CHAPTER TWELVE

The Narrative Essay

Narration is storytelling. Whether it tells a true story or fiction, a narrative essay gives an account of one or
more experiences. It tells a story to make a point or explain an idea or event. As a result, this type of essay
can be fun to read and even to write. Usually personal and often autobiographical, a narrative typically
contains action, dialogue, elaborate details, and/or humor.
Narrative essays work best when centered on a single episode of significance to the author. In such cases, the
challenge is to make the significance appealing- even important- to others. While inexperienced writers
might assume that newsworthy events are what one logically should write about, most of us don't experience
newsworthy events. The experienced narrative writer takes what happens every day- whether interesting or
funny or touching- and finds a way to make it something to share with an audience beyond friends and
family.
Because of its storylike nature, the narrative is not typical of most essays. It does not require the standard
thesis sentence stating your main idea, nor does it require the traditional introduction, body, or conclusion-
though it is certainly fine to include those items. This is not to say that your essay does not require a strong
theme- indeed it does- but it does not have to be stated in the traditional, highly defined way. Your theme
might be a lesson you have learned. It might be an awareness you have made.

By now, you have likely begun to draw some distinctions between descriptive and narrative essays. Be
mindful that these kinds of writing styles are not mutually exclusive- nor are the types of essays to be
addressed in the following two chapters. You may write a descriptive essay that contains a narrative element.
Or you may write a narrative with descriptive elements. Writing is an art, not a science, and you may blend
elements as appropriate depending on your subject and audience.
DON'T OVERUSE I
A narrative is typically written in the first person (I did this or that), but don't go overboard. Not every sentence, or even
every other sentence, should include I.

All narratives have certain elements in common. They:

* Unfold over time
* Have characters that display some type of emotion
* Center on events more than ideas

A MODEL OF NARRATlVE WRITlNG

The following essay does exactly what a narrative is supposed to do: It tells an interesting story with clarity,
simplicity, and emotion, bonus points for the humor. The essay is so effective, the author used it in his
application to Harvard University, where he now attends.

FRESH FISH

I can hear the snickers as I walk down the crowded sidewalks of Chinatown. The gossip at the vegetable
stand. The grin of the fish man. The chatter from the seafood restaurants. Laughter is everywhere, like a
dragon's tail winding throughout the streets.

Baygell, Ruth (ed.) (2003) Essay Writing STEP-BY-STEP. A Newsweek Education Program Guide for
Teens. Simon & Schuster, New York 1
 I grew up speaking English, not Chinese, the language of my ancestors. The first word out of my mouth
was mommy, not mah mah. When I was 3, my parents flashed cards with Chinese characters at my face, but
I pushed them aside. My mom assured herself, "He will learn when he is ready." But the time never came.

A decade later, I would regret that decision.

February 7, 1997, Chinese New Year: My relatives and I gather in my grandmother's three-room Mott Street
apartment around the round kitchen table, half-hidden under boxes of don tot, cha sui bao and other Chinese
delicacies from the local dim sum parlor. My Uncle Alex rapidly mutters something to me in Chinese, but all I
can do is stare at him quizzically and scratch my head. "Still can't speak Chinese?" he teases me, now in
English. "How old are you? 13? And you still can't talk to your grandmother, can't even buy a fish in
Chinatown. What are you waiting for?"

"Hey, this is America, not China," I reply. "You want fish for dinner? I'll get some right now- with or
without Chinese." I turn to my mom for permission, who reluctantly hands over a crisp $20 bill. "Remember
to ask for fresh fish, sun seen yu." she says. "You know how fussy your grandmother is with her fish." I repeat
the words to my mother, who nods in approval, then dart down the two flights of dark, narrow stairs into the
bright, crowded streets of Chinatown.

Following the foreign sounds and the smell of the ocean around the corner of Mott Street, I find the fish
stand, submerged in a sea of customers. There are salmon and croaker and flounder and sea bass, fish with
big eyes, fish with shiny scales, and fish that I've never seen before. "I'd like to buy some fresh fish," I blurt
out to the fish man. But he ignores my English words and turns to serve the next customer. The cackling of
the people behind me increases with their impatience. With every second, the breath of the dragons on my
back intensifies- rny blood boiling- compelling me to make my decision. What were my mother's words
again?

