How Do Stories Shape Humanity? “Novels and stories are renderings of life; they can not only keep us company, but admonish us, point us in new directions, or give us courage to stay a given course. ” (Robert Coles). We as humans, all love a good story; whether we are watching a movie, listening to our favorite song, reading a novel or having someone tell us a story, there is always a sense of enjoyment. Stories are all around us and we can trace stories and the act of storytelling back to our early ancestors.
All the individuals of the same species, and the species of the same genus, or even higher, are descended from common parents;” stated by Charles Darwin in Origin of Species, his take on stories was take even though the story may change as humans evolve, they all start with an origin. Looking through the lens of literary Darwinism stories can be a metaphor towards the theory of evolution. “Conflict is the fundamental element of fiction… In life, conflict often carries a negative connotation, yet in fiction, be it comic or tragic, dramatic conflict is fundamental because in literature only trouble is interesting.
Only trouble is interesting. This is not so in life. ” Janet Burroway’s point is very true, and is basically the main theme in chapter three of Gottschall’s, The Storytelling Animal. Even though people don’t like to go through their own conflicts, humans are intrigued by other’s conflicts. As Gottschall stated, people are not drawn to stories that are extremely realistic, where nothing happens. “Story = Character + Predicament + Attempted Extrication; This is story’s master formula” (52-53) Gottschall’s novel really gives a better understanding of how stories have a part in evolution.
Stories reach out to our emotions, which is why we able to connect with the people in the stories. “Mirror neurons may also be the basis of our ability to run powerful simulations in our heads. “(60) This theory of mirror neurons is very interesting to me, because it shows how complex the human brain really is. The brain is able to re-create the emotions we see or hear, which makes it seem like we are experiencing the emotion ourselves. The TED talk on language by Mark Pagel also adds on to the complexity of the human brain.
The development of language has helped humans evolve and prosper more than any other species have. “Fiction is powerful and ancient virtual reality and technology that stimulates the big dilemmas of human life. From this point of view, we attracted to fiction not because of evolutionary glitch, but because fiction is good for us. “(67) Because of the fact that our brains are able to perform these complex task, it is very possible to say that humans are hard-wired for stories.
Throughout the course of the class we learned various terms that we could use to analyze different pieces of literature, and to help us look through the lens of literary Darwinism. “The Story People are us. If those strictly practical people ever existed, they don’t anymore. But if we hadn’t known this from the start, wouldn’t most of us have bet on the Practical People outlasting those frivolous Story People? The fact that didn’t is the riddle of fiction. ” Stories contribute the most to group selection. People are drawn to stories and stories can many people together.
In the aspect of the quote, stories can be used to take a break from reality “Studies have shown that people’s deepest moral beliefs and values are modified by the the fiction they consume. ” This quote relates heavily to what Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks about in the Ted Talk: The Dangers of a Single Story. Many people fall subject into believing that there is only a single story; myself included. For example, from the beginning of time people have come up with stories, to put stereotypes on gender, ethnicity, orientation, and especially race.
Children are taught from an early age what to believe and what not to believe about everyone that is not like them. This concept of there only being a single relates with a major topic of evolution, where there have been misconceptions of there only being a single missing link in evolution. Just like there are multiple links missing to fully explain how evolution works; there are multiple stories to people and everyone has a different story. “Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives.
It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because we’re too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the office on the cell phone. ” (Steven Spielberg). This is the day and age of technology and even though technology is a great advancement in the human species, there are also some aspects that are hindering humans. After doing research for the end of the semester Evolution Revolution project, I realized that