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Understanding Narrative Text: Myth or Legend
Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to understand the structure and language features of narrative text. You are expected to be able to respond to the meanings and rhetorical stages in a narrative text.
Learn about it!
Brahmana and the Crab
Once upon a time, there was a very wise brahmana named Dwijeswara. Everybody knew him as a loving person. One day, he was praying on the mountain when he suddenly saw a crab. The crab was starving and thirsty. The crab name was Astapada. Dwijeswara was sad looking at the crab. He thought that the crab was lost.
Dwijeswara put the miserable crab into his pile of clothes. Then, he came to a river and let the crab go. Feeling tired after a long walk, Dwijeswara took a rest on a flat stone and fell asleep near the river.
Suddenly there were a snake and a crow coming. The crow told the snake that the snake can eat the man and the crow will only eat the man`s eyeballs for lunch. All the surrounding animals knew that the snake and crow always behaved cruelly to anyone. They would eat living animals and human being when they were hungry.
Astapada heard the conversation. He remembered what Dwijeswara did to save him and the crab thought it was his turn to help Dwijeswara. The brave crab came to the snake and crow while saying, “Hey you guys, believe me, I can stretch your neck so you can enjoy your lunch even more. The man is a big feast for you all, anyway,” said the crab to the crow and the snake.
Both animals agree with the crab`s idea and both of them immediately offered their neck. The crabs then cut their necks with its claw right away. The crow and the snake died instantly and the man was saved by the smart, brave crab.
Question 8
Below are characters of the story, except….
a. a river
b. a snake
c. a crow
d. a crab
e. a brahmana
Pembahasan
a. Character is the one who plays important role in a story. From the text, we know that the characters are the brahmana, the crab, the snake and the crow. The river is the setting of the story, not the character.
Question 9
The Brahmana took a rest ….
a. near the river
b. under the tree
c. in his home
d. in the crab's house
e. under his pile of clothes
Pembahasan
a. Dwijeswara took a rest after a long walk taking the crab to the river. Right after letting the crab goes into the river. He took a rest on the flat stone near the river.
Question 10
The moral message we can get from the story is….
a. never trust a crab
b. do not ever eat your friend
c. goodness will definitely rewarded with goodness
d. do not ever take a rest near the river
e. animals always lie
Pembahasan
c. From the story we know that the brahmana is a very wise man and the snake & the crow always behave badly. In the end, brahmana got some help from the crab. The snake and the crab died. So, we can conclude that goodness will definitely rewarded with goodness, vice versa.
Lets Practice Part 2
Question 1
1. A narrative text is mainly written in ....
A. Past tense
B. Future tense
C. Present tense
D. Future perfect
E. Present perfect
ANS: A
Question 2
2. We write a narrative text to ....
A. amuse the readers
B. describe something
C. tell about future events
D. explain how things work
E. tell how to do something
ANS: A
Question 3
3. The part where the problem arises is called ....
A. Resolution
B. Orientation
C. Description
D. Complication
E. Re-orientation
ANS: D
Question 4
4. The part where you can add moral value is called ....
A. Crisis
B. Resolution
C. Orientation
D. Complication
E. Re-orientation
ANS: E
Question 5
5. These adverbs of time can be used to open a narrative, except ....
A. Once
B. One day
C. Next year
D. Long time ago
E. Once upon a time
ANS: C
Question 6
6. The following things are there in the orientation part except ....
A. The solution of the problem
B. The condition of character’s life
C. The time when the story happened
D. The place where the story took place
E. The introduction of the main character
ANS: A
Question 7
7. Arrange these sentences into a good paragraph:
B. 2-1-4-5-3
C. 2-1-5-3-4
D. 2-1-5-4-3
E. 2-1-4-3-5
ANS: B
Question 8
8. The following text is for questions no 8 to 10.
Choose the correct words to fill in the blanks.
