Free Essay

Descriptive vs Narrative

In:

Submitted By jdot76
Words 1062
Pages 5
Descriptive vs. Narrative Jamie Godard ENG 121 English Composition 1 Abby Forster December 23, 2013

Both styles of writing are great examples of what narrative and descriptive should be, but a narrative allows you to live within the story for just a moment. By the end of this you will see why in my mind narrative is superior, how it draws the reader in as if they were a part of the story, instead of just being a spectator. I am speaking of the entertainment aspect as well as key writing essentials, and I will do so by using to great stories, Caged Bird by M. Angelou and I want a wife by J. Brady.
First we will start with the detail, both share a style of being able to paint a vivid picture in a reader’s mind. Whereas Angelou’s writing of a Caged Bird paints a great picture of a free bird gliding on the wind, Brady is able to cast you as the woman/wife that seems to only live with the purpose of pleasing her spouse. Brady made it possible for you, the reader, to almost know how it feels to be the one standing at the door when your husband comes in and says, “I need dinner for me and several of my co-workers, and for you to play hostess/server while he entertains”. But, with Angelou’s story you get a description that sort of reminds you of an oil painting, with a picture of a bird as their wings dip through sunrays. With Brady, you get emotion that gives you a sense of the writer’s mental state. How, in order to deal with their situation, they see the humor in it, with phrases like “at times I wish I had a wife”. With a Caged Bird, you don’t feel their pain; again you only picture it with phrases like “he can seldom see through his bars of rage”. I mean I can picture what Angelou is saying, but at the same time I cannot truly feel it.
Like I said, these are both great examples, but a narrative adds another aspect that descriptive does not. In this instance, the narrative “I want a wife” is easier to understand. When you start reading this story, within a few lines you are able to understand the meaning as being the plight of a wife. But when some people read “Caged Bird” it takes a little longer to decipher the meaning through metaphors and mental comparisons. While Angelou speaks of a bird that sings to the hills as he thinks of fat worms on a fresh lawn, Brady clearly puts you in the mist of the life of cooking dinners, raising kids, folding laundry, and catering to a husband’s beckoning command. Although she does it in a comical/sarcastic manner, the meaning is still somewhat simple to grasp. Please do not think I do not respect the profoundness of Ms. Angelou’s work, for I understand the thought that her writing inspires, it makes you think deeper than the slide show her words paint for you. Yet you must respect the fact that with Brady’s piece of work you can almost picture yourself cleaning a table while saying in your head sarcastically I wish I had a wife to pick up after the children, cook meals, grocery shop, and keep everything in its proper place. Yeah, I wish I had a wife; it must be nice to have one of those. With phrases like that, who wouldn’t want a wife or servant as it is somewhat depicted in the story that Brady has so easily put the reader in the midst of.
Then there is the entertainment value of Brady’s story compared to Angelou’s. Consider when you start watching a movie or any program for that matter. If it does not keep you interested in the beginning, chances are that you will probably not finish the show. Same goes for any reader, we want a story that’s going to keep our attention throughout the entire story and keep us on the edge of our seats with anticipation. If I may stray from these two stories for just a moment, but it is the entertainment aspect that made such modern stories like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings thrive so much in our culture. People in general like to be scared, for the story to tug at the strings of their heart, or that simply make them laugh uncontrollably. While a descriptive story can be entertaining, sometimes the person reading does not want a story that requires such in depth thought. Sometimes we just want something to distract us from the everyday monotony of life, for we all know that life itself sometimes supplies us with all the inner thought we require at times. I don’t know about you, but when I come home from work after a long day, I would much rather read something that is going to help me forget the stresses of the day. Not a story that may cause me to compound even more thought on to what may have already been a stressful day. Brady leads you to learn something without all the in depth thought that a story like Angelou provides that requires you to sift through all the metaphors provided in a descriptive story.
We all are able to form our own opinions, as far as what we like and what we don’t like, but I’m asking you to think about this. It’s fine to gain knowledge through deep thoughts and metaphors that we probably would not have thought of normally if it had not been written so beautifully. I’m saying it’s the entertainment value at times that keeps you interested. It’s when you’re able to walk in that person’s shoes, to be able to almost know the attitude they carry, to know the slight gestures they would make, to hear the underlying sarcasm that goes with the emotion of the moment. It is all those elements and plenty more that make a narrative superior, while at the same time providing you with a new perspective on a situation or idea.

