on the practical and empirical applications of narrative theory, as well as scholarship in creativity studies and creative problem solving, evincing the specific utility of narrative thinking in addressing complex, open-ended challenges.

The Narrative Function of “Soundscape” in Eileen Chang’s Novels in the Auditory Narrative Perspective——Taking Red Rose and White Rose as an Example

Auditory narrative is the expression and writing related auditory perception in narrative works. Eileen Chang’s Novels embody rich sensory narratives and take the auditory soundscape as a typical narrative. Scholar Fu Xiuyan believes that auscultating the soundscape with auditory narrative theory can “re-listen” to the classics and achieve the purpose of admonishing the “deafness” of literary research. Based on the theory of “auditory narrative” proposed by Fu Xiuyan, this paper selects the soundscape in Eileen Chang’s typical novel Red Rose and White Rose to analyze, and further explores the relationship between Soundscape Construction and Character Creation, Soundscape Cutting and Story Building, as well as Soundscape Contrast and Aesthetic Embodiment, in order to further supplement and enrich the new issues in the new field of Eileen Chang studies.

How Family Communication Emerges in HPV Vaccine Parent Narratives

ABSTRACT Family communication surrounding HPV vaccination can support or hinder HPV cancer prevention strategies. We used narrative communication theory to elicit HPV vaccine decision narratives in the context of family communication from a purposive sample of 29 parents of adolescents. Parent narratives indicated that family negotiations occur throughout the decision-making process, topic avoidance was common among parents of unvaccinated and undervaccinated children, parents had concerns that vaccination is a sign of approving sexual permissiveness, and family communication was often prompted by encounters in the exam room. Understanding complex family dynamics in the context of vaccination decision-making, the role of family communication (or lack thereof) in decisions, and effective negotiation and communication strategies can inform messaging tactics aimed at addressing disagreements in families and indicate how vaccinating may align rather than conflict with family values.

A study of Douyin bugle, a poisonous tongue film from the perspective of narrative theory

A study of Douyin bugle, a poisonous tongue film from the perspective of narrative theory

Narrative theory and discourse analysis. Translation and comments by E.A. Novikova and N.N. Kislitsyna

One important development in French narratology since the decline of structuralism as it was practiced in the 1960s and 70s can be found in French discourse analysis. Emphasizing discourse in social interaction over structure, discourse analysis regards narrative as one type of discourse among others. Three dimensions of discourse that relate to narrative are singled out: the text linguistic categories of text and discourse, the reformulation of langue and parole in the light of the theory of enunciation and the relations between text and context. The role in narrative analysis of enunciation (Benveniste), speech genres (Bakhtin) and the scene of enunciation (Maingueneau) are examined.

The Multiple Dimensions of Space: Spatial Narrative Types and Socio-Cultural Mapping in New Century Chinese Novels

This study explores how spatial narratives in new-century Chinese novels reflect and engage with China's rapidly changing socio-cultural landscape. Since the mid-1990s, China's accelerated marketization and globalization have profoundly altered traditional lifestyles and public aesthetics, significantly influencing literary creation. How do contemporary Chinese novelists employ spatial narratives to represent these changes, and what insights do these narratives offer into modern Chinese society? Employing textual analysis grounded in Lefebvre's spatial theory and Soja's Thirdspace concept, this paper examines the manifestations and functions of physical, psychological, and social spaces in new-century Chinese novels. Findings reveal diverse and complex spatial narratives: fragmented physical spaces reflecting globalization's impact, psychological spaces highlighting identity recognition anxiety, and social spaces exposing modern society's alienation and class disparities. This study contributes to a deeper application of spatial narrative theory in Chinese literary research, offering new analytical tools for understanding modern literature and its reflection of social changes. It provides insights into the characteristics and trends of new-century Chinese social culture, promoting further research and theoretical development in related fields.

“The Shifting Light of History”: Addressing Philosophy of Memory in Julian Barnes’s <i>Elizabeth Finch</i>

