Descriptive VS. Narrative, You Decide
Many think that narrative and descriptive styles of writing are one in the same, but they are not. Although they complement each other for a complete story; you can successfully write using one style without the other. The authors Connell, C.M. & Sole, K. define narrative writing as, "Narration is storytelling from the perspective of a narrator, and the story may be true, false, imaginary, or a combination." (2013, chapter 6.3). When you tell a story you want your readers to experience it through your words as if they were there when it happened. Connell, C.M. & Sole, K. define descriptive writing as, "Description is a pattern of writing that can be defined as painting pictures with words." (2013, chapter 6.4). A descriptive story leaves no detail unrevealed and appeals to all of your senses. When comparing Maya Angelou's descriptive poem "Caged Bird" and Judy Brady's narrative essay "I Want a Wife", it is clear that there many similarities and differences between the two styles of writing. However, because Maya Angelou's poem has descriptive language that appeals to your five senses, specific detail descriptions and uses figurative language to compare the unfamiliar with something more familiar it makes it a superior piece of literature.
In the narrative style essay written by Judy Brady (1971), "I Want a Wife", she uses out right sarcasm and exaggeration with a slight humorous tone. This demonstrates her stance on the unrealistic demands that were placed on women in that era. She starts off her essay stating "I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not al-together incidentally, I am a mother" (1971). As if being a wife and a mother was almost an undesirable task to bear in life. I suppose that in the 1900 century it pretty much was to an extent. The way Brady goes on to list the expected duties of her wife, makes her sound more like a servant than anything else. She even mentions her wife performing things like
In the narrative style essay written by Judy Brady (1971), "I Want a Wife", she uses out right sarcasm and exaggeration with a slight humorous tone. This demonstrates her stance on the unrealistic demands that were placed on women in that era. She starts off her essay stating "I belong to that classification of people known as wives. I am A Wife. And, not al-together incidentally, I am a mother" (1971). As if being a wife and a mother was almost an undesirable task to bear in life. I suppose that in the 1900 century it pretty much was to an extent. The way Brady goes on to list the expected duties of her wife, makes her sound more like a servant than anything else. She even mentions her wife performing things like