After watching myself over the span of the last few weeks, I have realized how often stories come up in my daily life. Everyday, no matter where I went, I witnessed people telling stories. Whether it be their own stories or stories passed on by companions, I observed people telling stories. I never thought that stories would come up so much throughout my day, but I realized that a lot of people’s conversations were stories. I also discovered that I often tell my own stories. In this paper, I am choosing to answer the following questions:
• “Which of these communications do you think of as stories? Why?”
• “Under what circumstances are you most likely to use a story or elements of narrative to communicate?
• “What kind of storyteller are you:
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It is a great setting for storytelling because everyone I talk to is familiar with me and does not judge me of a single story. Another reason it is easy for me to tell stories at family events is because everyone is happy that we are together. At these family event’s it is almost impossible to not hear or tell stories, especially when all my uncle does is tell stories. A lot of my family members ask me how my school is going and from there on my stories come naturally. At thanksgiving, I observed just how much we communicate with stories and how easy it was to tell them. I think the next most common place for me to tell a story is at deer hunting camp. When I am there, I am with my family and good friends that we don’t see very often, so there are a lot of stories to be shared. At the end of each day we all sit down to play poker and hear stories from every hunter. I love getting to share my experiences in the deer stand with the other hunters, but like listening to the other hunter’s experience’s more.
What kind of storyteller are you: funny, poignant, didactic, or some other kind? What kinds of stories do you tend to tell
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He tells me and my cousins endless stories about back in his day. His stories are not intended to make us laugh, even though they sometimes do, his stories are intended to teach and share his experiences. The stories he tells are full of wisdom and often have a great moral or lesson behind them. He often tells the same stories to us and my cousins often tell him that they heard it already. If he ever tells me a story I heard already I just stay and listen, because I still enjoy them and he never tells them the exact same way. My grandpa is a wise man with many great experiences to share and storytelling helps him to pass on his stories.
Conclusion
I have really enjoyed observing over the past few weeks all the times that storytelling has occurred in my daily life. One thing I thought about while I observed the past few weeks, was how stories change the way we as a culture act, speak, and communicate with others. I never realized that a lot of these stories can set up “social norms” for a society. People naturally react to the lessons and morals of these stories and apply them to their life. Until this assignment, I never realized how often storytelling occurs and how important it is in my daily life. I think that the best way to communicate stories is person to person. I found out that I am a funny storyteller and am more prone to tell my stories when I am with family and friends. Lastly, I solidified that I am related to some
Stories are the way humans share, create, and explore their many experiences and identities with each other. When a story is told, the original content lingers depending upon how the storyteller recalls the content. Once the story is retold, it often takes on different details and meanings, because each storyteller adds their own perspective, experience, and meaning. The story then begins to have its own life. Each storyteller has a connection to the beginning and the end of the story.
What is in a story if you can’t take something out of it and relate to your everyday life? The book “Typical American” by Gish Jen, gave me something that I never fully, and I probably still don’t, comprehend: foreigners, and their struggles in making a new life in another country. I have been on my share of trips, both domestic and abroad, but was never in a distant land long enough to feel the effects of the unknowing these people felt every day. The manner in which this story was presented has given me a new insight into, not only foreign nationals, but more importantly, how one goes about presenting emotional feeling not just through words, but setting, characterization, point of view, conflict, and theme.
As people age they will often still recall a good childhood story. A well told, meaningful story can go a long way when attempting to argue a point or convey information. In the essays, ''The Myth of The Latin Women: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria" by Judith Ortiz Cofer, "Gains and Losses" by Richard Rodriquez, and "Piecing It All Together" by bell hooks, the authors connect to the reader and create a better audience through their writing. Through the portrayal of a story the authors help the reader understand their point of view, they transfer information to the reader with better ease, and keep the reader engaged the authors argue a point or convey information more efficiently.
Stories are a means of passing on information, acting as a medium to transport cultural heritage and customs forward into the future. In his essay titled "You'll Never Believe What Happened," King says that, "The truth about stories is that that's all we are” (King Essay 2). Contained within this statement is a powerful truth: without stories, a society transcending the limitations of time could not exist. Cultures might appear, but they would inevitably die away without a means of preservation. Subsequent generations would be tasked with creating language, customs, and moral laws, all from scratch. In a way, stories form the core of society's existence.
This essay will provide quotes representing the parts of life that make a story relatable. It has all of the elements of a good creative non-fiction story. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver its promise to readers. It is a great story, but it is not creative non-fiction. Unfortunately, because of its tainted history it will never be remembered for its greatness. Too bad.
