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One thing that must always be kept in mind when looking at the.
study of narrative in the modern media is that, narrative theory.
suggests that stories in whatever media and whatever culture share.
certain features, but that some media's are able to report stories in.
different ways.
The narrative theory studies the devices and conventions governing.
the organisation of a story into a sequence. Such names as Propp,.
Barthes, Todorov and Lévi-Strauss are names involved in the.
understanding of narrative. Each one form the bare bones of their.
influential fundamental approaches to narrative.
Vladimir Propp (1895-1970) reckoned that there were only certain.
types of characters in each story. He believes that all characters can.
be grouped into:.
-8 character roles or spheres of action, to indicate how inseparable.
are the character and action.
-31 functions which help the story along, more than often in a very.
predictable order.
Propp argued that to make sense of the ways there were many very.
different figures but they could all ultimately be reduced to 8.
character roles, since some characters can occupy several roles. His.
8 main character roles are as follows:.
1. The villain 2. The hero, or someone who seeks something .
3. The donor who provides an object with some magic property 4.
The helper who helps the hero 5. The princess, reward for the.
hero and the object of the villains schemes 6. Her father, who.
rewards the hero 7. The dispatcher, who sends his hero on his way .
8. The false hero.
I will take the movieThe Lion King? to show how the character.
functions are laid out. 1. (villain) The uncle Scar 2. (hero) Simba .
3. (donor) Rafiki 4. (helper) Timon and Pumbaa 5. (princess) Nala .
6. (father) The community of animals 7. (dispatcher) Mufasa 8.
(false hero).
Propps conventional characters are important because the structures.
beneath the surface shows the differences of such widely circulated.
popular forms.
