James Phelan's framework identifies a narrator's central functions as which trio?

• A. Reporting, evaluating, interpreting
• B. Describing, narrating, concluding
• C. Analyzing, summarizing, recalling
• D. Explaining, analyzing, predicting

Answer: (B)

A narrator shapes a story through three intertwined actions: describing the world, guiding us through the events, and concluding by shaping meaning or judgment about what happened. Describing builds the scene—the places, people, and details that make the world feel real and allow readers to sense what’s at stake. Narrating then takes us through the sequence of events, deciding what to show, in what order, and from whose perspective, which controls how we experience tension and progression. Concluding ties it together by offering an interpretation, verdict, or takeaway that frames why the events matter and what we should think or feel about them. This trio captures how a narrator actively constructs meaning for the reader, not just by listing details or recounting actions alone, but by how those details are presented, ordered, and finally interpreted. The other options mix in tasks like predicting, recalling, or evaluating in ways that don’t align with the threefold pattern Phelan emphasizes.