Abstract This paper applies narrative therapy to the counseling of two clients. The paper begins by describing the therapeutic approach of narrative therapy. Then the paper demonstrates how narrative therapy was used in the case of an 11-year old boy and a 14-year old boy.
From the Paper "Narrative therapy is based on the fundamental belief that people can engage in a constant process of re-authoring the stories of their lives. By recognizing that their choice of appropriate language can enable them to reshape their consciousness and understand..."
Tags:narrative therapy, externalizing, co-construction, alternative stories, stories
Abstract This paper examines the use of the literary device, framed narrative, in Nabokov's "Lolita." First, the paper defines the term framed narrative. It then suggests that this device was used in "Lolita" because of the novel's controversial content. Finally, the author suggests that Nabokov may have used framed narrative to protect himself, and possibly his position as a tenured professor.
From the Paper "As for Nabokov's note at the end, called "On a Book Entitled Lolita" (pp. 313-319), Lolita's true author ("Foreword" included), Vladimir Nabokov, comes clean immediately, in the first line of this "afterward" note to the reader, about his "impersonation of suave John Ray" (Nabokov, Lolita, p. 313). Nabokov then tells us in detail about both the genesis of, and the creative processes that went into his writing of Lolita, assuring us along the way that (1) the original idea for Lolita was a very old one, and has in fact seen several metamorphoses, on two continents, before finally emerging into the public eye, as the book it is today; (2) his urge to write it was solely a literary one (and he has in fact been writing novels, in not one language but two, since 1924), and once the idea finally emerged into the raw form of a novel, he had no creative choice but (like an itch that simply must be scratched) to finish it; (3) that he had initially been reticent to sign his own name to the book; (4) that he is in fact a stably married man, with hobbies, interests, and a routine kind of life ("Every summer my wife and I go butterfly hunting" (p. 314)), and that this particular work, his own artistic creation Lolita, is a work of art, not pornography (". . . in pornographic novels, action has to be limited to the copulation of cliches", p. 315)"
Abstract This paper provides a biographical review of three Southern slaves: Moses Grandy, Solomon Northrup, and Henry Bibb. The biographies are based on slave narratives, which describe the brutality and inhumanity of the conditions under which slaves in the South were forced to exist. A brief discussion about the historical context of slave narratives and anti-slavery movements precedes the biographical reviews.
From the Paper "The effects of slavery included a major role in the economic development of the United States. Black slaves helped to clear the American wilderness and build important canals, railroads, and roads. The cotton which slaves picked became the nation's most valuable, and therefore important, export. The income from cotton paid for a major share of American imports, and the westward expansion of slavery during the early and mid-1800's had important political effects. ?Northerners feared that the South would gain control of Congress if Western territories entered the Union as slave states. Attempts by the North to exclude slavery from these territories angered the South and helped bring on the American Civil War (1861-1865)? (Davis 1999:3). Slavery had a variety of effects on slaves and owners. It broke the spirit of many blacks but made many others vow to resist it. Slavery caused fear and hate between most owners and slaves. The following narratives provide a glimpse into the miserable and dehumanizing qualities of the day- to-day lives of slaves in the Old South."
Abstract This paper is an interpretive essay presenting the concepts of narrative therapy that occur in Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Rick Bragg's book, "All Over But the Shoutin". The paper explains that the book is considered as a therapeutic narrative of autobiographical memory and looks at how the concept of "re-authoring" applies.
From the Paper "In Narrative Therapy people re-author their lives or story by defining their own existence, thereby constructing reality by choices made to give meaning to a life. This type of therapy may be viewed as a protest against the socially imposed dominant narrative and a means of making sense of a lived experience. People can be seen as problems or as stories that allow multiple possibilities. Award winning writer Rick Bragg uses the concepts of narrative therapy in his book "All Over But the Shoutin", turning it into a therapeutic narrative...
Abstract This paper studies the concept of suturing which is defined in many different ways such as sewing something back together, gesture or pseudo-identification, the individual watching a film as a stand-in for the camera and more. It looks at the filmmaker Ranier Werner Fassbinder's work 'Despair' as an example of a film that attempts to undercut notions of the gazer of the film becoming sutured into the web of the film and of becoming socially subjected to the predetermined constructions of reality within the film's text. Finally, it concludes that the destabilizing of a master narrative with the particularity of autobiography is better than the complicated suturing.
From the Paper "On a very literal level, to suture something is to sew something back together, usually imperfectly, usually with a substance that is alien to the body that is being altered?such as the doctor's suturing thread that stitches together an open wound. On a semiotic level, according to Jacques-Alain Miller, Miller's definition of suture (in a nutshell) is that the suturing process in culture is the process through which a subject is joined into the signifying chain of culture, allowing a signifier to stand-in for the subject's absence in discourse. (Suture as a Laconian Concept) "
Abstract This paper looks at the slave narrative, "Never Had Over Two Dresses". by Betty Foreman Chessie about how Chessier's life as a slave isolated her from her family. It examines the benefits of being a house slave in an urban area than a field slave and the role of faith in her existence.
