Welcome to a blog that chronicles the learning of a group of high school students and their teacher.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Storytelling
Why do people write fiction? What is the purpose of fiction? What are the purposes of storytelling? What is the value of storytelling to society overall? Consider these questions and respond thoughtfully and thoroughly.
Some fiction works are just for fun (Harry Potter) while some fiction is heavily laden with symbolism (A Clockwork Orange). Sometimes these more serious fiction works make political or societal statements (again, A Clockwork Orange) and sometimes they carry a moral or ethical message (a lot of kids books). The purposes of storytelling is to make these political/societal statements or to express history, religion, etc. I think storytelling contributes to a society by passing down its cultural ethics, morals, and beliefs, and by sometimes explaining historical events. Sometimes stories are made up to explain why things are the way they are (ex. the story of Paul Bunyon and the Grand Canyon, Great Lakes, etc). You're very grumpy today Mrs. Wilhelmus.
People write fiction because we enjoy hearing these stories. Like Disney stories, for example; everybody loves to hear and watch disney stories. They are typically more entertaining than non-fictional stories. The purpose of both fiction and storytelling is to entertain. I think storytelling is very valuable to our society because we tell and read these fictional stories all the time. Parents read their kids fictional children's books and bedtime stories. We have whole sections in libraries dedicated to fictional stories. They continue to be written and we continue to read them so I think they are very valuable.
I feel as though people write fiction in order to express theirself. Another reason for writing fiction is to express things that we don't understand; such as mythology. Storytelling can be a part of fiction. Storytelling is used in order to tell stroies (obviously) but it is usually used to tell stories down generations. Storytelling can be used to give someone else an idea of how something happened or where it happened and so on. People use these things to describe how they feel on a particular topic. Often, things in a work of fiction, be it people places or things, are symbols for something else.
I believe people write fiction so that they can escape from their own realities and enter in to other worlds where they can choose what happens and the outcomes. It may be a way for some people to get rid of stress or to deal with their own mental problems. The purpose of storytelling is to pass on knowledge. People have used storytelling from the beginning of time in order to teach others about what has happened in the past. We use storytelling now and call it history in order to avoid problems that we have had to face before. This is beneficial for society overall because with storytelling we can learn what to and what not to do.
People write fiction because it allows us to uae our imagination and get away from real life situations or just real life in general. Even if it's a story about real people and their lives, it makes us not have to focus on ours. Storytelling is similar but it is more or a myth or fable. The way you go about storytelling is less formal than writing fiction. Storytelling isn't always a written record and it can change from one person to the next.
People write fiction because it allows us to uae our imagination and get away from real life situations or just real life in general. Even if it's a story about real people and their lives, it makes us not have to focus on ours. Storytelling is similar but it is more or a myth or fable. The way you go about storytelling is less formal than writing fiction. Storytelling isn't always a written record and it can change from one person to the next.
Fiction is written for many reasons. Some being entertainment, preservation of culture, and creating pride. By writing fiction or storytelling a culture can pass along their values and customs even if the story is not true. In ancient years when majority of the people could not write storytelling was their way to pass history through many generations. If it was not for stories today we would have little incite to what their culture was. Even if the story itself is fiction, clues as to how their everyday lives or battles that occurred are in the story. Today the purpose of fiction is more entertainment.
I think that people write fiction because some people have hard lives and creat these stroies and worlds to escape from their real lives. They can do what ever thry want, controlls what happens, and they do not have to be who they are in the real world. Another reason that people write fiction is just because they have an imagination and love to explore and use it. Fiction helps people to tell warnings, and other life lessons to children and others. It brings people together and shares fun ideas and makes regular life seem more interesting. Socety has come away from using story telling in later years. Some places in the world, they still thrive on stories.
I think people tell stories as a form of art. People say art imitates life, so stories could be a form of expression or entertainment. They may have also developed from older traditions of passing down stories from generation to generation. People used to recount myths and legends by mouth instead of writing them down, so stories would change and evolve over time into something that may not be completely true, just as fiction is usually based around some real event or time period, but may explore a part that the author invented from his own imagination.
