Colleen Moody
English 110E
Elisha Emerson
23 April 2019
Storytelling: Life is Literally a Book
This picture is my family and friends at my graduation party. I think one of the best places to share stories is around the campfire.
As the daylight dims and the eyes get droopy, kids are ready for their favorite time of the day. Mommy or daddy cuddles up next to them and begins to share a classic story. Maybe it’s “Goodnight Moon” or maybe it’s “The Cat in the Hat”. Although each children’s story has its own unique plot, each book brings an essential part of a child’s development: imagination. As a child begins to learn the experiences of characters in a book, they become interested in learning how the events in a fictional story may happen in the real world.
Books are the pathway to creativity and curiosity. It is the story that connects children to the real world that they are anxious to encounter. As we grow older, children’s stories are left on the book shelf and narratives become more prominent. Older generations share experiences of their past to the younger generations through storytelling. Storytelling is a wealth of knowledge that gives listeners the valuable lessons life stories hold, which may be applied to aid in choosing the right path.
As I begin to look back at my past, I realize my parents have been using narrative throughout my entire life to teach me about how to be the agent in my own life and work hard. Specifically, my father used to tell me stories about his journey to the United States. Recently, I asked my father to share his story with me again. In this interview, my father, Hugh Moody, shares his story about his search for work and how this lead him to America.
Before my father left for work at 5am, I took him out to breakfast as a special treat.
Storytelling may not only share experiences, but it can give valuable life lessons to others. When he was given the opportunity, my father took the initiative to improve his life. As he entered a new chapter of his life, he knew it was evident that if he wanted something, he would have to work for it and make it happen. As I think about his story, I begin to think how I can learn from his choices and apply it to my future. This specific part of his narrative sticks out to me. My dad has taught me that life is not easy and you have to work hard to get what you want to achieve. It is important that we are dedicated and motivated in order to succeed. I learn that I need to actively work towards a goal to be able to achieve it.
I need to actively work towards a goal to be able to achieve it.
I believe that my dad’s shared history has affected the way I go about my life, as his determination has developed my hard working personality. As philosopher, Galen Strawson, adds in his essay “I am not a story”, “we become the autobiographical narratives by which we ‘tell about’ our lives”. Narrative is therefore used to collect past experiences and pool them together to create a personality and identity. I believe my personality has been built from the wisdom my dad has passed on to me.
Storytelling may be seen as a way to build one’s identity and make a life more personal. Julie Beck, a journal writer, shares her perspective on narrative in her article “Life’s Stories”. Similar to my beliefs, she believes narrative plays a positive role in our lives. As one shares his or her past experiences, Beck claims that “narrative becomes a form of identity”, explaining that each narrative is unique to every person and it can build the person’s personality. Whether it is retelling my own past or listening to others, retelling stories means that specific moment was an important part of their life and an important part of the individual. The individual has learned something from that experience and feels the need to share that experience with others. In my father’s case, he knew it was important to share what made up his identity. Everyone has different past experiences that piece together to make each individual unique.
Narrative plays a positive role in our lives.
On the contrary, some may claim that stories are false due to the amount of remodeling that is done to each narrative. Beck adds that “people tailor the stories they tell to their audiences and the context” which points out that some will change the plot of the narrative in order to avoid negative aspects of a story. Therefore, the idea that most to all stories have a positive ending is fostered, yet much of life is not positive, even though the story may be implying that. If we use narrative to share our past experience with others, it is advised that we use storytelling to share accurate events that have happened in life, in order for a younger person to take that story and apply it to his or her own life.
To younger generations, our knowledge of the world is sacred and valuable. It is important that we accurately share our experience to those seeking help. Narrative is a resource that is present to bridge the connection between real life and imagination. It allows some to envision the future while also building new experiences of their own. It is important to take the lessons others have learned and use them to make the correct choice. Listening to our elders enables us to choose the right path, as their stories may allow individuals to choose the right and the wrong way of life.
In the picture above, my father is looking at some old historical drawings as we were on vacation in Maine. His curiosity for learning new things will never change.
Works Cited
Beck, Julie. “Life’s Stories.” The Atlantic, 2015.
Galen, Strawson. “I am not a story.” Aeon Essays, 2015.
Multimodal Statement:
As I work to complete my essay, I think the multimodal modes I have chosen enhance the subject of my essay. The mode I think is the most obvious to audiences is the visual mode, as I used pictures in my essay. The first picture is of my family and friends around the campfire. I felt that this would be a perfect picture to place before there are even any words to start to make the reader think. I captioned it “I think one of the best places to share stories is around the campfire” because I wanted to give the reader a hint as to what my essay would be about. I do truly believe that as a group of people sit around and talk, that is when a lot of stories are shared and people learn more about each other. My second picture is a picture of my dad dressed for work at about 4:50 in the morning. I wanted to take him to Dunkin Donuts that morning and buy him breakfast to show how appreciative I am of his hard work. He gets up before the sunrise every morning and still goes to work with a smile on his face. I felt that his attitude towards life was a valuable aspect to include in showing the personality of my father. This also developed my thesis that his narratives about hard work have also influenced my life. I wanted to include my last picture in the conclusion because I feel it is a very subtle picture to end my essay with, but in context, it says a lot. My dad is always eager to find something new to learn and I feel this picture captures that. Overall, I think my pictures added a personal aspect into my essay and would allow my words to connect to the reader more. The next mode I decided to use was the audio mode. I chose to use the interview as the audio mode. I included the hyperlink to the interview in my paragraph that gives some background information about my dad because I thought it was the spot that made the most sense. I also think that including footage of my dad’s words gives another personal and emotional touch to the reader. It allows the reader to understand what kind of a person my dad is really like, and how that can influence my choices. Lastly, I chose to use the visual mode again for the font, the size of the font, and the color of the text. As one looks through my essay, it is obvious to see that there are certain words that are bolded and are a bigger font size, or they have a different color and have text wrapped around it. As I looked back at my finished essay, I took a step back and really looked at what words were most important in developing my argument. Those that are bolded or colored are most important to me. They are the lessons I have learned from writing this essay, and I want my readers to acknowledge this too. By putting emphasis on these sentences, readers are sure to take notice that these sets of words are important.
