THEORY OF NARRATIVE

THEORY OF NARRATIVE

Who is Tzvetan Todorov ?

--> He was born on the 1st of March 1939, in Sofia, Bulgaria

--> He is a Franco - Bulgarian Philosopher

--> Lived in France since 1963

--> Wrote several books and essays about "Literary Theory", "Thought History" and         "Culture Theory"

--> Published a total of 21 books

--> He was a visiting professor at a large number of universities, including Harvard          University in Cambridge, USA

--> Todorov's historical interests have focused on issues such as the Conquest Of             The Americans and  the Nazi and Stalinist concentration camps 

Todorov's Theory Of Narrative

Todorov's narrative theory states that stories begin with an equilibrium where any potentially opposing forces are in balance and that this equilibrium is interrupted by a series of events. Problems are solved so that the order can be restored to the world of the fiction. 

Todorov claimed that conventional narratives are structured in 5 different stages.

1 - Equilibrium 

The first part of the story will display a very happy start, where basically the majority of the of characters are content and everything is totally fine as it should be. 

2 - Disruption 

The second part of the story will feature a problem or somewhere where some thing will disrupt the peaceful state of balance.

3 - Recognition 

This part of the plot is when everyone realises there is a problem and there's a lot of chaos. 

4 - Attempt to restore the Disruption 

This part of the plot is when the characters attempts to repair the damage which is/was done and tries to restore the problem. 

5 - A reinstatement of the Equilibrium 

This is the final part of the plot where the problem is resolved and the normality can resume again.

                   In this 5 stages, the narrative is not seen as a linear structure but a circular one, driven by attempts to restore the equilibrium.