Tas Guru Aceh

Something which happened in the past is the main resource to compose both recount and narrative text. In writer's point of view, the thing is an experience. It can be what the writer has done, hear, read, and felt. Composing recount and narrative is retelling the experiences of the past event to be a present event.

What does recounts differ from narrative?
The easiest way to catch the difference is analyzing the generic structure. Recount text presents the past experiences in order of time or place; what happened on Sunday, then on Monday, the on Tuesday. In simple way, recount describes series of events in detail. It does not expose the struggle on how to make them happen. The event happened smoothly. On the other hand, narrative introduces crises and how to solve them. Narrative text always appear as a hard potrait of participant's past experience. It reveals the conflict among the participants. Cinderella's conflicts with her step mother and sister are the example. The conflict is the most important element in a narrative text. Narrative without comflicts is not narrative any more.

Now let's read the following example of narrative text !
Let me love you

O

nce upon a time, there was once a guy who was very much in love with this girl. This romantic guy folded 1,000 pieces of paper cranes as a 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... heartbroken, 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 walking 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 parents. 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, etc. 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 exgirlfriend, a photograph of 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 with 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 guy
just wept

Now let's read the following example of narrative text !

Cinderella
Once upon a time there was a girl called Cinderella. She lived with her stepsisters. They were very bossy. They made Cinderella do all the housework.
One day an invitation to the ball came to the family. Her stepsisters would not let her go. Cinderella was sad because she wanted to go to the ball too. Her stepsisters went to the ball without her.

Fortunately, the fairy Godmother came and helped her to get to the ball. At the ball, Cinderella dance with the prince. The prince fell in love with her then married her. They lived happily ever after.

Analyzing the Text
Generic Structure Analysis
Orientation; introducing participants, Cinderella and her stepsisters. They lived together once time

Complication; describing the conflict among the participants. Cinderella wanted to come to the ball but her stepsisters did not let her go

Resolution; stating a problem solving, a happy ending. A fairy Godmother helped her to come to the ball


Language Feature Analysis
Process verb; did, helped, fell in love, lived
Simple past tense pattern; there was a girl, she lived, an invitation came to the ball, etc

Now let's read the following example of narrative text !

Snow White

Once upon a time there lived a little, named Snow White. She lived with her aunt and uncle because her parents were died.
One day she heard her aunt and uncle talking about leaving Snow White in the castle because they wanted to go to America and they didn’t have enough money to take Snow White with them.
Snow White didn’t want her uncle and aunt to do this. So she decided to run away. The next morning she run away from home when her aunt and uncle were having breakfast, she run away into the wood.
In the wood she felt very tired and hungry. Then she saw this cottage. She knocked but no one answered so she went inside and felt asleep
Meanwhile seven dwarfs were coming home from work. They went inside. There, they found Snow White woke up. She saw the dwarfs. The dwarfs said; “What is your name?”. Snow White said; “My name is Snow White”. One of the dwarfs said; “If you wish, you may live here with us”. Snow White told the whole story about her. Then Snow white ad the seven dwarfs lived happily ever after.

Generic Structure Analysis
1. Orientation; introducing specific participants; Snow White

2. Complication; revealing a series of crisis: Snow White’s aunt and uncle would leave her in a castle, Snow White run away, Snow White felt hungry in the wood.

3. Resolution; the crisis is resolve: the dwarfs permitted Snow White lived in their cottage lived happily

Language Feature Analysis
o Using saying verb; answered
o Using thinking verb; decided
o Using action verb; run away
o Using time conjunction; once upon a time, one day
o Using connectives; then, meanwhile
o Using past tense; she heard her uncle

Now let's read the following example of narrative text !

Jonah

O

nce upon a time there was a village in North Israel. All the people lived peacefully there. One of them was Jonah. Jonah lived with his parents. They loved him very much.
In the north of Israel was Syria. It had powerful knights. They were very cruel and liked to invade other countries.
One night when the people of Jonah’s village were sleeping, the Syrian knights attacked his village. They burned down the houses. One of them threw a torch into Jonah’s house. Jonah’s house was on fire.

Jonah and his parents avoided the fire burning their house. They saved themselves by climbing a ladder to the upstairs. It was too high for them to jump down to the ground from the upstairs. Jonah’s father took a rope to get down from the stairs to the ground. They escaped to another village.

Jonah and his parents lived in a fishermen village. They became fishermen.
One day, when they were fishing in the sea, Jonah fell into the sea. Jonah was drawn into the sea. A whale came closed to him. He tried to swim avoiding the whale as fast as possible but he failed and at last the whale swallowed him. Jonah was still alive in the stomach of the whale. He prayed to God to be released from the stomach of the whale.
Fortunately God granted his prayer. The whale came closed to an island. It opened its mouth and Jonah came out from its stomach.