People write fiction because they have good imaginations & want to share their ideas with the world. Some people, in their imaginations, could be someone else. They could be writing as they are that character or maybe someone else is. Some people use that other person as an escape from their real life. It's very common. Twilight is obviously not a real & truthful story. But the idea of vampires & werewolves living in our society is interesting to many people. Society loves the idea of make believe & fairytales. Storytelling is an easy way for people to tell their ideas without having to publish them or make them public.
I think that people write fiction because they want to get away from the real world and use their imagination to create a new one. Sometimes I think the author may want to live the life of their characters or achieve what their characters achieve. I think the purpose of fiction is to create an escape for people, to have a place where they can use their imagination and experience something exciting and new. I think the same thing goes for storytelling. Although story telling can be both positive and negative in society. Storytelling can lead to overexaggeration or lies which is negative to society. But on the other hand storytelling can be exciting and interesting. Storytelling is a way for people to express their life experinces and you can make people feel what you have felt.
I think people write fiction to make an idea, dream or fantasy of theirs real that wouldn't normally happen in reality. I think a purpose of fiction is that it helps people feel like their idea, dream, or fantasy has been fulfilled, even though it really hasn't. It's also good entertainment for the readers and might help them relate to a situation in their life or get them thinking. I think storytelling can be both fiction and nonfiction. So the main purpose of storytelling would be to entertain or to inform a person about something that has happened. I think when most people in society think of storytelling, they think of little kids gettign in a circle and having stories read or told to them. But in actuality I think storytelling is when a friend is just telling you something that happened to them the other day or discussing events that might occur in the future. Technically, anytime we even talk about our life with someone we're telling a story because our lives are our own individual stories.
People write fiction because they have good imaginations & want to share their ideas with the world. Some people, in their imaginations, could be someone else. They could be writing as they are that character or maybe someone else is. Some people use that other person as an escape from their real life. It's very common. Twilight is obviously not a real & truthful story. But the idea of vampires & werewolves living in our society is interesting to many people. Society loves the idea of make believe & fairytales. Storytelling is an easy way for people to tell their ideas without having to publish them or make them public.
I think there are many different reasons a person would write fiction and the motives vary from piece to piece. For example, Star Wars was written for a vastly different reason than 1984. The purpose also varies. From trying to explain the purpose of life to revealing the negatives about a utopia, fiction does it all. However, storytelling, in my opinion, is different from fiction because its primary purpose is to try and explain how the natural world came to be and why things happen outside human control and is largely passed orally from generation to generation. The value of storytelling, as well as fiction, is one, they explain things without people knowing (almost like a brainwashing) and two, it gives the citizens something to focus on other than their surrounding (like blinders on a horse). A more positive reasons are fictions and storytelling let people express their views and beliefs without offending others with different beliefs.
I think people write fiction for entertainment and creativity. The purpose of fiction is to tell a story. To me, fiction usually is telling a story in a creative way that most of the time has a message behind the story. Storytelling usually catches the attention of people more than non-fiction. Some pieces of fiction may catch the attention of some more than others. It depends on the likes and dislikes of a particular person. Storytelling seems to be liked more by society than non-fiction. From what I see, most people enjoy a fictional story due to the creativity or storyline. I know for me, storytelling for the most part engages me as a reader more than non-fiction. It relates more to people through the storyline and sometimes connects it to a certain message or idea. Storytelling has been around for an extremely long time. I think it has a connection with society because everyone seems to love a good story. Storytelling is used when parents read their children a book at night or when we sit around just to tell stories to the family. I think it builds a connection between people and that is why we value storytelling so much. It is a way people can connect through the use of storytelling and fiction. What I personally like about reading fiction is that you can make up the story in your head. This builds your own image of what the characters and story is like. I think this also connects many people to the book because we can see things the way we would imagine they would be. Storytelling creatively tells a story allowing us all to engage in the plot as we would see it.
People write fiction for entertainment purposes. It is probably more interesting to write fiction because the author can make up exactly how he/she wants the story to go. In nonfiction, the author just writes something that has happened or recalls facts, but it requires really no imagination. The purpose of fiction is for people to engage in something that is not real, and somehow go into a mindset where it is real. It can kind of be an escape from reality. I think fiction can really grab the attention of people because in many fiction books, impossible things happen. Nothing impossible happens in real life, so they read fiction because they are tired of everyday, normal things. The purpose of storytelling is mostly to entertain. It also forces people to think outside the box. I also believe that storytelling can bond people because they are all hearing the same made up story but are entertained by this made up story. I believe storytelling is very important to society. If no one told stories, our imaginations would not be used as often. Therefore, many people might not be as open minded.
