Narrative and Theory

Narrative

Russian theorist, Tzvetan Todorov, suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure. They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when equilibrium is restored.

Character

Todorov came up with his theories after making a study of Russian folk tales. So too did Vladimir Propp, who came up with the theory that there are only a certain number of characters, who crop up in most narratives. It is easy to spot the hero and villain in most cases, but here are some others:

Character Type	Role within narrative
Hero	Leads the narrative, is usually looking for something (a quest) or trying to solve something (a mystery). Does not have to be male :)
Villain	Conflicts with the hero
Heroine	Is usually some sort of prize or reward for the hero. NB if your hero is female, your heroine can be male :)
Father	An authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest. That reward might be a prince or a princess or a cool new job
Helper	Helps the hero - often acts as a sidekick
Donor	Gives the hero something - a clue, a talisman, a special power - which helps them complete their quest
Mentor	Teaches and guides the hero

Conflict

As well as Aristotle deciding that 'all drama is conflict' in the 4th century BC, 20th century theorist Claude Levi-Strauss suggested that all narratives had to be driven forward by conflict that was cause by a series of opposing forces. he called this the theory of Binary Opposition, and it is used to describe how each main force in a narrative has its equal and opposite. Analysing a narrative means identifying these opposing forces eg

light/dark	good/evil	noise/silence	youth/age
right/wrong	poverty/wealth	strength/weakness	inside/outside

Source - http://www.mediaknowall.com/gcse/keyconceptsgcse/gcsenarrative.html