In a novel told by a first-person narrator who reports only what a secondary character sees and feels, which term best describes the narrative situation?
AThe narrator has external focalization on the secondary character
BThe narrator is the focalizer
CThe secondary character is the focalizer; the narrator is the voice
DFocalization and voice are identical here
Genette separates focalization (who perceives — the 'lens') from voice (who speaks — the 'mouth'). The secondary character provides the perceptual filter (focalizer), while the first-person narrator is still the voice that narrates. These can differ, which is why the distinction matters.
Question 2 True / False
Narratology is essentially a more systematic form of plot summary.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Narratology analyzes the formal apparatus through which a story is told — temporal ordering, focalization, narrative levels, discourse versus story — not the sequence of events itself. A plot summary reproduces content; narratology examines how form shapes meaning.
Question 3 Short Answer
What is the difference between story-time and discourse-time, and why does that difference matter for analysis?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Story-time is the chronological duration of the events narrated; discourse-time is the amount of text (or screen time) devoted to those events. A novel might cover thirty years in a sentence (summary) or dwell on one hour across fifty pages (scene). This gap reveals where the narrator directs attention and which events are considered significant.
Genette called this relationship between story-time and discourse-time 'duration.' Analyzing it shows that narrators do not represent events neutrally — the pace of telling is itself a rhetorical act that signals importance, irony, or emotional weight.