Narratives

Critical Discussion

In their groundbreaking work, Labov and Waletzky draw on linguistics to describe the structures narratives take. First is abstraction. This is in essence the introduction to the narrative where the narrator establishes the right to tell the story. Second is orientation. In this element the narrator provides the basic information needed to understand the story to follow. Next is the complication of the narrative. This is the point where the narrative shows that a turn in events has happened. This is followed by evaluation. At this stage the narrative provides the audience with the explanation as to why this story is important. Subsequently the narrator provides the results; the story is resolved. Last is the coda, the conclusion of the narrative indicating that the story is finished.

Some have found that this understanding of narrative is restrictive and supposes that all stories are told in a linear manner. Further to this, a strict adherence to the narrative structure does not allow an understanding of narratives beyond their linguistic qualities. In particular, the focus on structure does not allow one to grasp the relationship between the narrator and the audience (i.e., participant and researcher). Researchers using narratives have taken Labov and Waletzky's structural conception and built upon it to generate a more social understanding of what a narrative is. One such researcher, Elliot Mishler (another pioneer in the development of narratives in the social sciences), argues that narratives and life stories should be seen as praxis. When discussing narratives as praxis, one is making the assumption that there is a dialectical relationship between individual's positions as both subjects (active agents) and objects (adaptation to social structures). Narratives are therefore social actions that embody adaptation, resistance, and appropriation of cultural norms. Narratives come to represent a reflexive interpretation of social and cultural norms through the dialogues within which the narratives happen. Mishler also states that there are a further three assumptions that underlie this theoretical conception of narrative as praxis. First is the notion that narratives are socially situated actions. This is to say that narratives are presented in a dialogical manner where there are questions posed and the narrative becomes the answer. Second for Mishler is that narratives are identity [Page 595]performances. Through a narrative, one presents who one is to the audience. Last is the idea that narratives are fusions of form and content. Through careful transcription of a narrative, one is able to see how the narrative is constructed in a way that comes to incorporate the rules of language and social interaction. At this assumption we see where Labov and Waletzky's narrative structure influences Mishler's own understanding. It is that, despite what the content may be, narratives have a preexisting form into which people incorporate content.

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