Evaluation of narrative product

Task 1

Propp- Narrative theoriesPropp looked at folk tales to identify the basic narrative elements and came to a conclusion that all

folk tales could be narrowed down to 8 character types and 31 plot elements. These can be applied to almost any story.

Character types.1. The hero2. The Villain3. The prize4. The father5. The donor6. The false hero7. The dispatcher

I think that this theory works well as it covers all the different types of characters, and you could make any story and your character would fit into these slots. What also makes it good is the merging of the different types that can occur, which makes characters more interesting. This theory applies to my story.

The Hero

In a story the hero is the main character, the protagonist, the one that has been sent on the adventure or quest and the story is theirs. The readers will be rooting for the hero to succeed.

In my story Hansel and Gretel, Hansel and Gretel are equally heroes, both having a main role. I have put both characters into one character type. In more modern stories like Toy Story, Woody is the hero and main character. So these character traits still apply in modern day stories.

The Villain

The villain is the bad and immoral character in the story, showing the reader how not to be. The villain is usually disliked by the reader, and is the to be fought by the main character. It also shows how good the main character is in comparison.

In my story I have 2 villains, the evil step mother and the evil witch, both who hate the main characters. This character can also be applied to modern stories like Shrek, in this case the evil character would be the fairy godmother.

The Prize

The prize typically in traditional folk tales will be women and princesses, that the heroes are trying to save, and because they have been saved the heroes prize is their love and marriage. This character won’t be seen a lot but may be mentioned a lot. They will usually feature towards the end

In my book I don’t have a prize character but in other stories the prize would be the princess, like in Toy Story, Woody’s prize is Bo-peep. In my book the prize is an actual object of money.

The Father

The father in the folk tales wasn’t the actual father of the child, but the person who gave consent for the hero to be with the princess.

In my story I have a father character, but this is different to what it would usually be described as. In my story the father is just the father of the children, who is being forced into doing things, not the sign of power like the traditional father. An example of a father would be from Shrek, who is the king and also the princesses father. Shrek has to get consent to let him get married to Fiona.

The Donor

The donor is a character who gives a vital piece of information to the hero in order for them to continue their quest. This information or power may not be given out without the hero completing a task for them. This role may be combined with the helper.

In my story I don’t have a donor but an example of a donor from a story would be from shrek is the dragon, the dragon needs to give them a key in order to continue to receive the prize.

The Helper

The helper is the character that is the side-kick. They are there to assist the hero, and also there to make the hero look better, so the side-kick may be clumsy, but have one special thing that is essential to the story.

In my story either Hansel or Gretel at different times could be classed as helpers, they mix the role of the hero and the helper. A classic example of a helper would be Donkey in Shrek, who is pretty useless to make the hero look better, but then comes in handy at the right times.

The False Hero

This character is the one that tricks others and is also a villain, as they will be set up as a good guy then a plot-twist will come into play and they will be revealed.

In my story I would class the evil witch as a false hero, as she appears to be saving the children, when really she tricks them and turns out to be evil. Another good example of a false hero would be Prince charming In shrek, where he tries to convince everyone that he is the hero when really he is also a villain.

The Dispatcher

This is the role where the character features early on in the story, to send the hero off on their task. In folk tales this will usually be a family member. They will also usually be disguised as a false hero or helper.

In my story the dispatcher is the evil step mother, as she is the one who sends the father out to lose the children in the woods. In a modern story of shrek, Lord Farquaad is the dispatcher as he sends shrek out on a task, but he is also a false hero, because different characteristics can be merged.

31 plot elementsIn Propps identification was 31 plot elements that were in all fairytales, but not all the

elements were in one.In my story there is:Trickery: This is the villain deceiving the hero, so in my case the evil witch tricked Hansel

and Gretel into thinking she was nice and caring, when really she was going to eat them.

Guidance: This is where the hero reaches a destination, so in my case this is where Hansel and Gretel find the witches house.

Punishment: This is where the villain is punished, so in my case this is where Gretel kills the witch by pushing her in the oven.

Difficult task: This is where the hero is confronted by a difficult task, in my case this would be Gretel trying to get Hansel out of the cell.

Return: This is where the hero returns from their adventure, in my case this is Hansel and Gretel leaving the witches house and finding a new home.