From the Paper "Betty Foreman Chessier never had over two dresses. Born on July in Raleigh North Carolina she grew up in the waning days of the foul institution called slavery. As a result of this her life was a direct product of the racism that defined this nation..."
Abstract The paper discusses narrative therapy, which is considered a post-modern therapy and mental health treatment that seeks to gain the cooperation and insight of the patient himself. The paper applies narrative therapy to an anorexic patient to illustrate how this therapy can be utilized in the patient's recovery.
Outline:
Narrative Therapy Overview
Characteristics
Narrative Perspectives
Narrative Concerns
Narrative Therapy in the Future
Narrative Therapy in Application
From the Paper "Narrative therapy can be considered a post-modern therapy and mental health treatment that seeks to gain the cooperation and insight of the patient him or herself. It consists of the integration of individuals' expressions of their unique experiences in life, an account of the individuals' interpretive processes about those experiences, and in relating these unique experience sets to both the culture background of the individual and the treatment plan (Bull, Dettinger, Detwiler, Petersen & Propst, 2005, paras.1-12). It is the counselor's or therapist's duty to reconcile these experiences and, most importantly, the individual's interpretive perception of them, with the particular mental affectation that is manifesting itself."
Abstract In this article, the writer introduces, discusses and analyzes the topic of writing fiction. Specifically the writer discusses six techniques for writing a successful narrative, applying these techniques to the short story 'Two Ways of Seeing a River' by Mark Twain. The writer notes that writing a successful narrative depends on several key factors, including a detailed description, a compelling opening, and dramatic action. The writer maintains that by following these techniques, just about anyone can write a successful and compelling narrative. The writer concludes that writing a successful narrative is easier when the writer understands the key techniques that make a narrative compelling and readable. These elements of the narrative are common to all good narratives and include rich and sensory details, a logical progression of events and a basic understanding of literature and literary techniques.
From the Paper "He relates the main occurrences in the order they occurred, but he does use flashbacks in the story to add the rich details and continue reader interest. While the events should follow a logical progression, adding flashbacks can add to the diversity and interest of the narrative and keep the reader interested and anticipating what happens next.
"In addition, the scenes should relate to a specific time and space. In Twain's essay, he writes of a specific time when he piloted a riverboat, before he became a famous author. His essay is a memory, but it takes place in a specific time and place, which helps the reader feel more comfortable and familiar with the setting when they read the work."
Abstract This paper explains that the Roman aesthetic approach, known as continuous narrative, makes use of a number of images of the same figure within a work, linking different aspects of a story together and evoking meaning while setting events distant in time in the same frame. The author points out that these works are reproduced in a variety of media, including on vases and cups, on huge towers, on walls as friezes or frescoes and on panels to be placed on the wall. The paper relates that an examination of some of the panels found at Pompeii shows some of the ways in which images were linked together to form a narrative, although this narrative would often be less then crystal clear because of the possibility of different interpretations.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Continuous Narrative Art
Continuous Narrative at Pompeii
Conclusion
From the Paper "Under and slightly to the right of the tree and column, Polyphemus sits on top of an outcropping formed by a steep pile of rocks, on which four white, wooly sheep graze. In the right foreground, at the base of the outcropping, a tall column carries a small statue. The statue is depicted in three-quarters view to the left, facing towards Polyphemus. Although the figure appears to wear a cloak and some sort of headdress, the statue's large, erect phallus allows for a secure identification of the figure as Priapus."
Abstract This paper explains that D. W. Griffith's techniques in "The Birth of a Nation", in which the narrative aspects are emphasized over the spectacle elements, are still evident in post modern films. The paper then looks at the movies "Fight Club" and "Oldboy" as examples if narrative films that employ a strong and interesting narrative in combination with a visual storyline and action, which supports the plot. The paper also relates that narrative over spectacle films are difficult to make because it is easier to lose the viewer to either the spectacle or narrative element. The author concludes that these two films are successful because they bring together the techniques of directorial skill, an interesting storyline, and fine acting ability.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Case Studies
Conclusion
From the Paper "The director cuts to inside the room where Dae-su is held prisoner, and the mise-en-scene is the hotel look, desk, bed, bath and toilet. This is where Dae-su's narrative picks up, as he is held captive for a total of 13 years. During this time, the scenes are limited to the room where Dae-su is held; his life revolves around the props in the room, and the food that is slid under the door.
"Television becomes the largest part of Dae-su's life, and on television he learns that his wife has been murdered and he is suspected as the murder".
