The Power of Storytelling

Story telling is a uniquely human attribute. It is an imaginative process between the composer and responder that invites us, as the audience to engage vicariously with the experience of others. Stories or narratives have been shared in all culture as a mean of education, entertainment and also to notify the audience of the values and belief systems of our culture. The texts of ‘Through the tunnel’ and ‘Green tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe’ conspicuously highlight the ability of storytelling to empower the individual and outline storytelling as a device to inform us of values and people’s transmission is able to transcend time.
The power of storytelling can create connections between people and allow individuals to find their inner self. This is shown through the short story of ‘Through the tunnel’. Summarily, ‘Through the tunnel’ is a short story written by Doris Lessing about a young English boy who challenges himself through an underwater tunnel. The story is a rite of passage for a lonely boy whose mother is a widow and too cognizant for being over protective as he grows up. In the story Jerry struggles with the choices of being on his own and finding acceptance, but he comes to the realisation that creating his own identity is essential as he grows up and gains independence from his mother. Moreover, as Jerry tries to complete the challenges he sets for himself he learns to confront failure and to overcome the physical and psychological obstacles that he meets. Throughout the story Jerry is thrown into a world where he discovers his inner self. The story provides a compressed narrative about the transitioning journey from childhood to adult, allowing the reader to engage vicariously in the universal idea about rites of pas...

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... to visit Ninny. Consequentially, the regular association shapes the bond of friendship and partiality that Evelyn feels for Ninny and the evident of intimate relationship is shown in Evelyn’s final decision to give Ninny a home. Ultimately though it is the stories that Ninny tells Evelyn that bring them together and thus we see how the supremacy of the story can create connections between people, maintain assertiveness and self-confidence.
Primarily, the effect of Storytelling shows that the protagonists in both of the texts are thrown into a world which they discover their inner selves and transform from diffident characters with serious lack of empowerment to characters which burst from self-confidence. Additionally, the narrators John Avnet and Doris Lessing employ storytelling to convey the important ideas of stories as a positive life changing experience.