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This paper was presented at the First International Conference on Narratives at Glyndŵr University in June 2007. The Narrative Practitioner website is available here http://www.thenarrativepractitioner.co.uk/

Abstract

Rodriguez (2002, p4) argues that no narrative is meant to be kept to oneself, it is for sharing with others and with this sharing comes a social infrastructure that bonds and binds each of us to others in a inimitable way, and furthermore, a concept which allows individuals to critically examine the repercussions and outcomes of their actions. If it is accepted that narratives are a means for the individual to address and share these issues, what are the underlying processes that may effect the reflection of these issues to form a narrative. It is the intention here to question what may be one of the underpinning requirements of an individual to work within a narrative framework, the concept of self awareness, and in particular the ability to communicate this awareness to others. Carson (2001, p199) states that ‘all situations can be described in a number of ways which reflect not just an author’s values, but also, more crucially, an authors’ identity’. This paper will question whether there is a singular unified ‘self’, or as James (1892) maintains, the individual is a highly complex social entity and that we display ‘as many different selves as people we interact with’ The concept of self awareness will be explored through relevant historical and contemporary literature in order to attempt to discover who in essence is writing the stories recounted in a narrative.

Disciplines

Reading and Language

Recommended Citation

De Prez, P. (2007). Aunty Betty and the sunny day'. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Narratives (pp.121-125). Glyndwr University, Wrexham.


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