Narrative Text
Summary
-
The purpose:
To amuse/entertain the reader with actual/vicarious
experience
-
Generic Structure
§ Orientation
Set the scene and introduce the participant
(Who/What, When , Where)
§ Complication
Ø A problem arises
§ Resolution
Ø A problem is resolved
(for better/worse)
-
Language Features
a.
Past tense
b.
Nouns, e.g. lion, mouse, etc
c.
Pronouns, e.g. it, you, etc
d.
Noun Phrases, e.g. a sleeping lion, etc
e.
Adjectives, e.g. small, beautiful, etc
f.
Adverbs, e.g. angrily, sadly, etc
g.
Direct Speech, e.g. “Please don’t eat me!” begged the mouse
h.
Indirect Speech, e.g. The mouse begged the lion not to eat him.
Example
A long time
ago in Bangka Belitung lived a husband and a wife. They were poor and they did
not have any children yet. Days and nights they prayed to God. They really
wanted to have a child.
“God, please give us a child, even
though he is only as big as a little finger,” prayed the husband.
Their dream came true! The wife was
pregnant.
However they were
surprised when they saw the baby. He was so small. He was as big as a little
finger.
“You prayed to God to
give us a child, although he is as big as a little finger right? Be thankful to
God. Let’s love him. How will you name him then?” asked the wife.
“You are right. We have
to be grateful. Well, I will name him Kelingking,” said the husband. Kelingking
means little finger.
Time passed by and
Kelingking did not grow much. His body was still physically small compared to
other kids. Though he was so small, Kelingking ate like adults. He ate much
food. And that made his parents really worried. They were poor and sometimes they
could not eat because they had to give their food to Kelingking.
“I cannot hold it
anymore. I want to put Kelingking in the jungle. Let him live there. I think he
can survive,” said the father.
In the morning, Kelingking and his father went to the jungle. When
they arrived, the father asked Kelingking to cut down a very big tree. When Kelingking
was busy cutting down the tree, his father silently went home. The father
thought that Kelingking could not cut down the big tree. The father was sure that
Kelingking would be lost in the jungle. But he was wrong! In the morning
Kelingking suddenly showed up in front of the house. And he brought the big
tree also!
“Father, where do you
want me to put this big tree?” asked Kelingking.
The father was surprised.
He asked Kelingking to put the tree in the backyard. Kelingking then went
inside the house. As always he ate all the food and that made his father got
angry. He then had another idea.
“Kelingking, let’s go to
the mountain. I need a big stone from there.”
Kelingking was an
obedient kid. He followed his father to go to the mountain. When they arrived,
his father pointed a big stone. The stone was as big as their house!
“I want you to bring that
big stone to our house,” asked the father.
When Kelingking was
trying to bring the stone, the father immediately ran home. At night, when the
father was sleeping , suddenly he heard Kelingking’s voice.
“Father, I’m home. Where
do you want me to put this big stone?”
This time Kelingking’s
father realized his mistake. It was true that Kelingking’s body was small and
he ate much food. But he was a nice kid and he had great power. With that
power, they could get a job and had a lot of money. The father then apologized to
Kelingking. Since then they always worked together. ***
Exercises
Let Me Love You
Once upon a time, there was a guy who was very much in
love which this girl. This romantic guy folded 1.000 pieces of paper cranes as
gift to his girl. Although, at that time he was just a small executive in his
company, his future doesn’t seem too bright, they were very happy together.
Until one day, his girl told him she was going to
Paris and will never come back. She also told him that she cannot visualize any
future for the both of them, so let’s go
their own ways there and then…hearth broken, the guy agreed. When he regained
his confidence, he worked hard day and night, just to make something out of
himself. Finally with all these hard work and with the help of friends, this
guy had set up his own company.” You never fail until you stop trying.
“He always told himself. “ I must make it in life!”
One rainy day, while this guy was driving, he saw an
elderly couple sharing an umbrella in the rain working to some destination.
Even with the umbrella, they were still drenched. It didn’t take him long to realize
those were his ex-girlfriend’s parent. With a heart in getting back at them, he
drove slowly beside the couple, wanting them to spot him in his luxury saloon.
He wanted them to know that he wasn’t the same anymore, he had his own company,
car, condo. He had made it in life! Before the guy can realize, the couple was
walking towards a cemetery, and he got out of his car and followed them and he
saw his ex girlfriend, a photograph her smiling sweetly as ever at him
from her tombstone and he saw his precious
paper cranes in a bottle placed beside her tomb. Her parents saw him. He walked
over and asked them why this had happened. They explained that she did not
leave for France at all. She was stricken ill cancer. In her heart, she had
believed that he will make it someday but she did not want her illness to be
his obstacle therefore she had chosen to leave him. She had wanted her parents
to put his paper cranes beside her, because, if the day comes when fate brings
him to her again he can take some of those back with him. The guys just wept.
Answer
these questions
1. What is the type of the text?
2. What is the main idea the first paragraph?
3. Who is the main character of the story?
4. Why did the guy break up with his
girl friend?
5. What is actually the cause of the girl’s death?