I also think this theory works out really well and covers all ground. I think that the less detailed the story the less elements would apply. But I think it would be very difficult for a story to use all of these elements. But 5 elements apply to my story.

Narrative structure components-Todorov

Todorov was also analysed narratives to work out that all of them followed the same paths, the 3 step and the 5 step.

The 3 step: equilibrium (everything in the characters lives are in balance, just day to

day occurrences happening, this isn’t featured in my story) > Disequilibrium (This is the event that disrupts the characters lives, this could be a big event or a small event, so for

my story this is where the children get taken away to the woods to be left ) > New equilibrium (this is where the story ends and everything returns normal for the characters, this is where the heroes in my story end up going to find a new home)

The 5 step: State of equilibrium > a disruption > a recognition that a disruption has happened > an attempt to

repair the damage that the disruption has caused > a return to the state of equilibrium

Narrative structure components: Binary opposition-Claude Levi Strauss

Claude Levis Strauss a French theorist invented the idea of binary opposition, and this is the idea that a story can only have two opposing sides and the story is based on the conflict between these two sides, e.g.

Good vs EvilWomen vs MenYoung vs Old

In my story there is a few binary oppositions that could be applied, the characters being Hansel and Gretel vs the evil step mother, the father and the witch. Such as, good vs evil, young vs old and children vs adults.

Task 2

Types of structures

There are different types of structures, Open-these don’t reach any sort of conclusion and are open to interpretation of what could happen.

So for a film the ending could be open, ready for another film to follow, or a soap which keeps on going and always ends in cliff hangers. Books can also have open endings, to be left as cliff hangers.

Closed-these reach a conclusion, an ending that is definite. Books and films that are not series tend to have this type of ending.

My book has a closed ending, as it is a children's book so it is clear to the children that the story has ended and having a open structure may be confusing.

Single strand - This is the structure where the story just has one main thing happening throughout the whole book. Children and early teenagers may have these kind of books because it is not too complex and is easy to follow.

Multi-strand – This is where there is more than one story going on at a time, so it may be little stories that are along side the main one, but then they all add up in the end. This is used in films and soap operas.

My book is a single strand structure because it is a children’s book and of it had more than one story going on then it would become too complicated for them to follow.

Types of structure 2Linear – This is where the story goes in chronological order, each scene follows the next, there is

no skipping through time. It is simple and easy to follow, which makes it popular with film producers and authors.

Non-linear – This is where a story skips through time, with things like flashbacks and jump forward with visions. This can be a very effective way of making a film more interesting, and if done right will not be too complicated.

My story has a linear structure, because of the young children will otherwise will find it too complicated and become confused.

Realist – This is based on an event that could happen in real life and things that could happen to anyone. These kind of stories are seen more in books for adults, films, soaps and sitcoms.

Anti-realist – This is the opposite to realist stories. The situations and the place in which they happen are almost or are impossible, like castles and space. This is also popular in films and books, especially in genres such as sci-fi and fantasy.

In my story there is a bit of both, realist and anti-realist. The environment and places where the events happened are very real, like cottages and woods which exist quite readily. But the story line is anti-realist, the events that actually happened will never be expected to happen in real life.

Task 3

Image construction evaluationThe images I have created have been constructed by

using a mixture of photography and illustrations. I made the backgrounds from the photographs I had taken, I then edited them by changing the colour balance, the contrast and brightness. Then I put a filter on the photos to make it look like it had been painted, these edits were simple and subtle but were really effective, and also made the over-all appearance look more old-fashioned and traditional. Then I drew the characters which were just line drawings, no colour so they would contrast against the background. I think this gives a twist on the traditional line drawings as these are more cartoon style to make it more modern and original. I constructed them together using Photoshop. I did this by scanning the drawings into the computer, then I cut them out on Photoshop and put them on the background. Comparing to the original traditional style of the illustrations I think this looks good and the pages look in place and neat. The final product looks quite professional and effective.

