REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

As stated by Dickinson & Neuman (2006) The last decade has brought a

growing consensus on the range of skills that serve as the foundation for reading and

writing ability. Children need rich language and conceptual knowledge base, a wide and

in depth vocabulary, and verbal reasoning skills to understand messages that are

conveyed through print.

Children also must develop code-related skills, an understanding that spoken

words are composed of smaller elements of speech (phonological awareness); the idea

that letters represent these sounds (the alphabetic principle), the many systematic

correspondences between sounds and spellings, and a repertoire of highly familiar

words that can be easily and automatically recognized (McCardle & Chhabra, 2004;

McCardle, Scarborough, & Catts, 2001).

According to (Scarborough, 2001) Verbal abilities are consistently the best

predictors of later reading achievement. Skilled readers typically draw upon multiple

levels of the language system (Dickinson, McCabe, Anastasopoulos, Peisner-

Feinberg, & Poe, 2003). According to (Neuman, 2001) Word knowledge, however, is

not just developed through exposure to increasingly complex language, but to

knowledge-building language experiences that involve children in developing and

refining networks of categorically-related concepts.

Based on the study of Mario Vargas Llosa in his book “The Storyteller”

(1989). The authors explores the ties between the “first world” and the “third world”,

noting that this contemporary world can only survive through trans-nationalism,

miscegenation, and cultural fusion. Vargas’ alters between two storytellers by

presenting the narration of man named Saul Zuratas who covertly relocated to the

Peruvian countryside to hide his identity. Although this act is touching, a reader may find

Saul’s intent dubious since what he is leaving behind as “western culture” has

significantly contribute to his current life. This book tackles an issue that is not only

common in Latin American countries like Peru but also in several nations globally where

the native communities are considered by the contemporary population as outdated.

Another Story from Mario Vargas from his work “The bad girl” (2006); It uses

story telling technique that is somewhat like a play that is structured into three plots and

told in the first person. It’s almost like a story told within another story but focusing on

the same man’s love life and personal challenges in forming relationships. The bad girl

is a classic depiction of how personal problems are intertwined with the political world

and historical occurrences. Just as everyday life presents itself, the problems we go

through both emotionally and psychologically are founded on the basis of current

political environment.
 In the novel book “Arabian Nights and Days” written by Najib Mahfuz (2015);

Through the exploration of moral dilemmas and the consequences that follow each

decision made in the fairy tale world, Naguib successfully enforces subconscious

learning to his readers (para.1). For instance, the story in which a political figure dies

but is then reincarnated as a poor porter and the challenge he has to face of persuading

his wife of his true identity is a lesson to treat others fairly. The portrayal of harsh

consequences to follow the injustices committed by people in their current lives induces

an involuntary thought process that allows the reader to examine his/her own life. The

book taps into the psychology of readers by evoking thoughts of what might happen to

individuals in reaction to deeds and misdeeds done to others. Fictional and imaginary

as they may be, such stories are the right make up the right kind of tool to promote

society’s moral standards.

Warren Buckland’s book “Puzzle Films: Complex Storytelling in

Contemporary Cinema” (2009) is another piece that shows interesting anthology of

modern movies that espouse non-classical narrative styles. The novel has a prologue

and eleven short articles composed by different critics of various movies such

as Oldboy, Run Lola Run, and Memento, etc. This narrative section of this book has

significantly explored the steps made in the movie industry to communicate the

challenges faced by the society in different eras. However, the introduction section is

rather wanting. The editor of the introduction commences with the description of culture

pointing out the occurrences in the modern world have become unclear and intricate,

and to this point the movie industry is facing the same challenge. However, the editor
avoids this inquiry on culture and starts advocating for his own welfare by comparing

modern movie storytelling with the works of ancient writers such as The Poetic by

Aristotle.