References
Brady, J. (1971). I want a wife. Retrieved from http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/everythingsanargument4e/content/cat_020/Brady_I_Want_a_Wife.pdf
Angelou, M. (1983). Caged bird. Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/178948

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Descriptive vs Narrative Essaya

...Descriptive vs. Narrative Essays Camille Hall English 121 Instructor James Welch March 17, 2013 Descriptive vs. Narrative Essays Descriptive essays are much more detailed and expressive than narrative essays and are more apt to hold the reader’s attention by ejecting more emotion. The narrative essay uses detail to advance the story, while the descriptive uses to detail to describe an unfamiliar subject. The ability to describe something convincingly is always important to both the writer and their audience. Both descriptive and narrative essays use detail but for different purposes. In this essay I will compare and contrast two essays; “I Want A Wife” and “Caged Bird” in order to give insight into each type of essay. The aim of a narrative essay is to describe a course of events from a subjective point, is usually told in chronological order, and is usually written in first person. Narrative essays are used to tell a story in a way so that the reader learns a lesson or gains insight, much of this is done through lots of detail about the subject that is being written about. The best narrative essays are those inducing images in the reader’s minds about what's happening by using concrete, specific verbs and nouns rather than a lot of adverbs and adjectives. To write a narrative essay you will need to tell a story (usually about something that has happened to you) or it could be fiction. The purpose is for your reader to learn a lesson or gain insight of...

Words: 1587 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Descriptive vs Narrative

...Descriptive versus Narrative Chris Hathaway ENG121 Michelle Terashima January 27, 2014 Descriptive versus Narrative This essay is to compare-contrast a narrative and descriptive essay The essays I chose were, “Are the Rich Happy?” written by Stephen Leacock (1916) for the narrative essay and “Homeless” written by Anna Quindlen (n.d.) for the descriptive essay. The title of both essays is what caught my eye and the reason why I read them. Although, I enjoyed reading both essays, I felt the descriptive essay “Homeless” had more value and was the better read. Therefore, in this essay, I am going to compare/contrast the author’s purpose, the difference in their use of descriptive language, and the impact on the reader’s that each author intended to accomplish through the essay that they wrote. I also plan to show why, in the case of these two essays, I felt that the descriptive essay “Homeless” was the better read. One comparison of these two essays is the descriptive language they use. A narrative essay is written to tell a story. In the essay “Are the Rich Happy?” the author Leacock tells a story of his encounters with people he thought to be rich. He sarcastically tells the story using some vague descriptive language. His descriptions are not such that you can see or feel but, so that you understand who he is talking about, their expressions, and their lifestyles so that you can see the comparison he is making between the rich and the poor. In his essay he speaks of a...

Words: 1569 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Compare and Contrast

...Amanda Church Compare and contrast draft Professor Elizabeth Parks English 121 May 19, 2014 I. Introduction- The Narrative, “This Old House: The Heart is a Lonely Menagerie” leaves more to the readers imagination than the Descriptive essay, “Once More to the Lake”. II. First Difference: Specific word usage and paragraphs A. The narrative has dialogue and uses action to get the reader’s attention. The paragraphs can be short even one word, depending on if the writer is showing a conversation between two or more people. For example in the Narrative, “This Old House: The Heart is a Lonely Menagerie”, David has multiple conversations with people throughout the essay giving you an idea of what is actually taking place and helping to put you into the situation. B. Descriptive essays normally have longer paragraphs which include a lot of detail. These types of essays also require carefully chosen words so that the reader can visualize what the writer is intending to say. For example in “Once More to the Lake” He makes it a point to tell you every detail you could possibly imagine about the lake. III. Second Difference: The Structure of the essay A. A narrative should have a plot, setting and characters. It should also cover all important events. In the Narrative the plot is about how David wants the little things in life to be of importance and not have to worry about all the hub bub of showing off your belongings. He wants to relax and lead a simple life...