Days passed away and his father . . . (8) being ill. He had to leave the city in go back to the village to take care of his father. He was afraid of losing his father. This is where he . . . his mind (9). He didn’t want to go back to the city anymore. Since he left the village his father lived alone. No one . . . (10) care of him.
The correct word to fill in the blank no 8 is ....
A. start
B. starts
C. started
D. will start
E. have started
ANS: C
Question 9
9. The following text is for questions no 8 to 10.
Choose the correct words to fill in the blanks.
Days passed away and his father . . . (8) being ill. He had to leave the city in go back to the village to take care of his father. He was afraid of losing his father. This was where he . . . his mind (9). He didn’t want to go back to the city anymore. Since he left the village his father lived alone. No one . . . (10) care of him.
The correct word to fill in the blank no 9 is ....
A. left
B. lost
C. ended
D. changed
E. stopped
ANS: D
Question 10
10. The following text is for questions no 8 to 10.
Choose the correct words to fill in the blanks.
Days passed away and his father . . . (8) being ill. He had to leave the city in go back to the village to take care of his father. He was afraid of losing his father. This is where he . . . his mind (9). He didn’t want to go back to the city anymore. Since he left the village his father lived alone. No one . . . (10) care of him.
The suitable word to complete the paragraph is ....
A. took
B. asked
C. saved
D. looked
E. wanted
ANS: A
Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you are expected to understand the structure and language features of narrative text. You are expected to be able to respond to the meanings and rhetorical stages in a narrative text.
Learn about it!
Have you ever heard the story of Si Pitung, or the story of MalinKundang? Are you familiar with those kinds of story? Perhaps your mother or teachers once told you those stories; or you just found them in some books. The story of Si Pitung and also MalinKundang are called legend or myth. Both are very old stories from past that tell about the early history of a famous person or event. Those stories are kinds of narrative text.
Some of you perhaps still remember about some narratives told by your teachers. Here you are recalling and strengthening your understanding about narrative once more.
What first comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘narrative’? To recall, a narrative text is a mostly imaginative story that consists of a sequence of chronological events. The purpose of a narrative is to entertain the readers. It is to amuse you, so that you want to know what happen to the characters and you feel curious on how the story would end.
The following is general structure of a narrative text:
Orientation:here is the introduction of the characters and the setting where the story takes place.
Complication: here is a chain of events of what happens to the characters.
Resolution:here is where the characters solve the conflict or problem.
Coda
Just like in other kinds of text, narrative text is also followed by some language features:
Using past tenses (whether it is simple past tense, past continuous tense, or past future tense)
Chronological: it is told by order of time
There are characters, setting, plot, and values
Sometimes it ends with a coda: where the author tells the changes in fate of the characters and the values of the story
Using action verbs such as climbed, turned
Using time connectives and conjunction: then, before, after, suddenly, soon
Do you understand?
To ease your understanding, let’s pay our attention to the following narrative story. Make some notes to the features and structure of the story.
Here we show a Folklore Danau Toba. Happy watching!
How is it? Could you highlight the structure and language features of the story?
The characters, setting, and plot of the story are clearly presented. Besides, all the sequences are told by using past tenses, whether it is simple past tense or past continuous tense, except for the coda. Here the action verbs are marked red, and the blue words refer to time connectives or conjunctions.
Keypoints
Remember the structure of narrative: Orientation ,Complication, Resolution, Coda (optional).
The important features of narrative are chronological in time and the use of past tenses (simple past tense, past continuous tense or past future tense).
Let's Practice Part 1
Question 1
The function of a folktale is ….
a. to give a social message through a story
b. to report what happened in the past
c. to describe past characters
d. to explain how events happened
e. to show hero and heroine
Pembahasan
a. Folktale contains a traditional story with universal themes portraying values that people can apply in their real life. So, the social function of a folktale is to tell people a social message how to deal with problems in life through an interesting story. Jadi fungsi dari cerita rakyat adalah memberikan pesan sosial melalui cerita.
