A narrator is one of the most important elements of any literary work, as he, she, or they are the voice that not only shares the story with the reader, but also conveys their thoughts, opinions, and details to make the story more understandable. What is a narrator, exactly? According to the Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, a narrator is “one who tells a story”. There are three different points of view that can be used in narrating a story. When taught in grade school, first-person and third-person points of view are the most prevalent. First-person has the narrator inside the story, and third person has the narrator outside the story. First-person narration, in difference, is far more impactful than second person and third person. With the narrator being an individual inside the story, we, the readers, can obtain primary thoughts and opinions of a character in the stories “real time.” With this, the reader can feel more emotion being cast throughout the literary piece. It may also enhance the reader's experience of the plot and story itself. The choice of the narrator will also affect the work, because the author needs a storyteller who can accurately describe their emotions and convey the storyline in an easily understanding manner.
The literary fiction, ‘Sonny’s Blues’ by James Baldwin, depicts Sonny’s older brother as the narrator. During a time of poverty in Harlem in the 1950s, Baldwin creates a first-person point of view using Sonny’s older brother. Sonny's story is told by the narrator, but since he is a character in the story, the reader can feel his emotional depth and further comprehend the theme of brotherly love in the work. In summary, Sonny is revealed as a new drug addict in response to the growing poverty. Substance abuse and drugs prove to be an effective way for Sonny to escape reality. Sonny's brother speaks out about his thoughts and attempts to find sympathy for his partner's actions. Baldwin writes, “I was remembering, and it made it hard to catch my breath, that I had been there when he was born; and I had heard the first words he had ever spoken. When he started to walk, he walked from our mother straight to me. I caught him just before he fell when he took the first steps he ever took in this world” (Baldwin, Paragraph 58). The author used the ‘in-story’ narrator to have the reader feel the emotion and connection between Sonny and his older brother. The bond between Sonny and his older brother, clearly, is very intense. If the story were to be told with an outside narrator, the audience would not be able to have easily grasped on the love and strong ties between the brothers. Moreover, the use of an 'in-story' narrator enhances the audience's understanding of the conflict of the story: the internal struggle of Sonny's younger brother to respect his older brother's decision and the external conflict between the brothers and their relationship. Due to the narrator's emotional control, Baldwin's decision to include Sonny's brother's thoughts and emotions is vital for his goal of depicting suffering, love, and damage through the story.
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Another literary piece, ‘A Rose for Emily’ by William Faulkner, uses an unnamed townsperson, a character within the story at a funeral, as the narrator. In the piece, it is discovered that Emily, the main character, loved a man that came into her life, but she couldn’t be with him. She killed him and kept his corpse, wildly enough. She adored him so much that she could not leave him, no matter the circumstances behind the failed relationship. Emily, now passed, had a funeral held in her memories. The narrator now shares her story of Emily with the town. A 'bystander' inside the story is strategically used by Faulkner to communicate Emily's story and help the audience visualize Emily's story. By this, the reader may be able to glimpse Emily's depression and her intense love for the lost loved ones she has lost, along with her dark, crazed qualities. Faulkner writes, “Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair” (Faulkner, Paragraph 60). We see from the narrator’s point of view and description that Emily kept the man’s dead body and lay with him, so she could be with him forever. The audience is now able to see the undying love and craze Emily had. Emily had killed this man who had ventured into her life and slept with his rotted corpse. She wanted to have him although the odds were not in her favor, as he could not be with her. Faulkner also states, “She told them that her father was not dead. She did that for three days, with the ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body” (Faulkner, Paragraph 27). The reader is now capable to perceive Emily’s conflict, that she has difficulties letting go of loved ones, this time her father. With the narrator being a townsperson, the audience can get an inside scoop of Emily’s story, as Faulkner writes the piece in a way that makes the reader feel as if they are attending the funeral. Using the ‘in-story’ narrator, Faulkner is also able to show the shock and trauma the narrator has about Emily, and her depressed, psycho self. By strategic selection of the narrator, Faulkner ensures that his audience connects and thinks throughout the work, as he makes readers infer the plot, increasing his audience's connection and making the audience want to think into the theme and emotion of his piece.
Concluding, the use of the narrator being within a literary work effectively portrays more emotion being showed by the narrator. Likewise, the narration of the story assists the reader in better understanding minor themes, conflicts, and details that are not readily apparent. If the narrator wasn't a character in the story, it would lack emotional appeal and connection, as far more inferences would have to be made by the reader. Both Faulkner and Baldwin used characters as narrators in order to demonstrate real emotional connection, the power of love, and to develop an easy-to-follow piece with deep meanings that transcend words alone. Undoubtedly, the narrator drives not only the story, but the reader as well.
Works Cited
- Britannica. The Editors of Encyclopaedia. 'Narrator'. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Sep. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/artnarrator Accessed 12 September 2021.
- Faulkner, William. ‘A Rose for Emily’. The Norton Introduction to Literature, edited by Kelly J Mays, 13th ed., W. W. Norton.
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