A narrative essay, put simply, is an essay that tells a story. Narrative essays are usually both creative and personal, which makes it difficult to know where to start and how to incorporate the traditional elements of essays that we might be more familiar with.
When we think of essays in general, one important component is the thesis statement, which tells us the main idea or argument of an overall work. In a narrative essay, however, a thesis does not follow the same rules it does in other types of writing. A narrative essay thesis statement can do one or both of the following: (1) convey a theme, lesson, or main idea, or (2) introduce the action of the story you want to tell.
How you write your thesis will depend on the purpose of your essay, any instructions or prompt you may have received, and what flows with your writing style. In most cases, when writing a narrative essay, you will be focusing on a single event or experience that was important to you. If your goal is to convey a lesson, theme, or moral from that experience, you might think about the following questions:
Once you have an idea of what you want to say, all that is left is to turn that thought into a thesis. Let’s take a closer look at some examples of narrative essay thesis statements to see how that works:
These statements tell us a main idea, lesson, or theme from their respective narrative. Still, it can be hard to understand how these sentences would fit into an essay when looking at them in isolation. Here are two examples from well-known narrative essays so you can see what thesis statements look like in actual paragraphs:
“I was less playing a particular kind of animal than enacting a form of wildness that I recognized in myself.”
– From “The Wild, Sublime Body” by Melissa Febos, published in The Yale Review.
The full essay can be accessed here.
“Beyond those things our culture might specialize in money, and celebrity, and natural beauty. These are not universal. You enjoy work and will love your grandchildren, and somewhere in there you die.”
– From “This is the Life” by Annie Dillard, originally published in Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion.
The full essay can be accessed here.
Both of these excerpts convey the main idea of their respective essay. They are not extremely direct, but they give us a hint at what we should be taking away from these essays nonetheless.
But what about thesis statements that simply introduce the action of a story, or do that while telling us a theme or main idea? These can also be a great, flexible option for your writing. Here is another contextual example:
“I foresaw no particular problems or difficulties. I was as strong as a bull, in the prime, the pride, the high noon of life. I looked forward to the walk with assurance and pleasure.”
– From “The Bull on the Mountain” by Oliver Sacks, published in The New York Review.
The full essay can be accessed here.
Not only do these sentences introduce the story’s action (the narrator will soon begin to walk), but they also hint at an underlying message. We know immediately that the narrator’s assuredness and pride will likely come before a fall, even though it is not stated.
Drafting a thesis statement is difficult, especially for a creative medium like a narrative essay. Remember that writing is a process of revision; you can always return to your “thesis” after you’ve written some or all of your essay. This may help you eliminate any awkwardness in how your thesis flows with the rest of your writing. You can also test for awkward or too-direct phrasing by reading the surrounding sentences out loud and making sure they sound natural in your voice.
Keep in mind that the examples here are not exhaustive; there are infinite ways to tell a compelling story, and it is up to you to find what works for your goals. Continuing to seek out and read other narrative essays can help you understand what makes them tick and how you can achieve similar things in your writing.