Question 2
The generic structure of a folktale is the same with the generic structure of a ....
a. Narrative text
b. Spoof
c. Exposition text
d. Recount text
e. Procedure text
Pembahasan
a. The generic structure of a folktale is orientation-evaluation-complication-resolution-reorientation, so it is the same with the generic structure of a narrative text. Jadi, struktur kebahasaan dari Folktale adalah sama dengan teks naratif
Question 3
Below are examples of Indonesian folktales, except ….
a. The Eel and the Coconut Tree
b. Bawang Merah Bawang Putih
c. Timun Mas
d. Ande Ande Lumut
e. Lutung Kasarung
Pembahasan
a. Lutung Kasarung, Ande ande lumut, Timun Mas, and Bawang Merah Bawang Putih are traditional stories from Indonesia. The Eel and the Coconut Tree is not from Indonesia. It is a story about a young girl, Taniya, and an eel.
Read the story below and answer questions 4 to 7.
Some of you perhaps still remember about some narratives told by your teachers. Here you are recalling and strengthening your understanding about narrative once more.
What first comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘narrative’? To recall, a narrative text is a mostly imaginative story that consists of a sequence of chronological events. The purpose of a narrative is to entertain the readers. It is to amuse you, so that you want to know what happen to the characters and you feel curious on how the story would end.
The following is general structure of a narrative text:
Orientation:here is the introduction of the characters and the setting where the story takes place.
Complication: here is a chain of events of what happens to the characters.
Resolution:here is where the characters solve the conflict or problem.
Coda
Just like in other kinds of text, narrative text is also followed by some language features:
Using past tenses (whether it is simple past tense, past continuous tense, or past future tense)
Chronological: it is told by order of time
There are characters, setting, plot, and values
Sometimes it ends with a coda: where the author tells the changes in fate of the characters and the values of the story
Using action verbs such as climbed, turned
Using time connectives and conjunction: then, before, after, suddenly, soon
Do you understand?
To ease your understanding, let’s pay our attention to the following narrative story. Make some notes to the features and structure of the story.
Here we show a Folklore Danau Toba. Happy watching!
How is it? Could you highlight the structure and language features of the story?
The characters, setting, and plot of the story are clearly presented. Besides, all the sequences are told by using past tenses, whether it is simple past tense or past continuous tense, except for the coda. Here the action verbs are marked red, and the blue words refer to time connectives or conjunctions.
Keypoints
Remember the structure of narrative: Orientation ,Complication, Resolution, Coda (optional).
The important features of narrative are chronological in time and the use of past tenses (simple past tense, past continuous tense or past future tense).
Let's Practice Part 1
Question 1
The function of a folktale is ….
a. to give a social message through a story
b. to report what happened in the past
c. to describe past characters
d. to explain how events happened
e. to show hero and heroine
Pembahasan
a. Folktale contains a traditional story with universal themes portraying values that people can apply in their real life. So, the social function of a folktale is to tell people a social message how to deal with problems in life through an interesting story. Jadi fungsi dari cerita rakyat adalah memberikan pesan sosial melalui cerita.
Question 2
The generic structure of a folktale is the same with the generic structure of a ....
a. Narrative text
b. Spoof
c. Exposition text
d. Recount text
e. Procedure text
Pembahasan
a. The generic structure of a folktale is orientation-evaluation-complication-resolution-reorientation, so it is the same with the generic structure of a narrative text. Jadi, struktur kebahasaan dari Folktale adalah sama dengan teks naratif
Question 3
Below are examples of Indonesian folktales, except ….
a. The Eel and the Coconut Tree
b. Bawang Merah Bawang Putih
c. Timun Mas
d. Ande Ande Lumut
e. Lutung Kasarung
Pembahasan
a. Lutung Kasarung, Ande ande lumut, Timun Mas, and Bawang Merah Bawang Putih are traditional stories from Indonesia. The Eel and the Coconut Tree is not from Indonesia. It is a story about a young girl, Taniya, and an eel.
Read the story below and answer questions 4 to 7.
