narrative essay engl 153
TRANSCRIPT
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Professor Hayde Cruz Rivera
ENGL 153
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What is a Narrative Essay?As a mode of expository writing, the narrative
approach, more than any other, offers writers a chance
to think and write about themselves. We all have
experiences lodged in our memories, which are worthy
of sharing with readers. Yet sometimes they are so
fused with other memories that a lot of the time spent
in writing narrative is in the prewriting stage.
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When you write a narrative essay, you are telling
a story. Narrative essays are told from a defined
point of view, often the author's, so there is
feeling as well as specific and often sensory
details provided to get the reader involved in theelements and sequence of the story. The verbs
are vivid and precise. The narrative essay
makes a point and that point is often defined in
the opening sentence, but can also be found asthe last sentence in the opening paragraph.
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Since a narrative relies on personal experiences, it oftenis in the form of a story. When the writer uses this
technique, he or she must be sure to include all the
conventions of storytelling: plot, character, setting,
climax, and ending. It is usually filled with details that
are carefully selected to explain, support, or embellishthe story. All of the details relate to the main point the
writer is attempting to make.
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To summarize, the narrative essay:
is told from a particular point of view
makes and supports a point
is filled with precise detail uses vivid verbs and modifiers
uses conflict and sequence as does any story
may use dialogue
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Once an incident is chosen, the writer should
keep three principles in mind:
Remember to involve readers in the story. It is muchmore interesting to actually recreate an incident forreaders than to simply tell about it.
Find a generalization, which the story supports. This isthe only way the writer's personal experience will takeon meaning for readers. This generalization does nothave to encompass humanity as a whole; it canconcern the writer, men, women, or children of various
ages and backgrounds. Remember that although the main component of a
narrative is the story, details must be carefully selectedto support, explain, and enhance the story.
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Conventions of Narrative Essays
In writing your narrative essay, keep the followingconventions in mind:
Narratives are generally written in the first person, thatis, using I. However, third person (he, she, or it) canalso be used.
Narratives rely on concrete, sensory details to conveytheir point. These details should create a unified,forceful effect, a dominant impression. Moreinformation on the use of specific details is available onanother page.
Narratives, as stories, should include these storyconventions: a plot, including setting and characters; aclimax; and an ending.
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Here are some popular essay topic examples foryour narrative essay type:
First Day at College
The Moment of Success
A Memorable Journey
The Biggest Misunderstanding
The Difficult Decision
The Trip of Your Dreams
The Day You Decided to Change Your Life
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A lesson learned
A lesson learned I wonder, is it at all possible to learn harsh lessons of our life?
Indeed, in most spheres of human activity we can hope to take our previousmistakes into consideration and avoid them in the future. But concerning human
feelings, is it right to blame ourselves if it turns out that we had made a mistake by
sincerely investing a part of us into a wrong person who has lead us into the
devastating emotional state? And can we avoid such mistakes in the future without
becoming desensitized? Confusion over these questions constitutes the
kaleidoscope of my memory of Kim, the relationship with whom ended with the
shattering argument over one of the most important questions what is the nature ofcommitment between man and woman?
How fitting was her glowing red pullover when she blazed up in response to my
question about whether she had spent the Saturday`s night at the Chicago Blues
Club and had left with Craig: You better care about your own leisure as mine isdefinitely much cuter! This phrase was the last one between us as a couple, and,truly, care about your own whatever is probably the epitome of the fundamental
problem that any couple face in one way or another. I am even grateful to Kim forsuch an exact formulation. Despite the great time that we had together, this ending
of our relationship was in no need of talk. Earlier, when we had petty quarrels words
channeled negative emotions, but this time words suddenly turned into the
irreversible verdict.
I
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I only could respond in my mind: How funny, here we have two peoplewho cannot in principle understand each other. The realization of thiskilled in me all desire to engage into mutual accusations, and made me
feel fully implicated in this unpleasant situation.
Now that time has passed, I of course remember well the emotional
turmoil that accompanied me after our break-up. But while being perhaps
less naive now, I am no longer too pessimistic. Yes, as I have said
before, it is a daunting task to learn all lessons of our life because we
tend to forget them. But if we manage to leave a trace of our emotional
experiences, then probably we can overcome even arguments without
the principal solution. Well, this is exactly what I have tried to do, and
while I think that ordering of human emotions may dissolve the essence
of human experience, I believe that it is necessary to turn our
experiences into words that represent them as close as possible, so that
we and others could relive them upon reading.
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Space Mountain
It was a hot sunny day, when I finally took my kids to the Disney Land. My son Matthew and mydaughter Audra endlessly asked me to show them the dream land of many children with Mickey
Mouse and Snow-white walking by and arousing a huge portion of emotions. Somehow these fairy
tale creatures can make children happy without such small presents as $100 Lego or a Barbyshouse in 6 rooms and garden furniture. Therefore, I thought that Disney Land was a good invention
for loving parents.
However, I can ensure anybody that Disney can turn out to be a remarkable place for adults too.
Two years have already passed, but I still can not forget my experience at the roller coaster with amysterious name Space Mountain. Tired of the smell of sweet popcorn and heroically washingthe ice-cream off Audras pink dress, I decided to change the settings. Along with Audra, Mathewpleaded to go to the roller coaster, and, having no other better idea, I finally had to give up. I
thought that my wife would be proud of me. Besides, I have never had such an experience before,
and thought of having such a ride was quite intriguing.
However, when I saw this big Mountain, the first signs of doubt started to appear in my confusedconscience. A
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man at the age of 30, I felt terrified by the thought that we have to ride down.
It is inhuman, suicidal experience I would have felt much better if we setdown in the caf and ate ice-cream. I thought about my children and looked
at Mat. To my surprise, he was too preoccupied with Space Mountain to beworried about life safety. I also took a moment to appreciate the courage of
Audra, who light-heartedly followed Mat. Finally, I rejected all doubt and
climbed into this killing machine, where well qualified Disney personnel
checked the safety belts, encouraged the suicides, I mean all who wanted toincrease their adrenaline level, and wished a pleasant ride.
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At that moment, the only person that looked exited was Matthew. As for Audra,
her eyes were full of fear, and once again I could not decide for myself whether
I did right or not. The only thing that I new for sure was that my blood turned
cold and I could not stop thinking that this entire mechanism could break in a
second. So, there was nothing a man could do but close his eyes and quickly
leave the place of torture. I heard other people scream and even laugh, but
could not make a sound myself. When I opened my eyes, I understood that
Audra fully shared my feelings. And unfortunately even more. In several
minutes, looking at my poor daughter, I thought that pop corn and ice cream
was far not the worst thing. Especially, if kept inside
I was somehow no longer proud of myself as I could not get rid of the thought
that I did something wrong again.