"Seen sang yu, please," I stutter, jabbing at the sea bass. "Very seen sang," I repeat, this time, beaming at my
simple eloquence. I had spoken Chinese, used it to communicate with my own people. I had ...

.... told a joke? The fish man suppresses a grin, but the crowd erupts with laughter and chuckles and
snickers. They are Chinese I am Chinese. I should feel right at home. Instead, I am the laughingstock, a
disgrace to the language. My face turns red, like the color of hung bao, the red envelopes exchanged on
Chinese New Year. Then, I am racing back to my grandmother's quiet apartment, the fish and the laughter in
the distance.

I return to the apartment empty-handed, except for the now-wrinkled twenty-dollar bill that I clutch
tightly in my pocket. "I asked for seen sang yu, fresh fish," I stammer when the door opens, "just like you
told me to- I mean- didn't you tell me to say that? But ... but they just laughed."

For a moment, my mother simply grins to herself, saying nothing, holding me in suspense. Then she
explains, "No, sun seen is fresh fish, not seen sang. You asked for a teacher fish. Even though fish travel in

Baygell, Ruth (ed.) (2003) Essay Writing STEP-BY-STEP. A Newsweek Education Program Guide for
Teens. Simon & Schuster, New York 2
schools, you would have a really hard time trying to find the teacher."

My jaw drops. Should I laugh or cry?

I still walk down Mott Street to visit my grandmother- past the fish man, past the vegetable stands, past
the restaurant- concealing the fact that I cannot speak Chinese. Sometimes I laugh at my fish incident, but,
in the end, the joke is on me. Every grin is a bond withering away; each chuckle, a culture lost; every
giggle, my heritage fading away.

--Christopher Chin, Honorable Mention, 2002 Kaplan/Newsweek My Turn Essay Competition

UNFOLD OVER TIME
Time (chronological order) is most often the organizing principle in a narrative essay. Stories and events
happen in a certain order, and this order must be communicated to the reader. Events or experiences are
listed in sequence of how they happened. Specific scenes are set- in time and in place- and recreated for the
reader.

USE FLASHBACK WHEN APPROPRIATE

Though less common than narratives that focus on a sequence of time, some narratives focus on an emotion or a
person. You'll still need to sequence your material in some type of logical order, so a f1ashback technique might
work best

In "Fresh Fish" the time frame is clear. The author's odyssey is chronicled vividly and in color- from
apartment to fish stand and back to the apartment. Simple phrases such as "My relatives and I gather" and "I
... dart down the two flights of dark, narrow stairs" reveal the movement, and as readers, we're taken along.
These phrases act as transitions that guide us through the passage of time.
While writing a narrative in the present tense is not usually recommended, Chin gets away with it. The tight,
logical flow of events__which presumably took place over the course of an hour__reflects a careful editing
process. What he chose to leave out about that day is as important as what he chose to include.

DISPLAY EMOTION
A good narrative essay connects readers to some sort of emotion felt by the essay's subject. When you read
the header Display Emotion above, anger, sadness, pain, or joy may have come to mind. They're naturally
the first emotions we think of, but they're also extremes. There are many other, equally compelling emotions
that merit elaboration: jealousy, perseverance, loneliness, anxiety, and passion to name a few. Though these
feelings are often more subtle and harder to articulate, they're powerful, and if you can incorporate them into
your essay, your writing will be stronger. Feelings are the prime vehicle for creating an instant reaction on
the part of your reader. They're what we all identify with.

In "Fresh Fish," the author touches on humiliation and shame. As readers, we can connect with these
emotions because all know them. "They are Chinese, I am Chinese. I should feel right at home. Instead, I am
the laughingstock, a disgrace to the language. My face turns red, like the color of hung bao, the red
envelopes exchanged on Chinese New Year."

Here's another example. This time, the writer shows his emotions about a mote common experience:
choosing which college to attend. The text presented here is his opening paragraph.

