Narrative is one of the main ways humans communicate with each other—it happens every time someone tells a story. In fact, you’ve created thousands of narratives in your lifetime, even if you did not realize you were telling a story.
Imagine you’ve just been in a car accident. While the actual impact happened in a split-second, if you were to retell the story to a friend later, you would likely discuss a longer sequence of events. You might tell your friend why you were in the car, what traffic was like, what you were doing in the seconds before the crash, and your reaction to the impact. For example, your narrative might sound something like this:
My mom and I were driving to the store to buy some eggs. The roads were still icy from the winter storm, and we almost slid through an intersection! It’s a good thing we were driving cautiously, because all of a sudden a truck came out of nowhere. His tires skidded on the ice and he smashed into our bumper. Our car is pretty banged up, but at least we’re all safe!
In this way, a narrative is just like a story. It’s a written or spoken retelling of a series of events. Great examples of narratives include: novels, poems, songs, fairy tales, television shows, and newspaper articles.
Question
Can a photograph be a narrative?
