Friday, January 21, 2011

Stories

Why do we need stories? Think of your favorite story--a book, a movie, or just a general unwritten story--and it gives you a certain feeling, right? Every human society ever has told stories and revered them. They lend us the feeling of other worlds. I don't even know what they do, but there's something built into us that says we need stories. Was this a survival technique? The people who told and heard and enjoyed stories survived to pass on their genes? The best stories, especially long stories with lots of character development, make us feel a very special way. So maybe this will help those who tell and love stories survive longer and become stronger. Stories are our creations, or maybe they are how we interpret the world around us.
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5 comments:

  1. Stefan PopovJanuary 23, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    I think you got it right with your last statement. Stories are a way for us to describe the world around us, or even escape from it.

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  2. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2011 at 8:41 PM

    According to Tim O'Brien (who wrote one of my favorite novels, The Things They Carried), stories can "save" us. I think all your suppositions have merit, Sam, and I love that you have posed these questions to your readers.

    I also think they allow us to understand how others create their own meaning out of the world (when we listen) and to show others how we see it (when we tell them). They connect us.

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2011 at 2:12 PM

    Interesting ideas you have here. I agree with the thought that stories are used as a survival technique.

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  4. cdestcroixJanuary 24, 2011 at 2:32 PM

    I agree with your concluding statement and Stephan. I believe stories shape societies, and their nature, which inherently shapes the way that society (and it's individuals) interact with, and perceive the world around them.

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  5. AdamJanuary 24, 2011 at 2:37 PM

    I agree with you that Stories are how we as humans interpret the world. Human curiosity drives us to understand the unknown, and in some manner or another, stories are meant to explain the unexplained or express the unknown in a sort of thought experiment. Think of all the stories in Greek Mythology that explained natural phenomenon.

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