Julie Beck’s text introduces many ideas about life and narratives that I had not previously thought about. One point in particular that I had to star was “Storytelling, then– fictional or nonfictional, realistic or embellished with dragons– is a way of making sense of the world around us.” I liked this quote a lot as it gives an explanation as to why we story tell in our heads. That we create words to explain the situation or environment we are in or t provide more understanding.
Another point I noted was “It’s hard to be a human being and have relationships without having some version of a life story floating around.” I noted this as I never really thought about this before, and I didn’t quite understand it. I have always thought that I never really had a “life story” or anything interesting to tell people I first meet that would create a relationship. When Pasupathi talks about needing to produce a life story to be normal and healthy, I didn’t quite understand, but thought that it was a powerful quote to note for future reference.
The last moment I noted was “Through friends, family, and fiction, children learn what others consider to be good storytelling– and that being able to spin a good yarn has social value.” Through a persons environment, they are able to take up all that is happening and spin it in a way that makes sense to them. I liked this a lot because it shows that storytelling is something that is taught and isn’t something you are born with. Children learn from their family and friends how to tell stories and follow that creativity in their heads.
I enjoyed reading what you pointed out, especially the last one. Yes, I had noticed that you learn to tell stories through your inner groups but no, I did not think of it from reading the text nor did I think of how to explain it- which you did.
Though I did say you made great points, I feel like you could have added more to them. Yes you pretty much explained them wand what you thought about them but, how can you connect to them?
I like what you said about your third quote, and how people learn about storytelling. Every story told is set up in some way that the person telling the story had to have learned it from somewhere. This could be from their parents telling a story, or even reading a Shakespeare play. It’s something not always thought about, but there always has to be some context about why the story was told the way it was.
I also wanted to add to your second quote and how having a relationship will always have a story. I do agree with this. There are so many things in life, like being in a relationship, going on vacation, playing a sport, that will always have a story. In my opinion, people will always have stories to tell about.