Reflections

Reflections

1. What does this activity tell us about narrative- Its characteristics and form?

I noticed that my partner was sticking to a simple story line with an introduction, an issue and a resolution that a child would be familiar with. She identified the main character and the title of the story- “The Mouse That Was Trapped in the Book” which from the outset gave me some idea of what to expect and definitely influenced what my partner made of the story. However, she conveyed to me that nothing threatening was going to happen in the tone that she said words like “trapped.” My partner did not use the traditional story telling language of “Once upon a time……Lived happily ever after” but I heard other people around me use this language as it is familiar to children and conveys a beginning and ending so that young children understand a story has begun or that it is finished now.

2. What does this exercise tell us about the relationship between words and pictures?

I think there is a difference between pictures that are traditionally for children and those for adults. If my partner had seen a less fluffy mouse she might have upped the age range the story would be appropriate for.
Words convey a meaning and when shown with a picture there is an assumption that the two are linked, hence why newspapers like The Metro are sometimes confusing where the picture on the front cover and the headline next to it are unrelated.
Books with pictures in them are assumed to be less academic then those with text only. I think this is because everyone of all ages and ability can access pictures but it takes some degree of skill to read words. The fewer pictures and higher word count the better the skill required to read the book and a sort of snobbery arises based on skill.

3. What were the differences between telling and describing- both as speakers and listeners.

I described the pictures on the screen to my partner first, not knowing that it was a story but thinking that the images were unrelated. My language tone was adult and I used uncertain words like “seems to be” “coloured wool I think?” whereas my partner tried to invent and cover any unforeseen events by adding on detail from previous slides and drawing from all parts of her narrative which drew her description in to a story. Not having the title page with its clear picture and descriptive title, I thought the mouse was up to lots of random things like chewing on coloured wool, scratching and looking about. My partner however had a context to place these activities as she knew that the mouse was trapped in the book. She had a setting and an issue to be resolved.

Any conclusions?