Tags: storyline, directorial, lighting, acting, television
Abstract This paper discusses narrative therapy and explains that narrative therapy is used to examine client issues and past-experiences via the analysis of information conveyed to the therapist in narrative form. By dissecting these personal stories the therapist can gain insight into the person's life and identify conflicts and negative patterns of behavior. The paper discusses and describes the techniques that narrative therapists use to accomplish their goals.
Outline:
Introduction
Core Components of Narrative Theory
Perception
Expectation
Perceptive
Transference
Projection
From the Paper "The processes of perception routinely alter what humans see. When people view something with preconceived idea about it, they tend to take those preconceived ideas and see them whether or not they are there. This problem stems from the fact that humans are unable to understand new information, without the inherent bias of their previous knowledge. The extent of person's knowledge creates their reality as much as the truth, because the human mind can only contemplate that which it has been exposed to. When objects are viewed without understanding, the mind will try to reach for something that it already recognises, in order to process what it is viewing. That which most closely relates to the unfamiliar from our past experiences, makes up what we see when we look at things that we don't comprehend (Feltham, Horton, 2000, 214-478)."
Abstract In this paper the author looks at the biographical typology of the conversion narrative, the structurally and thematically fixed point of the conversion, the consistent intrusion of a double perspective and the allegories of spiritual progress that appear in Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe". He analyzes these points to show that they all provide the narrative with moments of coherence and meaning. The author looks at "Robinson Crusoe" not as a spiritual autobiography, or even properly a conversion narrative; but as a tangential account of Crusoe's life which intrudes only along the margins of the narrative, with flashes of coherence and pattern that serve to set off the general experience of the narrator. He looks at this as an experience which tends toward wandering, indirectness and confusion. In conclusion, the author states that the beginning of the novel "Robinson Crusoe" is actually the end of the novel where the course of human life is only touched by completeness and in doing so Defoe is cleverly telling the reader about the confusion of human experience.
From the Paper "The genius of Defoe's novel partly lies in the association of these two antithetical narrative structures into a single narrative. Defoe had his eye on the Puritan conversion narrative but also on the earlier long fiction of the seventeenth century, the romance. The conversion narrative, in particular the spiritual autobiography, often appears to lend the narrative pattern and coherence. The adventure or romance narrative offers Defoe not only a structure for the piling on of wonders and variety, but undercuts the coherence and meaning inherent in the conversion narrative, and ultimately the patterning of history or biography in any sense. Spiritual autobiography fails to supply an organizing principle for Crusoe's life, despite the narrator's attempts, because Crusoe's underlying "malaise", his integral restlessness, 2 constantly thrusts his life out of the enclosures imposed by the conversion event."
Abstract This paper looks at the style of writing and the tale of infanticide in this work of Boyle's. The paper discusses the innocuous sounding title followed by an extremely gruesome tale regaled in the first person. It analyzes the boy's actions and his self-belief that he is committing this act out of love rather than fear or resentment.
From the paper:
"The story of "The Love of My Life" by T. Coraghessan Boyle, the author sets up a series of expectations by the reader that he subsequently and systematically subverts over the course of the narrative. Both the subject and plot of what transpires in flashback and the piecemeal, postmodern first-person narrative style enable the author to achieve this desired effect. This effect is also achieved as well by the grotesque and destabilizing language unconsciously used by the narrative 'I.' (117-133)
"When a reader learns that the title of a short story is ?The Love of My Life,? certain associations are immediately created in his or her mind. Such a title is not ambiguous, like a story with a one-word name."
Abstract This paper explores the construction and meaning of Mary Rowlandson's famous Captivity Narrative, first published in 1682 which tells how she was held captive during King Philip's War of 1675 by Algonquin Indians. The author explains how her autobiographical narrative reveals her religious fervor and struggles, within the context of New England Puritan thought. Within this paper on the Captivity Narrative, there is an analysis of Calvinist thought, and insight into White New Englander prejudices against the Algonquin Indians, and how those prejudices were influenced by a loathing of the Catholic Church.
From the Paper "Mary Rowlandson was captured by the Indians from her home in Lancaster, Massachusetts, during King Philip's War of 1675. She wrote a narrative about her captivity and "restoration" which was so widely read that its popularity lasted for another century and more, after its first publication in 1682. Rowlandson's captivity narrative was reissued in Boston in 1770, 1771, and 1773, and it was also released many more times in various colonies and states during the 19th century. (Slotkin: 1973, p. 96). Thus it became one of the most representative documents by which white New Englanders remembered King Philip's War. But just how representative was Rowlandson's narrative, when it came to the realities of the conflict, on both sides, Puritan and Indian? Having been trapped in the wilderness as a prisoner of war, and surviving, Mary Rowlandson saw herself as spiritually renewed and redeemed. While many of the events in her account are probably true, her narrative is still somewhat mythical and shaped, both consciously and unconsciously, to fit her religious and cultural ideals. "