Words: 1090 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Richard Slotkin

...metaphor of the American experience. In describing the evolution of the myth of regeneration through violence, Slotkin describes North America as an empty, unoccupied wilderness where resources are rich and land is free for the taking, or if not exactly free, the land becomes the rightful spoil of war for those representing the interests of civilization and progress. The symbolic landscape of the frontier narrative is marked by boundaries and by the encounter of opposites; civilization and savagery, man and nature, whites and Indians, good and evil. These encounters are characterized in terms of conflictand violence as the protagonist struggles against the harsh environment, the unknown and potentially hostile Indians, and the savagery of the empty land. As Slotkin argues, European American encounters with the wilderness produced a national mythology steeped in blood and violence. “The first colonist saw in America an opportunity to regenerate their fortunes, their spirits, and the power of their church and nation,” is what took shape in the Puritan captivity narrative, whose very structure required a violence against the wilderness and Indians, who the Puritans understood as embodying the most chaotic and...

Words: 631 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Points of Conflict vs. Points of Contact

...Points of Contact vs. Points of Conflict In attempting to construct a narrative about a particular group of people, historians sometimes encounter difficulty in getting beyond either the characteristics with which members of the group might use to identify with one another or the characteristics that outsiders of the group might use to identify the group’s members (characteristics such as race, ethnicity, class, nationality, etc…). Such a challenge is compounded for the historian studying Colonial America, as North American Indian groups in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries did not leave the kinds of written sources usually needed to write extensive narratives about Indian economic, political, legal, and cultural practices. Of course, we do have the written sources of European observers to construct these narratives. As we’ve seen, though, first-hand descriptive accounts of Indian ways of life provided by Europeans can be fraught with misunderstandings and cultural prejudices. This week’s assigned readings, by zeroing in on points of intersection in the public lives of Indians and Europeans in Colonial America, offer a resourceful approach in drawing out Indian cultural and political mores from the historical record (as well as those of their European counterparts). We saw a couple of weeks ago how the initial points of contact between Indians and Europeans opened up to each group a new, almost incomprehensible world (whether it be the interior of the continent...

Words: 925 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Apple

...Point of View Introduction In this unit we will examine point of view. The perspective from which the story is told is a key facet of narrative. “In telling a story, who tells it is of paramount importance” (Bohner and Grant 15). Narrator “Choosing a narrative point of view is perhaps the most important and most difficult decision a writer of a story makes. Point of view—like plot, character, setting, and language—is a creative decision; however, it is also a very much a technical decision” (Bohner and Grant 15). “Someone has to tell the story. That someone is called the narrator. But the question is who will that narrator be and what does the narrator know” (Bohner and Grant 15). Mediation Drama and film unfold directly before our eyes. In narrative fiction there is always something (a viewer, a speaker, both) between the reader and the action: a point of view other than our own has already been imposed. This is mediation. Point of view involves the angle of vision (the point of view from which the people, events, and other details are viewed). This view is called the focus. The words of the story lying between the reader and the story is the voice. Focus Focus acts like a camera. It chooses what we can look at, the angle at which we can view it, and how it is framed. In this case, a tv screen vs. a movie screen. Details and emphasis change depending upon the frame and the focus in both text and film. Angles in film Film...

Words: 1698 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Strategy

...how to compete, SBU, competitive advantage Three layers of theory: management – strategic management – economies Paradox: how is it possible to have a general statement about uniqueness? We try to have general statements about uniqueness. Theory=general statement about cause and effect Stoelhorst, J.W. (2008), Thinking about Strategy Stoelhorst: 5 Schools of thought about strategy • Prescriptive schools: ○ 1960s: Design school (strategy formulation) ○ 1970s: Planning school (strategy formulation) ○ 1980s: Positioning school (strategic analysis) ○ 1990s: Resource-based school (strategic analysis) • Descriptive school: ○ 1980s onwards: Process school Design school: Strategy formulation is a process of conception The CEO formulates a clear, simple, and unique strategy (business policy) through a deliberate process of conscious thought. There should be a fit between a firm’s strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats (SWOT analysis). Strategy formulation and implementation are clearly separate activities. Planning school: Strategy formulation is a formal process Strategy formulation takes the form of an elaborate and formal process. The CEO is responsible, but the process is supported by strategic...

