Narratives

Questions of identity are some of the most common yet difficult questions that we as humans ask of ourselves and others. One of the ways we make sense of these questions is through the narratives we share with others. These narratives may be personal or impersonal, they may relate to mundane, everyday types of activities or be grander societal narratives that large-scale communities recognize and share. Narrative is often seen as the fundamentally human way of organizing the world and at the very core of who we are as individuals and communities. The concepts of both narrative and identity are approached from a wide variety of perspectives. An entry such as this cannot hope to capture all of these different perspectives and the nuances associated with them. Instead, this entry explains and illustrates some of the basic concepts and ideas associated with narrative identities that are shared in part by a variety of scholars. The entry identifies five essential elements of a narrative and explores links between these narrative elements and ways they connect to identity formation and expression. However, before going further, an example narrative is provided that can be used to illustrate and explain the narrative elements to be discussed and provide a springboard for the related discussion of identity as it pertains to each element. The terms story/storyteller and narrative/narrator are used interchangeably in this entry, for although some scholars suggest subtle differences, the more common practice is to treat them synonymously.