This article discusses the narrative construction of various philosophical reflections on cultural memory in Julian Barnes’s novel <i>Elisabeth Finch</i>. It addresses the dichotomy between recollection and oblivion, presenting a memory process as a the “problem of forgotten evidence”, thoroughly discussed in today’s Cultural and Memory Studies. While contemporary scholars and philosophers aim at reflecting on the role of memory in metaphysics and epistemology, mainly relating the process of recollection either to personal identity, or the experience of time, space and epistemic rationale, the dimension of collective memory, and its foregrounding role in everyone’s self-perceptiveness, receives a considerably reduced critical attention. The literary analysis of <i>Elizabeth Finch</i> seeks to problematize this divisive understanding of functions of memory, proposing instead to consider the semantic complementarity of various processes of recollection/forgetting, connecting the narrative representation of events that one has personally experienced and the officially stated collective renderings of factual memory. It resists considering personal remembering and collective forgetting as ostensibly competing rationales, proposing to delve deeper into a tightly crafted relationship between the perception of one’s identity in time and epistemological framework of collective experience mostly focused on the officially stated dimension of memory. Revisiting discourses on religion associated with the narrative construction of borderlands in Julian Barnes’s <i>Elizabeth Finch</i>, this article contributes to reconsider collective memory and counter-memory not as mutually exclusive, but as synthetized and put into productive motion narrative dimensions. The intertextual articulation of discourses on religion fosters new theoretical perspectives for rethinking counter-memory not only as a mode of recovering silenced and contested versions of the European history, but also as a means of providing multidimensional and transcultural interpretation of the collective past. Perceived as a form of discursive resistance to any kind of political and social dominance, the narrative construction of “forgotten evidence” elucidates the complex post-dialectical relationship between official collective memory and marginalized counter-memory.

Scene Deconstruction and Plot Setting of a Silent Film

This study dissects Chaplin's method of conveying a story through visuals in his 1921 silent movie, 'The Kid,' emphasizing scene analysis and plot introduction. A detailed discussion of sequences allows the research to illustrate how Chaplin makes meaning, creates a narrative, and establishes emotion solely through visual motion without words. The study uses several theoretical approaches, including film semiotics, narrative theory, and visual composition analysis. This paper examines how Chaplin employs framing, editing, mise-en-scène, and physical comedy to construct a highly symbolic and emotionally rich picture. Special emphasis should be placed on how Chaplin uses both comic and dramatic scenes hand in hand, sometimes even in the same scenes. Key sequences analyzed include the opening scene, which efficiently introduces the main character and presents the setting; the separation scene, an emotionally charged sequence of a man being left by his wife; and the dream sequence, a fantastic sequence in which Chaplin breaks the laws of practical reality to develop character psychology and depth of themes. The paper also explores how Chaplin develops visual motifs and employs repeated actions to unify the narrative and chart the character's growth. Moreover, it discusses how the film's visual analysis and symbolism respond to early twentieth-century social concerns such as poverty and the position of children. As such, this research is pertinent to exploring the silent film narrative and its legacy through analyzing Chaplin's visual strategies. 'The Kid' illustrates that this was the pinnacle of the silent film genre and how complex narrative and character development can be conveyed without using words. Moreover, this research reveals Chaplin's creative processes. It contributes to understanding the potential of visual narrative in Cinema, proving the significance of the silent film language in developing film language.

Crowd Scenes in Péter Nádas’ Parallel Stories

The article examines the representation of the crowd in Péter Nádas’s Parallel Stories. In the plot, there are multiple scenes including the masses that highlight different features of the phenomenon. I argue that the 1956 Hungarian Revolution appears in the novel as a fundamental experience of society, influencing the nature of people’s gatherings even after its defeat. Firstly, I show that the characteristics of the swarm appear in the cooperation of people foraging for food during the revolution. However, the bread queue represents the extreme behaviour and the aggression of the acquisitive masses, whose collective action is always directed at acquiring something. Thereafter, I examine the representations of crowd panic in the basement scene of the 1956 cannonade and of the 1957 railway station gathering. Finally, I scrutinise two scenes with the seemingly liberated and intoxicated crowd. The analysis focuses on the relationship between the crowd and the individual, on the narrative representation of the crowd, on its influence on the participants’ perceptions, and the associated attributes.

Building narrative identity in a context of audience failures: Stories of resistance among young adults formerly in foster care

BackgroundChild maltreatment survivors with extensive foster care involvement are tasked with building identities that allow them to make sense of difficult pasts in ways that help them build adult lives. ObjectiveTo use narrative identity theory to explore identities and identity-building challenges of young adults formerly in foster care. Participants and settingTwelve young adults who aged out of the foster care system in Illinois. MethodsParticipants were interviewed three times with semi-structured protocols that focused on their life stories and the meanings derived from them. Data were analyzed using an adapted grounded theory approach. ResultsMany participants forged resistance identities around a fierce sense of agency, motivated to not be another foster care statistic or like their parents. Challenges to identity construction included the scarcity of trusted audiences willing to listen fully to their life stories, missing information about key events, and the senselessness of maltreatment experiences. College and work opportunities provided normative contexts and new audiences where identities shifted, but often at the cost of not revealing their histories, limiting social relations. Temporal coherence was evident in most life stories. Causal and global coherence was more difficult to achieve. ConclusionsIntervention efforts designed to provide willing and helpful audiences for narrative formation work may help young people from foster care find meaning in their pasts that help them forge identities that promote satisfying and successful adult lives. Narrative identity theory may benefit from greater engagement with theories of oppression and marginalization.