Words: 1262 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Quiz

...ENG 121 QUIZ Weel 2 Grading Summary These are the automatically computed results of your exam. Grades for essay questions, and comments from your instructor, are in the "Details" section below. | Date Taken: | 6/6/2013 | Time Spent: | 14 min , 27 secs | Points Received: | 9 / 10  (90%) | | Question Type: | # Of Questions: | # Correct: | Multiple Choice | 10 | 9 | | | Grade Details - All Questions |  1. | Question : | In narrative writing, which organizational method is most common? | |   | Student Answer: | | alphabetical order |   | | | general-to-specific order |   | | | spatial order |   | | | chronological order | | |   | Points Received: | 1 of 1 |   | Comments: | | | |  2. | Question : | Narration is | |   | Student Answer: | | creative tension |   | | | storytelling |   | | | a moral |   | | | dramatic structure | | |   | Points Received: | 1 of 1 |   | Comments: | | | |  3. | Question : | One of the most common mistakes students make when choosing a topic is to select one that is too | |   | Student Answer: | | complicated |   | | | broad |   | | | narrow |   | | | research based | | |   | Points Received: | 1 of 1 |   | Comments: | | | |  4. | Question : | When you edit a paper, you | |   | Student Answer: | | fine-tune your writing |   | | | consider individual elements and details |   | | | focus...

Words: 1246 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Building a Text Corpus

...LIMSI-CNRS & Université Paris 10 Abstract Medical language processing has focused until recently on a few types of textual documents. However, a much larger variety of document types are used in different settings. It has been showed that Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools can exhibit very different behavior on different types of texts. Without better informed knowledge about the differential performance of NLP tools on a variety of medical text types, it will be difficult to control the extension of their application to different medical documents. We endeavored to provide a basis for such informed assessment: the construction of a large corpus of medical text samples. We propose a framework for designing such a corpus: a set of descriptive dimensions and a standardized encoding of both meta-information (implementing these dimensions) and content. We present a proof of concept demonstration by encoding an initial corpus of text samples according to these principles. Keywords: Natural language processing, documents, French. text corpus, medical apply to another type [2]1. This has consequences for the design and development, or simply for the use, of natural language processing tools for medical information processing. Without better informed knowledge about the differential performance of natural language processing tools on a variety of medical text types, it will be difficult to control the extension of their application to different medical documents. We propose here...

Words: 3989 - Pages: 16

Premium Essay

Hunted America

...English 205 Research Project-Spring 2014 Assignment (adapted from Ways of Reading, AW 1) One way to work on Patricia Nelson Limerick’s essay, “Haunted America”, is to take the challenge and write history—to write the kind of history, that is, that takes into account the problems she defines, the problems of myth, point of view, fixed ideas, simple narrative selective storytelling, misery. You are not a professional historian, you are probably not using this text in a history course, and you don’t have the time to produce a carefully researched history, one that covers all the bases, but you can think of this as an exercise in history writing, a mini-history, a place to start. Consider the following as a place to start: Go to your college library or, perhaps, the local historical society, and find two or three first-person accounts of a single event, ideally accounts from different perspectives. Or, if these are not available, look to the work of historians, but historians taking different positions on a single event. (This does not have to be a history of the American West.) Even if you work with published historians, try to include original documents and accounts in your essay. The more varied the accounts, the better. Then, working with these texts as your primary sources, write a history, one that you can offer as a response to “Haunted America.” Suggestions for writing: Stage the work out into several drafts, writing first from one position or point...

Words: 3110 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

Chapter

...opportunities B. Diagnosing & assessing problems or opportunities C. Selecting & implementing a course of action D. Evaluating the course of action III. When is BR Needed? A. Time constraints B. Availability of data C. Nature of the decision D. Benefits vs costs IV. BR In The 21st Century A. Communication technologies B. Global BR Chapter 3: Theory Building I. Introduction A. What is a theory? B. What are the goals of theory? II. Research Concepts, Constructs, Proposition, Variables & Hypotheses A. Research concepts & constructs B. Research proposition & hypotheses III. Understanding Theory A. Verifying theory B. Theory building Chapter 5: The Human Side of BR: Organizational & Ethical Issue I. Introduction II. Ethical issue in BR A. Ethical qs are philosophical qs B. General rights & obligation of concerned parties C. Rights & obligation of the research participant * The obligation to be truthful * Participants’ right to privacy * Active & Passive research * Deception in research designs & the right to be informed * Experiment designs * Descriptive research * Protection from harm D. Rights & obligation of the researcher * Research the isn’t research * Mixing sales or fund-raising with research * Pseudo-research * Push polis Chapter 6: Problem definition: The foundation of BR I. Introduction ...

