Keep It Simple - Object-Oriented Reengineering Patterns

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EXERCISE 3

1. Give examples of vividness of description, interesting episode and imagination in the story____________________________

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a. Vividness_______________________________________

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b. Interesting episodes_______________________________

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c. Imagination_____________________________________

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2. Are there elements of exaggerations in the story? List them___

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If you have completed the exercises then turn to the discussion that follows.

The story line of ‘I have Found You a Girl’ starts with Silas tempting Steven with a girlSteven's gradually succumbingSteven wooing the girl intimacyparental interference. Remember all narratives must have a storyline.

Suspense- we are in suspense as to what will happen to the relationship between Steven and Margaret. Will it be cordial or break? Suspense is, indeed a characteristic feature of a narrative.

Sequential order- this is clearly defined in the story. The order is:

insinuation of a girl by Silas

 Steven meeting the girl

 Steven wooing the girl

 Acceptance

 Intimacy

 The coming of the mother into the affair.

Again, all narratives should follow a particular sequential order of events.

Stylistic features of ‘I have Found You a Girl’

 Vividness- she is beautiful, fair skinned-one can easily visualise Margaret through the description.

 Interesting episode- Margaret meeting Silas and Steven and the mischievous way Silas hands over Margaret to Steven..

 The romantic episode- where Steven woos Margaret.

Imagination- the whole story may be largely imaginative. There might not have been a situation like the one described here, in real life.

Judging from all of the analyses done above, you will agree with me that

‘I have Found You a Girl’ qualifies for an interesting narrative.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Narrative should always have a theme, that is, the central idea being pursued, read I have Found You a Girl again and suggest a theme for the story.

I know you are finding the story more interesting as you read it the second time. What theme can you work into the story? How do you determine the theme of a story? You look for the ideas, expressions or words that are re-occurring several times in the story or novel. In this story, you will agree with me that the idea of love occurs different times.

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Let's look at the story for this:

 found a girl

 needs a girl

 my girl

 had a way with women

 do you have a boyfriend?

And many more.

All of these suggest lust or love for women. Thus, we can call the theme of the story the feeling of love, romantic life of youthful days, and youthful exuberance kind of love affair.

A final word for you- one of the greatest benefits of reading extensively is to gain new words. Read the story again and search for the meaning of words that are new to you. Get their meanings and use them when necessary. Let them become part and parcel of your life.

4.0 CONCLUSION

Narratives are possibly the most interesting of the diverse reading texts you are likely to come in contact with. You should form the habit of reading stories, preferably novels, if you have not been reading them.

Novels are interesting. They enliven your spirit. Please form the habit of reading them.

5.0 SUMMARY

In this unit, you have been exposed to narratives. You must have learnt:

 what narratives are

 the characteristics of narratives

 How to analyse a narrative work.

You will be learning other different kinds of textual materials in the subsequent units.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

Read the story titled ‘Enemies Everywhere’ by William Wallis and answer the following questions.

1. What happened to the two whitemen in the story?______________________________________________

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2. The difference between the situation that the whitemen are in and the one they were during Mobutu's regime is________________

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3. Describe the soldiers presented in this story_________________

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4. How will you describe the regime presented in this story?______

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5. What are the characteristics of a narrative story that could be found in the passage? List these with examples______________

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Enemies Everywhere William Wallis

WE HAD FALLEN ASLEEP under a mango tree watching the dawn rise over the River Congo. The long grass whispering in a breeze, as the river lumbered by in golden light, had provided an irresistible lullaby.

The soldiers on frontier duty were too busy receiving rations to find us a worry and we were too seduced by the larger picture to find them threatening.

But recruits from the Presidential Guard who swung by on patrol saw in the admittedly unusual sight of two white men sleeping on the river banks, the making of a subversive mission to destroy Laurent Kabila's first anniversary in power. It was hopeless to explain that we were just two friends profiting from the quiet of dawn to prepare for the stress of another Kinshasa day. We were labeled 'suspect' -an excuse for unlimited prison terms in President Kabila's Congo-and carted off in an army pick-up.

It used to be, in the latter days of the former Mobutu regime, that if a soldier barked at you, you could bark back or growl the name of a general: five times out often he would withdraw. If not, a bank-note would usually send him off in search of other prey. But something less predictable had got hold of Kinshasa. It had become impossible to tell if

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