The Legend of Pulau Mas
Once upon a time, there was a powerful and strong prince named Prince Wiralodra. He was really good in martial arts. Even, people say that he had supernatural skills. Having this powerful prince made the kingdom really safe from criminals.
Because people in the kingdom lived happily, they kept growing. The number of people in the kingdom did not fit the size of the kingdom anymore. Then, the prince decided to open the forest to develop housing for the people. He called all of his soldiers and wanted to ask them to cut trees in the forest.
In the meeting with his soldiers, no one answered the prince when he asked them to be ready for going to the forest on the next day. Later on, one of the soldiers, Rama, told the prince that there was a genie in the forest. The forest was haunted. The genie would hurt people who come to the forest. The prince forced the soldiers to go there because his people really needed new land. He also said that he would ask the genie to leave the forest.
On the next day, when the soldiers were cutting down the trees in the forest, a strange sound came. They ran to find the prince. Prince Wiralodra immediately went in to the forest and met the genie.
The prince had an argument with the genie and the argument lead to a fight. The prince had a superpower. He used his supernatural ability to fight the genie. The genie had no idea that the prince had that huge power. Just in a moment, the prince defeated the genie.
The genie begged for forgiveness and said that it did not have any place to live. Since the price was kind-hearted, he gave an empty island for the genie. The genie finally left the forest and moved to the island. People often saw a golden light from that empty island. From that moment on, people called that island “Pulau Mas”; meaning the Golden Island.
Question 4
The name of the strong prince in the story is ….
a. Rama
b. Wiralodra
c. Genie
d. Mas
e. Golden
Pembahasan
b. The name of the price is Wiralodra. The writer puts the name of the prince in the beginning of the story, the orientation stage. Jawaban bisa dilihat pada bagian pembukaan cerita.
Question 5
From the folktale of Pulau Mas, we know that the soldiers were silent when the prince asked them to go the forest because ….
a. they did not have supernatural power
b. they could not fight
c. the forest was really far
d. they were afraid of a genie
e. the prince was very arrogant
Pembahasan
a. One of the soldiers, Rama, told the prince that there was a genie in the forest. The forest was haunted. The genie would hurt people who come to the forest, so they were afraid of the genie.
Question 6
From the above folktale, we know that the empty island where the genie lived is called Pulau Mas because….
a. people see golden light from the island
b. there is a gold mountain there
c. people see that the island is surrounded by gold river
d. there are a lot of gold there
e. the king has many gold
Pembahasan
a. You may find the reason why the island is named Pulau Mas in the end of the story. It is stated there that People often saw a golden light from that empty island. From that moment on, people called that island “Pulau Mas” which means Golden Island.
Question 7
From the story of the Golden Island, we know that the prince wanted to open the forest, cut the trees, and use the land for the purpose of ….
a. fulfilling people’s demand that needed some new lands
b. the people were moving
c. keeping away the genie because he hated the genie
d. sending out the genie to the land
e. farming there
Pembahasan
a. Since the number of people in the kingdom did not fit the size of the kingdom anymore, the prince wanted to open the forest, cut the trees and use the land for the people to live in.
The following folktale is to answer questions 8 to 10. Read it carefully.
Once upon a time, there was a powerful and strong prince named Prince Wiralodra. He was really good in martial arts. Even, people say that he had supernatural skills. Having this powerful prince made the kingdom really safe from criminals.
Because people in the kingdom lived happily, they kept growing. The number of people in the kingdom did not fit the size of the kingdom anymore. Then, the prince decided to open the forest to develop housing for the people. He called all of his soldiers and wanted to ask them to cut trees in the forest.
In the meeting with his soldiers, no one answered the prince when he asked them to be ready for going to the forest on the next day. Later on, one of the soldiers, Rama, told the prince that there was a genie in the forest. The forest was haunted. The genie would hurt people who come to the forest. The prince forced the soldiers to go there because his people really needed new land. He also said that he would ask the genie to leave the forest.
