Harry Potter and Philosopher’s Stone have decorated authors who seek to capture the reader’s attention as possible. The two stories use different narrative styles. Firstly, the Harry Potter story uses a non-linear narrative approach. The story begins by introducing the characters and then proceeds to describe their occupations. In this case, The Dursleys pose as people who do not hold to mysterious or strange nonsense. The physical characteristics of Mr. and Mrs. Dursley differ significantly in that, while the man is described as having a short neck, the woman is presented as having a long neck. The story then goes back to explain the Dursleys’ secret and why they would not want it exposed. Mrs. Dursley pretends not to have a sister, and she is worried about what her neighbors would say about her if the truth was revealed. The storied order of events is disorganized in that the events do not follow one another as they happened.
The Charles Dickens’ story uses a linear narrative approach. The story begins by introducing the main theme, David Copperfield’s life story. The story begins at the time the main character was born, on a Friday, at midnight. The striking of the clock to mark the beginning of the day and the crying of the newly born baby began concurrently. The story proceeds to create an image of the feet of a newly born child, and the child’s link to those attached to it. At this point, the author introduces a suspicious theme that children born at this hour of Friday night were unlucky, prompting readers to go dog further to identify the misfortune associated with this time of birth. The next part of the story presents a boy walking through a field, describing the boy’s share of the inheritance and how he is yet to receive it. The fact that the boy has been kept out of his inheritance property is an acknowledgment of the bad luck associated with his time of birth. This story presents its events and occurrences in chronological order: from the child’s birth, and growth to his later stages. Although the boy is introduced to his inheritance in his early days, he does not possess it and does not care who ends up owing his share. This is in the conclusion of the bad luck linked to the unlucky time of his birth.
The stories begin by creating a peculiar image of the characters and how they relate to their immediate environment. It is easy to tell the traits of the respective characters as well as decipher the themes presented in the respective excerpts. In particular, both stories employ the viewpoint narrative approach where the character’s reactions, moods, and sensory details are from the narrator’s point of view. In Harry Potter, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley believe their son is the best there is and should not interact with “unqualified” children. Charles Dickens’ story is told in first personas voice, implying is a viewpoint narrative.
There are several guiding rules set in Edgerton’s book on the structure of stories, novels, and other narratives. The rules touch on several aspects of writing to draw the reader’s attention while passing the intended message with ease. The rules encompass the goals and components of the opening scenes, the introduction of the problem presented in the story, and an emphasis on the number of problems presented therein. Writers should also balance the story setup with the backstory in the opening statements. Establishing characters from the start is essential for readers to better understand the themes and subsequent unfolding of problems and activities (Larsen, 2018). The writer should allow readers to identify usual and unusual characters as well as their opening thoughts. An overview of how the two stories followed or broke the rules set in Edgerton’s book is discussed below.
Charles Dickens is more conversant and keen in following the rules of Edgerton’s book. This is evident in the excerpt of his story where the introductory paragraph creates a clear picture of what to expect in the entire story: a judgment on whether the life of the main character is heroic, or whether the credit goes to another person. The author is keen to create an inciting opening theme, whether the readers can have an idea of what to expect, while also growing the urge to follow the story to the end (Larsen, 2021). It is a simple, common, yet effective writing strategy that is recommended in Edgerton’s. The story structure and scene are simple, revealing every important detail that might be interesting to the reader. For instance, Charles Dickens presents the time of childbirth (Friday midnight) as unfortunate for all children born at that particular time. The narrative is supported by the character’s failure to claim their inheritance and also giving up on it. The main goal of the story is to present the main character as a hero or give credit to someone else. The life of the main character is presented in every step of the story, from birth to the image of a newborn’s feet. The fate of the persona (main character) is revealed in the last paragraph of the excerpt does not find pain in acknowledging that his inheritance is in the hands of another person. When it comes to establishing a character from the start, Charles Dickens is a perfectionist in his works. It is very clear to identify the main characters of his work from the first few sentences, which is in line with the rules and guidelines proposed and set in Edgerton’s book.
The story of Harry Potter often breaks the rules set in Edgerton’s book in that it is complicated from the beginning. Instead of providing clear starting statements, its introductory statements are confusing. The story introduces the characters, their residence, and a few of their traits. It goes further to describe their physical stature. There are many descriptions of the characters, their relatives, and their most kept secrets without introducing any theme in the story. This violates the rules set by Edgerton where the problem of interest should be identified in the early stages of the story (Ben-Amos and Ben-Amos, 2020). It is difficult for readers to foreshadow what the story is about by referencing the excerpt alone. It is impossible to achieve an effecting balancing between backstory and setup in the opening statements of story if much emphasis is put on the characters alone (Edgerton, 2007). Conventionally, stories are comprised of inciting incidents, the initial surface, and a story-worthy problem. This is not the case with Harry Potter. Although the excerpt is mainly concerned with the characters, it is not adequate to debunk much of their behavior even though the evidence is provided. The rules are essential in easing readers’ attempts to understand a story, establish characters and develop the urge to read more. The rules also enable readers to decipher the themes of the story easily, while paying attention to other issues such as styles and characters. Failure to follow such rules makes it challenging for the writer to pass the intended message to the readers, however creative they might be.
References
Bell, J. S. (2021). Crafting Novels Short Stories: The Complete Guide to Writing Great Fiction. Web.
Ben-Amos, B., & Ben-Amos, D. (Eds.). (2020). The diary: the epic of everyday life. Indiana University Press. Web.
Edgerton, L. (2007). Hooked. Writers Digest Books.
Larsen, M. (2018). Writing an Irresistible Book Proposal. Writers Digest. Web.