The Purpose of the Narrator in The Zebra Storyteller and The Yellow Wallpaper

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The Purpose of the Narrator in The Zebra Storyteller and The Yellow Wallpaper

"The role of the narrator influences the type of relationship we have not only with him or her but also with the story" (Landy 75). This quote was taken from our Literary Studies book in which we have read several stories concerning different styles of narration. Narration is one of the most important components of a story. The characters, plot, setting, and theme are also significant, however the narrator sets the mood and also the pace of the story. Two good examples of narration is the short tale The Zebra Storyteller by Spencer Holst and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. These are stories in which the narrators retain certain styles of narration. An outside book that we have not read is the fairy tale Cinderella. In these three works, the narrators have specific functions or duties to carry throughout the story.

In The Zebra Storyteller the narrator is a Siamese cat but the narrator is also an outsider. During the story the cat tells a story to his friends about how skillful and 'powerful' he is at killing zebras. Towards the end of the story the cat is handed his fate; he is kicked and killed by a zebra, who sensed feared when approached. At the end of the story Holst concludes with the statement, "That is the function of the storyteller." This statement pertains to the idea of the function the storyteller has or how they create the atmosphere and set the grounds in which the story is based on. There are many functions of the storyteller. They can teach a lesson, control the story, entertain, and stretch one's own imagination. In this story it is a great example how the story can take a sudden unexpected turn and shock the reader. The narrator can take twists and turns and can make expected or even unexpected outcomes in the story. A good example in the story would be where the narrator states, "The zebra storyteller wasn't fit to be tied at hearing a cat speaking his language, because he'd been thinking about that very thing" (Holst 1971). At this point the narrator changes the reader's perspective and sheds light on an upcoming event in the story. Which turned out to be a big event where the Siamese cat got killed. Of course this story is fictional but it is an excellent story to portray how a narrator can expand the reader's imagination.

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