Baygell, Ruth (ed.) (2003) Essay Writing STEP-BY-STEP. A Newsweek Education Program Guide for
Teens. Simon & Schuster, New York 3
 When I applied under Early Decision to the University of Pennsylvania four years ago, I was
motivated by two powerful emotions: ambition and fear. The ambition was to fulfill my lifelong
expectation of attending an Ivy League school; the fear was that without the advantage offered by
Early Decision, 1 wouldn't make the cut. A Penn admissions officer told me that the previous year
they had accepted 45 percent of Early Decision applicants and just 29 percent of total applicants. The
implication was clear: applying under Early Decision dramatically improves your chances of
acceptance. At Brown University, my other favorite, applying early did not confer any advantage.
While Brown was my No. 1 choice, Penn was a close second, and I desperately wanted to make sure
I got into one of the two.
-Ben Adler, Newsweek, from "Better Think Before You Apply" November 18, 2002

Choosing to start out with a direct statement, the event is defined straight away. We know right away how the
author felt, and along with a bit more detail as to what happened, the stage is effectively set for what's to
come.

Often, the emotion that is shared in a narrative -or really in any type of story- is done to tell a bigger story.
The narrative part of the essay serves as a link to the big picture. Consider the beloved fairy tale The Three
Little Pigs. While children love reading about the pigs and the big bad wolf, the tale manages to impart a
not-so-subtle message: that it pays to be prepared. The narrative, therefore, serves as a vehicle for delivering
the larger lesson.

USE ANECDOTES
Anecdotes (short accounts of interesting events) are a good way to make your thoughts more concrete to the reader.

Going back to the "Fresh Fish" essay above, how does Chín share his emotion? He does so with humor__a
humorous tale and a bittersweet tone. While no doubt this is a reflective essay that reveals a sense of regret,
the author has the presence of mind to realize that, from the perspective of an outsider, his story is amusing.
Deftly balancing the two perspectives of personal embarrassment with lighthearted humor, Chin poignantly
illustrates an intimate event. We're allowed to laugh at the incident along with him. With a self-deprecating
approach, he jokes about his decision to eschew the Chinese language. He takes risks in his language,
revealing his sorrow at how things transpired. Still, today, when he walks down the street in Chinatown, he
hears "snickers" from those around him.

DETAILS ARE IMPORTANT

Consider how the following sentence takes us to the scene of Chin!s embarrassing encounter: "There are salmon and
croaker and flounder and sea bass, fish with big eyes, fish with shiny scales, and fish that I've never seen before."

CENTER ON EVENTS
As we have said, a narrative tells a story. But more precisely, it is a story that recounts events as they
happened__in order to make a point. You aren't just reporting the details of what happened, you want to
apply a broader meaning to the event. In order to do this effectively, you must focus on events more than
ideas.
Whether you start in the middle of the story or at the beginning doesn't matter. You want to focus on the
events that were meaningful to you. The shorter the time-span you write about, the narrower your focus will
be.

DON'T TAKE THE CONCEPT OF AN EVENT TOO LITERALLY

Yes, most often narratives focus on a specific episode in time, but it can also be a feeling you experienced in time.
Just remember the events that prompted you lo feel that way.

Baygell, Ruth (ed.) (2003) Essay Writing STEP-BY-STEP. A Newsweek Education Program Guide for
Teens. Simon & Schuster, New York 4
It is important that you describe your story as it happened. The reader should understand clearly how and
when things happened. On the other hand, do not just recite the events in sequential order as if you're
reading a list. Pick and choose your details. While you want to convey the full imagery of the story, too
many details will be distracting.
As you describe your story in the manner it happened, make sure you keep your verb tense consistent and
dear. Reread your work several times to make sure that there is no confusion about when things happened
and what you might be feeling now.

DEVELOPING YOUR NARRATIVE ESSAY

Consider the following questions when you think about the topic. Maybe there was a time when things didn't
turn out as expected. Maybe you recently had a great accomplishment. Maybe you witnessed something
troublesome.

? What happened? In what order did it happen?

? Who was involved?
? Where were you?
? How did you fee!? Was there something to be learned from the
experience?

Now clarify the two things about this event: the sequence of what happened and the way you felt. Write a list
of words that create a picture in your head__words that bring colorful details to mind. Then, draw on your
word bank to start writing your essay.

Baygell, Ruth (ed.) (2003) Essay Writing STEP-BY-STEP. A Newsweek Education Program Guide for
Teens. Simon & Schuster, New York 5