A transnational narrative must have a common theme related to all the people in the narrative. The theme is what ties their stories together and without it, the essay is simply a compilation of stories about people from different countries. For example, a transnational narrative author may write about the experiences of children from different countries living with a parent who is a substance abuser. In this example, the author may choose to tighten the focus on the narrative by choosing a specific form of substance abuse. For example, writing about the experiences of children who live in different countries but are all living with an alcoholic parent.
Writing a transnational narrative relays the many stories of the different individuals in the story, while maintaining one focus or topic throughout the narrative. The purpose of this type of narrative essay writing is to show the reader how the people in the narrative are bound together by a common experience, regardless of where they live. Transnational narrative, just as with all narrative writing is often written with the purpose of evoking emotions or feelings in the reader.
The benefits of writing a transnational narrative for both the author and the reader are that they allow them to discover the common thread that ties people who are living in different countries but going through similar experiences or events. It is through these experiences described in the transnational narrative that allow the reader to discover that even though the people participating in the narrative live in different countries, may have dissimilar upbringings and may even be from different socio-economic classes, their experiences within the theme of the transnational narrative are similar.
To get a better understanding of what a transnational narrative entails, here are a few examples. "Transnational Latina Narratives in the Twenty-First Century" by Juanita Heredia explores the experiences of Latina authors from different Latin American countries, living in various areas of the United States. "Artillery of Heaven" by Ussama Makdisi describes the experiences of the arrival of American Protestant missionaries in the Middle East. The book depicts how the arrival of the missionaries affected both the American people and the Arab people.