Why Do We Tell Stories Essay

The question “Why do we tell stories” does not have one simple answer as any individual may have a different response to the question based on their background but, this essay will attempt to form a cohesive answer to the question by responding to three statements, (1)“Some texts seem to be fighting for or against social change or political attitudes or traditions. Choose and discuss the fight for or against this change.”, (2)“Humans are the only animals who seek to understand themselves.The search of this understanding is a theme in many pieces of literature.”, (3) “Lord Acton once said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The use and abuse of power is a recurring theme. Discuss how this theme is developed.” ;

The story Things Fall Apart uses the fictional story of a wealthy tribal man in West Africa as a backdrop to explore and explain the great culture of these tribals as well as the effect of colonialism on their society. Through learning about the culture of these people, we can understand how humans seek to understand themselves and their world through any means. “Near the barn was a small house, the “medicine house” or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god and of his ancestral spirits. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut, food and palm-wine, and offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight children. ( Chinua Achebe,Things Fall Apart, ch.2,pg.14) We see from this qoute that these people seek to understand themselves through a deeply rooted faith of spirits and ancestor worship. Even though this story is fictional, we see how someone would want to tell this story in order to learn about how these people’s culture shaped their understanding themselves as well as not forgetting the hardships and horror they had gone through during colonialism. “But he says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” ( Chinua Achebe,Things Fall Apart, ch.20) Again from this quote we see further how humans often go through