On the next day, when the soldiers were cutting down the trees in the forest, a strange sound came. They ran to find the prince. Prince Wiralodra immediately went in to the forest and met the genie.
The prince had an argument with the genie and the argument lead to a fight. The prince had a superpower. He used his supernatural ability to fight the genie. The genie had no idea that the prince had that huge power. Just in a moment, the prince defeated the genie.
The genie begged for forgiveness and said that it did not have any place to live. Since the price was kind-hearted, he gave an empty island for the genie. The genie finally left the forest and moved to the island. People often saw a golden light from that empty island. From that moment on, people called that island “Pulau Mas”; meaning the Golden Island.
Question 4
The name of the strong prince in the story is ….
a. Rama
b. Wiralodra
c. Genie
d. Mas
e. Golden
Pembahasan
b. The name of the price is Wiralodra. The writer puts the name of the prince in the beginning of the story, the orientation stage. Jawaban bisa dilihat pada bagian pembukaan cerita.
Question 5
From the folktale of Pulau Mas, we know that the soldiers were silent when the prince asked them to go the forest because ….
a. they did not have supernatural power
b. they could not fight
c. the forest was really far
d. they were afraid of a genie
e. the prince was very arrogant
Pembahasan
a. One of the soldiers, Rama, told the prince that there was a genie in the forest. The forest was haunted. The genie would hurt people who come to the forest, so they were afraid of the genie.
Question 6
From the above folktale, we know that the empty island where the genie lived is called Pulau Mas because….
a. people see golden light from the island
b. there is a gold mountain there
c. people see that the island is surrounded by gold river
d. there are a lot of gold there
e. the king has many gold
Pembahasan
a. You may find the reason why the island is named Pulau Mas in the end of the story. It is stated there that People often saw a golden light from that empty island. From that moment on, people called that island “Pulau Mas” which means Golden Island.
Question 7
From the story of the Golden Island, we know that the prince wanted to open the forest, cut the trees, and use the land for the purpose of ….
a. fulfilling people’s demand that needed some new lands
b. the people were moving
c. keeping away the genie because he hated the genie
d. sending out the genie to the land
e. farming there
Pembahasan
a. Since the number of people in the kingdom did not fit the size of the kingdom anymore, the prince wanted to open the forest, cut the trees and use the land for the people to live in.
The following folktale is to answer questions 8 to 10. Read it carefully.
Brahmana and the Crab
Once upon a time, there was a very wise brahmana named Dwijeswara. Everybody knew him as a loving person. One day, he was praying on the mountain when he suddenly saw a crab. The crab was starving and thirsty. The crab name was Astapada. Dwijeswara was sad looking at the crab. He thought that the crab was lost.
Dwijeswara put the miserable crab into his pile of clothes. Then, he came to a river and let the crab go. Feeling tired after a long walk, Dwijeswara took a rest on a flat stone and fell asleep near the river.
Suddenly there were a snake and a crow coming. The crow told the snake that the snake can eat the man and the crow will only eat the man`s eyeballs for lunch. All the surrounding animals knew that the snake and crow always behaved cruelly to anyone. They would eat living animals and human being when they were hungry.
Astapada heard the conversation. He remembered what Dwijeswara did to save him and the crab thought it was his turn to help Dwijeswara. The brave crab came to the snake and crow while saying, “Hey you guys, believe me, I can stretch your neck so you can enjoy your lunch even more. The man is a big feast for you all, anyway,” said the crab to the crow and the snake.
Both animals agree with the crab`s idea and both of them immediately offered their neck. The crabs then cut their necks with its claw right away. The crow and the snake died instantly and the man was saved by the smart, brave crab.
Question 8
Below are characters of the story, except….
a. a river
b. a snake
c. a crow
d. a crab
e. a brahmana
Pembahasan
a. Character is the one who plays important role in a story. From the text, we know that the characters are the brahmana, the crab, the snake and the crow. The river is the setting of the story, not the character.