Words: 1429 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Article Review-E-Business and Intellectual Property

...Quantitative Vs. Qualitative Research Name University Affiliation Course Tutor Date Quantitative research is a logically observed examination of observable phenomena through the mathematical and statistical approach. The quantitative research goal is to formulate and employ mathematical theories, hypotheses and mathematical models relating to the phenomena. Quantitative research central process is measurement as it offers the essential linkage involving relationships. The research has data that is in numerical terms like percentages and statistics. The researcher evaluates the data with the aid of statistics hoping the number will yield an impartial outcome that can be used in generalizing a huge population (Patten, 2009). Quantitative research is applicable in the studies interested in establishing the impact of a hand-washing curriculum on grade school children. It applies to such example because quantitative research tests theory, its cause and the effect of the theory correlation. Quantitative research is an outstanding approach to finalizing outcomes and attesting an assumption. The method is standard across numerous scientific field and discipline because its structure has not changed. The approach leads to a comprehensive solution that can be discussed and published subsequent to a statistical examination of results. The design experiments filter out exterior factors when appropriately structured leading to acquiring...

Words: 1488 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Perceptions of Third Year Fine Arts Students in Far Eastern University on the Use of Nude Models in Art

...Perceptions of Third Year Fine Arts Students In Far Eastern University on the Use Of Nude Models in Art In Partial Fulfillment of The Subject Requirements In English 8 (Technical Writing) Submitted to: Mr. Rogelio Ramos Guce English Department Institute of Arts and Sciences by Alimorong, Aislin Nika Alterado, Charles Caga-anan, Mark Nathaniel Elpedes, Jhune-Marx Nuñez, Domnilourd Pangilinan, Shem Salvador, Mikaela Valdez, Judah Yatco, Ma. Barbara FT0933 First Semester S.Y. 2011 - 2012 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction In the early days, great masters like da Vinci, Michaelangelo and Botticelli had been using nude models as references in their artworks for religious purposes. Up until now, this idea is still being implemented by artists but it is now more about aesthetics. Nude art generally refers to the artists’ depiction of artistic elements of nudity instead of actually showing the naked form of humans. Different cultures react differently on the use of nude models in art. It is through the aesthetic view of nude art that most countries accept this kind of art (Changing Depictions of Art Nudes, 2011). Art schools including Far Eastern University also accept the use of nude models in art such as paintings, sculpture, photography, and the like. In the curriculum of the Fine Arts Department, there are subjects like Anatomy, Life Drawing and Life Painting wherein nude models are used as references in...

Words: 3038 - Pages: 13

Premium Essay

8th Grade Science?

...| | CCRS | CONTENT STANDARDS | EVIDENCE OF STUDENT ATTAINMENT | RESOURCES | 91929384130 | EIGHTH GRADE: TO BE COMPLETED THROUGHOUT THE COURSEREADING LITERATURE: RANGE OF READING AND LEVEL OF TEXT COMPLEXITY By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of Grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. [RL.8.10]READING STANDARDS FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT: RANGE OF READING AND LEVEL OF TEXT COMPLEXITY By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the Grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. [RI.8.10]WRITING STANDARDS: RANGE OF WRITING Write routinely over extended time frames, including time for research, reflection, and revision, and shorter time frames such as a single sitting or a day or two for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. [W.8.10]KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. [L.8.3]VOCABULARY ACQUISTION AND USE Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. [L.8.6]SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS Engage effectively in a range of...

Words: 8518 - Pages: 35

Premium Essay

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

...Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research Methods There are a number of observational methods when conducting research. Generally, they are split into either qualitative or quantitative methods. Qualitative methods collect data in which the data cannot be quantified. Quantitative methods collect data which is then statistically analyzed. Each method each has its own advantages and disadvantages. As Cozby (2009) indicates, qualitative research focuses on behavior in natural settings. Sample sizes are smaller however, more in-depth information is gathered (Cozby, 2009). This information, or data, is then interpreted by researchers (Cozby, 2009). As listed in Table 1, naturalistic observation or field observation is a type of qualitative research. Conversely, quantitative research focuses on “specific behaviors that can be easily quantified,” (Cozby, 2009). Numerical values are assigned to the responses in data collection, and as such can be represented in a statistical analysis (Cozby, 2009). Empirical research is considered quantitative research. Two examples of quantitative methods to study giftedness include case study method and sampling method. For example, a perceived gifted child could be identified and observed at several developmental points in his or her life. In this way, data on all behaviors and actions that supersede normal expectations could be noted and recorded. A good example of a qualitative method for studying giftedness is psychobiography (Tewksbury...

Words: 984 - Pages: 4