Illustration that has been cut out and put on the image

Photograph that has bee edited and used as a background

Anchorage evaluation The text was originally put on top over the

photographs, but I thought this looked too messy and it wasn’t clear what the words said, especially for a children’s book, and this is very important for it to be easy and simple for children to read. So then I put the text in a white square which the text fit in, but the edges of the box where faded and the colour of the text and the colour of the gradient blended and it still wasn’t 100% clear. So I then decided to just make the bottom of the page completely white. After this I could make the text size consistent and the colour of text was clear and very easy to read. The text always ended up being at the bottom of the page on a white background, but I used the gradient for the white to bled in a little so it looks more professional. The text is left aligned so it was easier to read, the font was a serif, so it looks more traditional, but also is so the text is easier to follow, especially for younger children. Comparing to other children’s books this kind of anchorage seems to be popular and works well.

Similar set out, text at the bottom on a white background

Signification Evaluation In my story I have used very subtle symbolic codes,

these are to do with colour and moods. The darker and greyer the colours, the more danger the characters are in. I have also used connotations in the characters, the different characters represent different personality traits. Hansel and Gretel both portray bravery, determination and cleverness. The evil step-mother represents badness and desperation. The father represents weakness and coward traits and the evil witch represents evilness and deceit. There are not many other connotations because of the lack of characters, I think if I were to do it again I would make the symbolic codes more obvious and more frequent. Another colour code is how the characters are in black and white but their world is in colour, this shows that the characters are simplistic and the contrast of the complicated world that they are facing.

The top two images are at the start and end of the story so the colours are lighter to show positivity, and then the bottom one is at a scarier part of the story so it is darker and there is less colour showing negativity

Representation EvaluationIn my story I have mainly mixed groups of adults and

children and genders. I have generally shown the group of adults to be not very nice, no morals and evil. The children are the opposite, they are shown in a good light, to be clever and brave. These representations are shown in my work by the actions my characters take, like the mother wanting to get rid of the children, this is bad and shows the readers that the mother is not a nice character and that she is a villain. The difference in the way my story compares to the original is that I wanted to move away from the typical, female needing help and being weaker than males, which is sexism and not acceptable, especially to be teaching children. So in my story I made Hansel and Gretel equal in heroic roles, not one being stronger than the other, and it is Gretel who defeats the enemy and saves Hansel, so this is a change from the traditional instances.

Female showing a stronger role than the male, good and bad.

Gretel saving Hansel and killing the villain

The evil mother forcing the father to do things he doesn’t want to

History and Culture Evaluation The history of the story of Hansel and Gretel goes back

to folk law, some versions dating back to the 1300s, in this early version the children resort to cannibalism, but the story has changed over time, in the 1700s came in the idea of the children coming across an edible house with the witch living in it, then when the witch is killed the children go back home to find the evil step mother is also dead, this metaphorically suggests they are the same woman. The culture is believed to be Swedish because of the names and the environment in which its usually set in. My story does follow along the lines of the most well know 1700s rendition, but some detail has been spared, like the fathers occupation, the country or place its set in and the witch trying to eat the children.

The drawings and illustrations of traditional versions of Hansel and Gretel are line drawings, coloured or painted in a distinct, intricate style. Mine are more of a modern twist, with a more cartoon style mix but more sophisticated because of the photography.

I think that the more old, gothic style drawings represent the horrific story a lot more accurately, giving it a more haunting feel, because the more friendly, colourful cartoons avoid the actual subject of cannibalism and romanticise the grim truth of the story.

Old style illustrations and my illustrations are similar in background with colour and style.

My character cartoon style similar to the more modern takes on the story.

Production process and Time Management Evaluation

I think my product has been put together well, I feel each page fits the theme and they all match. I also feel that the story is clear and easy to follow through the illustrations. The technology I’ve used consists of cameras and computers, although I the work on Photoshop wasn’t complicated, I have still done it well, I think the photography looks effective especially with the filter to make the photos look like paintings. I think the most creative thing about the whole product is the idea of mixing media, putting the 2d images on the 3d photographs, I think it is the most creative because I never seen it been done previously on other books during my research. I think the least creative thing of the whole product is the actual illustrations, they are the least creative because of my limited skills in drawing.

With my time and schedule I found out that the amount of time I thought it would take a lot longer to create each page than it actually did. I was able to create the whole product in just the first week of production, this gave me the second week to work out where the text would go and to fill in little missing details, like the size and accuracy of the pebbles. This extra time also gave me a chance to create a front page which completes the whole product with a much more professional feel. Because the product was finished so quickly I didn’t actually stick exactly to my plan time wise, but I followed it chronologically in order of which pages to make when.