Question 9
The Brahmana took a rest ….
a. near the river
b. under the tree
c. in his home
d. in the crab's house
e. under his pile of clothes
Pembahasan
a. Dwijeswara took a rest after a long walk taking the crab to the river. Right after letting the crab goes into the river. He took a rest on the flat stone near the river.
Question 10
The moral message we can get from the story is….
a. never trust a crab
b. do not ever eat your friend
c. goodness will definitely rewarded with goodness
d. do not ever take a rest near the river
e. animals always lie
Pembahasan
c. From the story we know that the brahmana is a very wise man and the snake & the crow always behave badly. In the end, brahmana got some help from the crab. The snake and the crab died. So, we can conclude that goodness will definitely rewarded with goodness, vice versa.
Lets Practice Part 2
Question 1
1. A narrative text is mainly written in ....
A. Past tense
B. Future tense
C. Present tense
D. Future perfect
E. Present perfect
ANS: A
Question 2
2. We write a narrative text to ....
A. amuse the readers
B. describe something
C. tell about future events
D. explain how things work
E. tell how to do something
ANS: A
Question 3
3. The part where the problem arises is called ....
A. Resolution
B. Orientation
C. Description
D. Complication
E. Re-orientation
ANS: D
Question 4
4. The part where you can add moral value is called ....
A. Crisis
B. Resolution
C. Orientation
D. Complication
E. Re-orientation
ANS: E
Question 5
5. These adverbs of time can be used to open a narrative, except ....
A. Once
B. One day
C. Next year
D. Long time ago
E. Once upon a time
ANS: C
Question 6
6. The following things are there in the orientation part except ....
A. The solution of the problem
B. The condition of character’s life
C. The time when the story happened
D. The place where the story took place
E. The introduction of the main character
ANS: A
Question 7
7. Arrange these sentences into a good paragraph:
- Every day she came to a river bank to read a book.
- There once a pretty little girl who lived in a village.
- The old lady didn’t have anything to eat.
- One day, she met an old lady near sleeping the river.
- She looked so pale that the girl felt pity for her.
B. 2-1-4-5-3
C. 2-1-5-3-4
D. 2-1-5-4-3
E. 2-1-4-3-5
ANS: B
Question 8
8. The following text is for questions no 8 to 10.
Choose the correct words to fill in the blanks.
Days passed away and his father . . . (8) being ill. He had to leave the city in go back to the village to take care of his father. He was afraid of losing his father. This is where he . . . his mind (9). He didn’t want to go back to the city anymore. Since he left the village his father lived alone. No one . . . (10) care of him.
The correct word to fill in the blank no 8 is ....
A. start
B. starts
C. started
D. will start
E. have started
ANS: C
Question 9
9. The following text is for questions no 8 to 10.
Choose the correct words to fill in the blanks.
Days passed away and his father . . . (8) being ill. He had to leave the city in go back to the village to take care of his father. He was afraid of losing his father. This was where he . . . his mind (9). He didn’t want to go back to the city anymore. Since he left the village his father lived alone. No one . . . (10) care of him.
The correct word to fill in the blank no 9 is ....
A. left
B. lost
C. ended
D. changed
E. stopped
ANS: D
Question 10
10. The following text is for questions no 8 to 10.
Choose the correct words to fill in the blanks.
Days passed away and his father . . . (8) being ill. He had to leave the city in go back to the village to take care of his father. He was afraid of losing his father. This is where he . . . his mind (9). He didn’t want to go back to the city anymore. Since he left the village his father lived alone. No one . . . (10) care of him.
The suitable word to complete the paragraph is ....
A. took
B. asked
C. saved
D. looked
E. wanted
ANS: A
Complete these statement!.
- The most interesting thing I learned in this chapter was ...
- The part I enjoyed most was ...
- I would like to find more about ...
- The hardest part in this chapter was ...
- I need to work harder at ...
- My plan to overcome the difficulties of this chapter are ...
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