Narrative essays are usually uncensored and uncut. This means that the author has the right to explain any event in his/her lifetime without being limited to one subject. The reader can actually relate to the author's words because he/she is describing a similar story. When I am reading a narrative essay of a fellow classmates, I feel as if a voice is speaking to me. The story takes on a different tone and my voice is no longer mine! I can read the pain in the story, the truth, and the feelings that jump out of the page. Each narrative essay is different because it describes a different story related to the author. One of the examples of a narrative essay is Thirty- Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police. In this narration, the reader can quickly sympathize with Miss. Genovese, the victim. The screams, jeers, and complaints of a woman being slain in the streets is ignored on the night of March 14, 1964. It is shocking how thirty-eight individuals living in the apartments heard a woman screaming in the streets and yet disregarded her cry for help. The assailant approached her approximately three times in an hour period and murdered her fatally. There were numerous lights that went on when she first screamed but no neighbor cared to even call the police. A man threatened the assailant to leave her alone the first time but, he came back again to stab her; it was 3:20 a.m. It was 3:50 a.m. by the time the police received their first call from a man who was a neighbor of Miss Genovese, the victim in this crime. In two minutes, the police were at the scene. It is very mind boggling how an incident could have been prevented in a matter of minutes rather than waiting for about half an hour!
The second example and personally my favorite is the Indian Education. In this narration, Sherman describes his childhood from the first grade and beyond. The reader can see that Sherman is not afraid of being shunned from his society. He explains his struggles whether other people will like it or no. Sherman understands a child's pain while growing up and he uses this lesson to teach children to have their own voice. Life offers many hazardous roads along the way, but Sherman realizes that he must take control of his life no matter what happens. For many generations, Indians have been persecuted for their beliefs and actions. Their customs and traditions are different from us but aren’t we all different? Sherman Alexi shares his childhood experiences from the first grade all the way to high school and beyond. He describes the relationships with his teachers and friends. Every grade, the reader listens to Sherman’s pains and what he went through during his lifetime. Feeling tormented and abused by his friends in the first grade; his teacher accusing him of being an “Indian” as if it is a sin; and no freedom of expression in the third grade. As he gets older, Sherman learns of the miseries taking place in his life from his father drinking vodka everyday to his mother trying to finish quilts. Finally, in the fifth grade he finds comfort in basketball and drugs in his friend’s possession. Through middle school, he shares his story of meeting girls and kissing them for the first time. While at a school dance, a “Chicano” tells him that he is just like all the other Indian kids: “They start drinking real young.” Sherman explains, “sharing dark skin doesn’t necessarily make two men brothers.” After his high school graduation, Sherman receives honors from the school and looks forward to his future. However his former classmates look forward to drinking and partying for the rest of their lives.
Narration is a very important form of writing because it allows the author to take control; no censorship and no guard. The author expresses his feelings and is not afraid to spill out any emotions, just like real and raw writer.
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