Vladimir Propp's Narrative Theory 4srr

S ’ P P O R P R VLADIMI Y R O E H T E V NARRATI

BY HAMZAH ALI

VLADIMIR PROPP • PROPP STUDIED OVER 100 RUSSIAN FAIRYTAILS FROM WHICH HE DISCOVERED ALL NARRATIVES HAVE A COMMON STRUCTURE.

• HE OBSERVED THAT NARRATIVES ARE DIRECTED BY CERTAIN TYPES OF CHARACTERS AND SPECIFIC KINDS OF ACTIONS.

• HE IDENTIFIED 7 ROLES THAT ARE PORTRAYED IN EVERY NARRATIVE.

PROPP’S 7 CHARACTERS • THESE ROLES CAN BE ASSUMED BY ANY CHARACTER AND A CHARACTER CAN ASSUME MORE THAN ONE ROLE. FOR EXAMPLE THE DONER AND DISPATCHER CAN BE THE SAME PERSON.

• 7 ROLES: HERO – SEEKS SOMETHING VILLAIN – OPPOSES THE HERO DONOR – HELPS THE HERO BY PROVIDING SOMETHING DISPATCHER – SENDS THE HERO ON HIS WAY FALSE HERO – FALSELY ASSUMES THE ROLE OF HERO HELPER – S THE HERO PRINCESS – THE REWARD FOR THE HERO

STAR WARS • PROPP’S THEORY CAN BE APPLIED TO THE FILM STAR WARS: HERO - LUKE SKYWALKER VILLAIN – DARTH VADER DONOR – OBI-WAN KENOBI DISPATCHER – OBI-WAN KENOBI FALSE HERO – DARTH VADER HELPER – HAN SOLO PRINCESS – PRINCESS LEIA

THE MATRIX • ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF PROPP’S THEORY IN THE MATRIX: HERO - NEO VILLAIN – AGENT SMITH DONOR – MORPHEUS DISPATCHER – MORPHEUS FALSE HERO – CYPHER HELPER – TRINITY PRINCESS – TRINITY