People write fiction for many reasons. They write fiction to tell stories of course, but sometimes the story has a moral or there is something to be learned. A widely-known example is the boy who cried wolf. Storytelling is just like reading...but with words voices...and someone is reading the story to you. Storytelling adds more of an effect because if the voice can add different pitches or the storyteller can add different gestures to show more emphasis. Storytelling in society can maybe be more persuasive if there is a moral involved. A storyteller can be more persuasive than a reading because it is more personal and audience oriented.
I think that everyone probably has different reasons for writing fiction. Some people use fiction as a way to comment on society without having to use real names or places, while others write fiction purely because they love to write. I think the purpose of storytelling has different purposes depending on the time period. Historically, it was used as a way to pass on traditions and help create bonds within a community. I think that storytelling is valuable to society because it helps people form bonds and create a stronger sense of community.
I think people write fiction for a multitude of reasons. There are tons of possible answers, but a few of them could be these: To entertain an audience, to express themselves and a lesson they learned through an alternate story line, etc. There also quite a few answers for the "purpose of fiction," but I feel that the main purpose of fiction is entertainment.
Storytelling could be used to educate or teach moral values to young children, for example. That's part of it's value to society, too. I feel that this generation doesn't utilize storytelling as much as older generations did, however, I feel it could still be a valuable way to get points across to small children. My grandmother on my mother's side used to tell me stories about kids who were "bad," and what happened to them throughout, I now know, was meant to teach me the difference between right and wrong. I can't recall any of the stories today, but I know what purpose they held.
Each writer probably has his or her own personal reasons for writing fiction, but I think in general good fictions serves to teach us something about ourselves, others, or the world. Storytelling, especially before most people could read or write, was probably used to pass down cultural beliefs, morals, and tales of important people or events. Thus, it was valuable to society because it was sort of a common background that everyone share, and it could be used to teach children the society's customs. Of course, storytelling was also used for entertainment, just like it is today. Still, I think really good literature goes far beyond entertainment. It makes us think deeper, and sometimes it inspires us.
Some fiction works are just for fun (Harry Potter) while some fiction is heavily laden with symbolism (A Clockwork Orange). Sometimes these more serious fiction works make political or societal statements (again, A Clockwork Orange) and sometimes they carry a moral or ethical message (a lot of kids books). The purposes of storytelling is to make these political/societal statements or to express history, religion, etc. I think storytelling contributes to a society by passing down its cultural ethics, morals, and beliefs, and by sometimes explaining historical events. Sometimes stories are made up to explain why things are the way they are (ex. the story of Paul Bunyon and the Grand Canyon, Great Lakes, etc). You're very grumpy today Mrs. Wilhelmus.
ReplyDeletePeople write fiction because we enjoy hearing these stories. Like Disney stories, for example; everybody loves to hear and watch disney stories. They are typically more entertaining than non-fictional stories. The purpose of both fiction and storytelling is to entertain. I think storytelling is very valuable to our society because we tell and read these fictional stories all the time. Parents read their kids fictional children's books and bedtime stories. We have whole sections in libraries dedicated to fictional stories. They continue to be written and we continue to read them so I think they are very valuable.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though people write fiction in order to express theirself. Another reason for writing fiction is to express things that we don't understand; such as mythology. Storytelling can be a part of fiction. Storytelling is used in order to tell stroies (obviously) but it is usually used to tell stories down generations. Storytelling can be used to give someone else an idea of how something happened or where it happened and so on. People use these things to describe how they feel on a particular topic. Often, things in a work of fiction, be it people places or things, are symbols for something else.
ReplyDeleteI believe people write fiction so that they can escape from their own realities and enter in to other worlds where they can choose what happens and the outcomes. It may be a way for some people to get rid of stress or to deal with their own mental problems. The purpose of storytelling is to pass on knowledge. People have used storytelling from the beginning of time in order to teach others about what has happened in the past. We use storytelling now and call it history in order to avoid problems that we have had to face before. This is beneficial for society overall because with storytelling we can learn what to and what not to do.