1. Growing up we all heard stories. Different types of stories, some so realistic, we cling onto them farther into our lives. Stories let us see and even feel the world in different prespectives, and this is becuase of the writter or story teller. We learn, survive and entertain our selves using past experiences, which are in present shared as stories. This is why Roger Rosenblatt said, "We are a narrative species."
Stories are created over time through our attempts to connect events in our experiences and derive meaning from them (Morgan, 2000). Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Narrative methodologies assume that individuals have a various set of skills, capabilities, beliefs, values, and commitments that will assist them in reducing the influence of troubles in their lives. During the practice of narrative therapy the client is encouraged to deconstruct and critically appraise their story in search for new meanings (White & Epston, 1990). White (2000) believed that if one can change the way they describe their lives and the events within, there will be a change for the better.
The word danger probably makes you want to turn away and stop doing whatever it is that you are doing. Well, what do you do when you see the words, “The Danger of a Single Story?” These words had me nervous about what I was going to be watching. However, there was a lot of information that was explained throughout this 20-minute TED talk from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This paper will explore compelling ideas she mentioned that relate to things I have experienced when I went to another culture, the risks of telling a single story narrative in intercultural interactions, ways to protect myself from single story misconceptions, and how I was able to see how a single story might affect the way I communicate with others in different cultures.
The importance of a story is to have a purpose and meaning, through this, people are able to engage and learn with what is being told to them, it has to have a connection to the past, bringing it to the present and to involve both the body and mind senses. Through storytelling the audience should gain an understanding and have a sense of emotion touched and come alive, they should also be able to explore the possibilities within their culture and feel a deep connection to country.
McAdams, D.P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of general psychology, 5 (2), 100.
Mueller expresses how stories allow children to achieve the impossible, such as flying when they are incapable and discovering the unknown. Stories give a life to the people who are unable to live, and that is one of the reasons why imagination is so essential to our world. The sharing of tales bring genuine joy to people without the need of materialistic items; it gives people the chance to relate to the author on a common ground. The sense of shared joy and mutual connection brings people closer together and expands on relationships. People begin to feel as if they are apart of an imagined community, which is a community in which people perceive themselves to be apart of, through common interests or relations from media or works of literature. Communities such as these allow people to connect with each other, despite never crossing paths. It allows the birth and the strengthening of relationships, for when people begin to converse with others, the first thing they do is find common experiences or interests that they share. In addition, a quote from Mueller, herself, adds to why we tell stories: “Because the story of our life becomes our life. Because each of us tell the same story but tell it differently, and none of us tells it the same way twice.” Tales are devised with the incorporation of the narrator’s imagination; it is a way to
Throughout my life I have heard a wide range of stories from my parents. When putting this assignment together I have put these stories into account. Randall Bass, educator of English at Georgetown University, concurs that stories shape individuals ' personalities. Bass expresses that, "People infer their feeling of personality from their way of life, and societies are frameworks of conviction that decide how individuals experience their lives" (Bass 1). Social stories about family history, religion, nationality, and legacy impact individuals ' conduct and convictions. Personalities of diverse individuals originate from their societies. Narrating starts at home. Stories associate individuals to their frameworks of convictions. They shape individuals ' lives by giving them a model of how to live. Individuals get their most punctual learning from distinctive stories. (Bass)
Barker, R. T., & Gower, K. (2010). Strategic Application of Storytelling in Organizations: Toward Effective Communication in a Diverse World. Journal Of Business Communication, 47(3), 295-312.
Storytelling has been used throughout history to explain the unexplained mysteries in the time of the storyteller. Today the current generation makes it appear that the “stories that sell the most cause” (Kristina) widely spread misconceptions and aggression towards these stereotypes. These misconceptions are seen throughout history, whether it is about the destructive forces of the weather or the animals roaming the planet we call home. Aggression can be seen evident throughout history as well, be it wars of religions live in the crusades, or the war against Afghanistan. Storytelling throughout time has created “a safe space in” (Horn) an environment. They have been used to calm the fears children from ancient times to the present, as well a comfort them when parents as they are told a story to help them sleep. Stories are told through the toughest times from economic failure to bombings raining destruction from above. Historically storytellers have traditionally been the elders of the communities who start to tell younger generations when “the person [is] at a young age” (Horn) and more often then not influences the overall outlook of that child. History has been filled with the tradition of the elders of t...
Taylor, Marilyn L. “Tell Them a Story: A Memorable Narrative Poem Features Three Key Elements: Plot, Voice, and Point of View.” The Writer. 125.4 (2012): 17-18. EBSCO Host. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.