Between the Novel and Other Forms of Literature: Unpacking the Language of Narrative Art through Albert Cook's Lens

This research paper explores the language of narrative art to show the differences between the novel and other forms of literature through the lens of Albert Cook. Using the interdisciplinary approach that combines close reading, textual analysis, and critical discourse analysis, this study unpacks the ways in which Cook's work illuminates the complex relationships between language, form, and meaning in narrative fiction. By tracing the ways in which Cook's ideas have influenced contemporary debates in narrative theory and literary scholarship, this study argues that his work provides a valuable framework for thinking about the role of language in shaping our experience of narrative fiction. Using critical discourse analysis, this research examines the broader implications of Cook's work for our understanding of the relationship between language, form, and meaning in narrative art. Through its interdisciplinary approach, this study makes a significant contribution to the fields of literary theory, narrative theory, and linguistics, and it provides a valuable resource for scholars and researchers interested in the role of language in shaping our understanding of the world around us. The study concludes that while the poem directly arouses our feelings in its lyrical form, a limit that has a consistent and precise connection between hearing, the tone of the voice, and the spoken expression, the novel seeks to arouse and maintain that general and organized waiting in us, which is the waiting for realistic events through the narrative language.

Yesterday once more: collective storytelling and public engagement with digital cultural products on the music streaming platform

Drawing on narrative transportation theory, we propose that when people consume a cultural product, they consume their emotions and memories through collective storytelling. Such emotions and memories are amplified by user comments on social media, enhancing the product’s influence and triggering audience engagement. We collected public data from NetEase Cloud Music—a major music streaming platform in mainland China—to investigate how the emotions and memories expressed in user comments influence the songs’ impact. Findings indicate that autobiographical narratives and negative emotions in user comments significantly boost a song’s influence. Moreover, user comments are particularly effective in promoting emerging artists with limited resources compared to their more established counterparts. This study advances the narrative transportation theory by emphasizing the role of active audiences and collective storytelling. Empirically, it extends the existing literature on the factors influencing cultural products on music streaming platforms in a non-Western context.

Exploring Affective Representations in Emotional Narratives: An Exploratory Study Comparing ChatGPT and Human Responses.

While artificial Intelligence (AI) has made significant advancements, the seeming absence of its emotional ability has hindered effective communication with humans. This study explores how ChatGPT (ChatGPT-3.5 Mar 23, 2023 Version) represents affective responses to emotional narratives and compare these responses to human responses. Thirty-four participants read affect-eliciting short stories and rated their emotional responses and 10 recorded ChatGPT sessions generated responses to the stories. Classification analyses revealed the successful identification of affective categories of stories, valence, and arousal within and across sessions for ChatGPT. Classification analyses revealed the successful identification of affective categories of stories, valence, and arousal within and across sessions for ChatGPT. Classification accuracies predicting affective categories of stories, valence, and arousal of humans based on the affective ratings of ChatGPT and vice versa were not significant, indicating differences in the way the affective states were represented., indicating differences in the way the affective states were represented. These findings suggested that ChatGPT can distinguish emotional states and generate affective responses consistently, but there are differences in how the affective states are represented between ChatGPT and humans. Understanding these mechanisms is crucial for improving emotional interactions with AI.

Giving Journeys: The Role of Private Foundations

ABSTRACTThe giving journeys of individuals, relating to their life stories and life places, have been positioned in the literature as romanticized versions of self. This research adopts a theory of philanthropic identity narratives using a journey metaphor, and explores the role and journeys associated with establishing a giving structure in the form of a private foundation. Findings from interviews with managers and trustees of private philanthropic foundations undertaken in two phases, 7 years apart, show that establishing a foundation shifts the emphasis of a giving journey from being individual‐focused to philanthropy‐focused, facilitating a legacy of giving rather than self. This paper contributes to theoretical and practical understandings of philanthropic journeys by adding a foundation lens, highlighting the shift in emphasis between identity and action, where establishing a giving structure is less about an individual founder's identity and more about focused philanthropic activity, irrespective of what that particular focus may be.

Narrativity and the Idea of Narrative Identity in Law

Abstract How can an extension of the legal perspective with the idea of narrative unity be presented using the law and literature movement? Considering law as a complex semiotic object that is a product (and carrier) of culture makes it possible to see elements of narrativity from a theoretical and legal perspective. This is a significant phenomenon, especially aft er the cultural turn in the humanities. This article presents a problematisation of narrativity in legal discourse and the theory of law. As is well known, the theory of narration and the concept of narrativity have been widely used in the humanities, mainly in literary theory. I propose extending the narrative perspective to law by showing what research directions can be observed when using the concept of narration in the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of law. Finally, I discuss the thesis of narrative identity in relation to law. I adopt the perspective of examining law in the light of literary analysis.