Essay Week 9: The Shaping Force of Narrative

Having progressed this far into the semester, I have started to reflect on the purpose of storytelling. How did storytelling evolve to take root in culture? What do stories provide to those that hear them? What about those who tell the stories?

A year ago, I took my honors colloquium, Literature and Medicine, and the central question of the course was this: What can literature learn from medicine, and what can medicine learn from literature? We explored how narrative genre can frame the stories that patients bring with them into the examination room. We discussed the role of empathy and how abduction, a type of hypothesis-forming logic, fuels what doctors do on a daily basis.

The cover of one of the books written by my professors for Literature and Medicine. Image found at Project MUSE.

I bring this up because I believe storytelling has a way of molding both the people who hear tales and those who recount them, and if that is the case, then storytelling fulfills a cultural function. Research done by scientists at Emory University found that reading fiction changes the physical structure of the brain. As the lead author stated, narrative has a way of putting someone in the protagonist's shoes. Another study by David Kidd and Emanuele Castano found that literary fiction predisposes people to develop a stronger theory of mind and subsequently improve their ability to empathize with others.

Such findings imply that the stories we absorb have a way of shaping the way we think and the way we view the experience of other people. Perhaps reading is the portal that allows us to delve into experiences we might never come to know. I can attest to the fact that I now try to see what I can learn from the fiction I read. I tend to ask myself: How can I apply what I've read to my ability to better relate to others? What does this tell me about the human experience? When I view reading in that way, it gives the time I spend delving into stories more purpose.

Reading Diary Week 9: Eskimo Folk-Tales

Given the arrival of cooler weather, I thought it would be appropriate to choose the Eskimo Folk-Tales unit for this week's reading.

The Coming of Men, A Long, Long While Ago: I love how death is treated in this story. I never thought to imagine death as something to learn, and here it is depicted as a necessary, unavoidable part of life. One of my favorite lines is "They did not know how to story their words into little black marks as you do." Another thing to notice is that the story of origin focuses on discovery rather than birth.

Nukúnguasik, who Escaped from the Tupilak: The description of the Tupilak is pretty creepy in this story, and I think part of that observation is based on the fact that the description is a bit vague. Also, I was surprised to see that Nukúnguasik was willing to lead his brothers to where the middle brother died of fright.

Isigâligârssik: I wonder if there's a pattern of having trickery within stories that deal with native culture. I noticed the same thing in the Brer Rabbit unit. There is also a strong sense of revenge, but in this case, the revenge does not seem to be one fueled by malice.  

Makíte: I nearly feel that this story lacks a resolution. Makíte kills a man and subsequently suffers no punishment for it. Plus, as a reader I'm left wondering what the lone-dweller was talking about before he was killed at the hands of Makíte. I get the feeling that I would need quite a bit of cultural context to understand this story.

The Giant Dog: I wonder why there is such an attention placed on "inland-dwellers" in this unit. Also, most of the stories imply that the narrator does not know everything. He or she seems to admit that they only have a fraction of the story, because they end every tale with a variation of "that is all I know."  

Papik, Who Killed His Wife's Brother: I like the emphasis put on the value of not killing a fellow man. Once again, there's quite a bit of gore in this story, and I wonder if such stories were told to children as well. It's hard to get an idea of how taboo violence was in the Eskimo culture. Also, dying does not seem to be a terrible thing in this story.

The Wife Who Lied: The culture certainly takes lying seriously! Then again, she did cause the death of nearly all the women in their town. One of the most vivid parts in this story is the description of how the women literally worked their fingers to the bone while making the arrows.

Atdlarneq, The Great Glutton: I'm nearly surprised to see that no one died in this story! I expected the master of the house to feed Atdlarneq to death to punish him for his hubris of entering his home. The one thing that makes no sense at all is the description of copper cheeks. At first, I thought it was a way to describe the color, but it seems that the copper cheeks would be able to give quite the beating.

Tungujuluk and Saunikoq: I find it interesting that the act of taking the form of an animal requires the skin of that animal. In the very least, it is described as such. This story seems similar to the one involving Atdlarneq because the punishment is in the form of humiliation.