Narrative Structure

Propp

After studying many stories, Vladimir Propp concluded that characters in a story could fit into eight character types;

-The Hero (protagonist)- The character who seeks something on a quest, such as to resolve a matter or to receive an object.

-The villain (Antagonist)- Opposes the hero, and struggles against them.

-Princess- The Hero's reward, the object of the villains plots.

-Princess's Farther- Rewards the Hero.

-Dispatcher- Sends the Hero on his quest.

-Helper- Helps the hero, and aids him on his quest- A sidekick. 

-False hero- Not actually the hero, and can disrupt the hero's success from time to time, though he's not necessarily bad.

-Donor- Gives information or an object to help the Hero.

Strauss

Claude Levi-Strauss's theory was about 'Binary oppositions', sets of opposite values which reveal the structure of media texts, such as Good ad Evil, Male and Female, etc, these being opposite from each other.

Todorov

Tzvetan Todorov suggested that to begin with, two potential opposing forces are in balance, and that stories begin with an Equilibrium. An event disrupts this, causing other events. In the end of the story, the problems are resolved and balance is restored.


~JB