Narrative structure

"The way in which a story is told in both fictional and non-fictional media texts."

Vladimir Propp:
- He is a Russian critic and literary theorist.
- He proposed that it was possible to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defined roles and functions.
- Films such as Star Wars fit Propp's model precisely but a significant amount of recent films such as Pulp Fiction fit this model.

Propp's character role:
Victim
Hero
Villain
Donor
Dispatcher
False hero
Helper
Princess
Father

Tzvetan Todorov:
- Bulgarian literary theorist.
- Suggests most narratives start with a state of equilibrium in which life is 'normal' and protagonists happy.
- The state of normality is disrupted by an outside force.

Roland Barthes:
- French semiologist.
- Suggests that narrative works with five different codes which activates the reader to make sense of it.

Barthes codes:
- Action= A narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action.
- Enigma= Teases the audience by presenting a puzzle to solve.
- Symbolic= Connotation.
- Semic= Denotation.
- Cultural= The audience recognises as being part of culture.

Claude Levi-Strauss:
- Social anthologist. 
- Examines how stories unconsciously reflect the values, beliefs and myths of culture.
- These are usually expressed in the form of binary opposition. 

Binary oppositions:
Homesteaders-Native Americans
Christian-Pagan
Domestic-Savage
Weak-Strong
Garden-Wilderness
Inside society-Outside society