CCLA01: Strangers to Ourselves: the Critical Study of Narrative

Week 4 (1): Narration

Read the following texts:

Chatman, "Narration: Narrator and Narratee."

Divakaruni, "Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs."

Reading Strategies and Preparation

First read "Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs" and note down your response. Try to think about issues of migration. Has anyone in your family moved from one country or culture to another either permanently or temporarily? Can you see yourself living outside Singapore at some time in the future? Does reading "Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs" enable any reflections on this?

Read over Chatman's article, and think of how it applies to the short stories you've read so far, and "Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs" in particular. You may have come across the terms "first person" and "third person" narration before. Look at the reasons why Chatman is dissatisfied with these terms, and the reason why he prefers the terms internal and external narrators. Note, in particular, Chatman's distinction between "characters and narrators--between those who tell or show the story and those who live it. The character lives in the story-world; the narrator speaks from a place in the discourse-world" (93). Again, bring or post questions needing clarification.

Preparatory Writing

Write a one or two paragraph answer (100-200 words or so) to any one of the five questions below, and post it to the bulletin board.

1. As it stands, "Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs" is told in its entirety by an internal narrator, Jayanti. Take one short incident from the story and rewrite it as told by a different internal narrator. Note that this will involve more than just changing a few pronouns--you'll have to imaginatively enter into the life of and perspective of the character. In a second paragraph, consider the effect of your rewriting if it were extended to the whole story. Why didn't Divakaruni use other--or more than one--internal narrators?

2. Read Chatman's discussion of external narrators (91-92). Rewrite a short incident of "Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs" as told by an external narrator of your choice. In a second paragraph, consider the effect of your rewriting if it were extended to the whole story. Why didn't Divakaruni use an external narrator?

3. "In a sense, every 'told' narrative implies a narratee, for the act of telling does not happen in a void. It presupposes someone, some audience, interested enough to hear" (Chatman 96). There certainly doesn't seem to be an obvious narratee in "Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs", but can you nonetheless suggest any clues concerning the person for whom the story is being retold by Jayanti? How do you think the way the story addresses a narratee affect its overall impact on a reader?

4. "We infer not only that this "I" is the teller of the story "now" (that is, during the present moment of the discourse) but also that he [sic] was a character "back then" during the story-time. He is both the person who lived the events and the teller of these events" (Chatman 91). Do you have any sense of a distance between Jayanti the character and Jayanti the narrator (If you're stuck, start with the phrase "Later of course, I will laugh at my foolishness" [at the top of page 287]). What effect does this tension between character and narrator have on the story?

5. Focus on descriptive words used to depict setting in the following paragraphs:

I've looked forward to this day for so long that when I finally board the plane I can hardly breathe. In my hurry I bump into the air hostess who is at the door welcoming us, her brilliant pink smile an exact match for her brilliant pink nails.

"Sorry," I say, "so very very sorry," like the nuns had taught me to in the old, high-ceilinged classrooms cooled by the breeze from the convent neem trees. And I am. She is so blond, so American.

"No problem," she replies, her smile as golden as the wavy hair that falls in perfect curls to her shoulder. I have never heard the expression before. No problem, I whisper to myself as I make my way down the aisle, in love with the exotic syllables. No problem. I finger my long hair, imprisoned in the customary tight braid that reaches below my waist. It feels coarse and oily. As soon as I get to Chicago, I promise myself, I will have it cut and styled.

The air inside the plane smells different from the air I've known all my life in Calcutta, moist and weighted with the smell of mango blossoms and bus fumes and human sweat. This air is dry and cool and leaves a slight metallic aftertaste on my lips. I lick at them, wanting to capture that taste, make it part of me forever.

What atmosphere do you think is established for us at the beginning of the story through the use of description and setting? How does this relate to the overall effect of the story? When considering this question, try to refer to specific words used, and consider their connotative meanings.