On limiting the narrative paradigm: Three case studies

While narrative is studied in any number of fields as a form of discourse, only in communication studies has it been claimed that all forms of discourse can be viewed as types of narrative. One way of testing such an all‐encompassing interpretation of narrative is to apply the assumptions of the narrative paradigm to works that traditionalists would not consider to be stories. This essay applies the principles of narrative probability and fidelity to three works—a book attacking religious fundamentalism, a short film attacking Pat Robertson and an allegorical science fiction novel that retells the story of Job—in order to test the paradigm. If all rhetoric can be understood through the narrative paradigm, then the paradigm should be equally applicable to all three works. The analysis of the works, however, reveals that narrative approaches are of little use when applied to discourse that does not tell a story. Additionally, the standards for narrative rationality are difficult to apply and inapplicable to works of fantasy and science fiction.