ReplyDeletePeople write fiction because it allows us to uae our imagination and get away from real life situations or just real life in general. Even if it's a story about real people and their lives, it makes us not have to focus on ours. Storytelling is similar but it is more or a myth or fable. The way you go about storytelling is less formal than writing fiction. Storytelling isn't always a written record and it can change from one person to the next.
ReplyDeletePeople write fiction because it allows us to uae our imagination and get away from real life situations or just real life in general. Even if it's a story about real people and their lives, it makes us not have to focus on ours. Storytelling is similar but it is more or a myth or fable. The way you go about storytelling is less formal than writing fiction. Storytelling isn't always a written record and it can change from one person to the next.
ReplyDeleteFiction is written for many reasons. Some being entertainment, preservation of culture, and creating pride. By writing fiction or storytelling a culture can pass along their values and customs even if the story is not true. In ancient years when majority of the people could not write storytelling was their way to pass history through many generations. If it was not for stories today we would have little incite to what their culture was. Even if the story itself is fiction, clues as to how their everyday lives or battles that occurred are in the story. Today the purpose of fiction is more entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI think that people write fiction because some people have hard lives and creat these stroies and worlds to escape from their real lives. They can do what ever thry want, controlls what happens, and they do not have to be who they are in the real world. Another reason that people write fiction is just because they have an imagination and love to explore and use it. Fiction helps people to tell warnings, and other life lessons to children and others. It brings people together and shares fun ideas and makes regular life seem more interesting. Socety has come away from using story telling in later years. Some places in the world, they still thrive on stories.
ReplyDeleteI think people tell stories as a form of art. People say art imitates life, so stories could be a form of expression or entertainment. They may have also developed from older traditions of passing down stories from generation to generation. People used to recount myths and legends by mouth instead of writing them down, so stories would change and evolve over time into something that may not be completely true, just as fiction is usually based around some real event or time period, but may explore a part that the author invented from his own imagination.
ReplyDeletePeople write fiction because they have good imaginations & want to share their ideas with the world. Some people, in their imaginations, could be someone else. They could be writing as they are that character or maybe someone else is. Some people use that other person as an escape from their real life. It's very common. Twilight is obviously not a real & truthful story. But the idea of vampires & werewolves living in our society is interesting to many people. Society loves the idea of make believe & fairytales. Storytelling is an easy way for people to tell their ideas without having to publish them or make them public.
ReplyDeleteI think that people write fiction because they want to get away from the real world and use their imagination to create a new one. Sometimes I think the author may want to live the life of their characters or achieve what their characters achieve. I think the purpose of fiction is to create an escape for people, to have a place where they can use their imagination and experience something exciting and new. I think the same thing goes for storytelling. Although story telling can be both positive and negative in society. Storytelling can lead to overexaggeration or lies which is negative to society. But on the other hand storytelling can be exciting and interesting. Storytelling is a way for people to express their life experinces and you can make people feel what you have felt.
ReplyDeleteI think people write fiction to make an idea, dream or fantasy of theirs real that wouldn't normally happen in reality. I think a purpose of fiction is that it helps people feel like their idea, dream, or fantasy has been fulfilled, even though it really hasn't. It's also good entertainment for the readers and might help them relate to a situation in their life or get them thinking.
ReplyDeleteI think storytelling can be both fiction and nonfiction. So the main purpose of storytelling would be to entertain or to inform a person about something that has happened. I think when most people in society think of storytelling, they think of little kids gettign in a circle and having stories read or told to them. But in actuality I think storytelling is when a friend is just telling you something that happened to them the other day or discussing events that might occur in the future. Technically, anytime we even talk about our life with someone we're telling a story because our lives are our own individual stories.
People write fiction because they have good imaginations & want to share their ideas with the world. Some people, in their imaginations, could be someone else. They could be writing as they are that character or maybe someone else is. Some people use that other person as an escape from their real life. It's very common. Twilight is obviously not a real & truthful story. But the idea of vampires & werewolves living in our society is interesting to many people. Society loves the idea of make believe & fairytales. Storytelling is an easy way for people to tell their ideas without having to publish them or make them public.
ReplyDeleteI think there are many different reasons a person would write fiction and the motives vary from piece to piece. For example, Star Wars was written for a vastly different reason than 1984. The purpose also varies. From trying to explain the purpose of life to revealing the negatives about a utopia, fiction does it all. However, storytelling, in my opinion, is different from fiction because its primary purpose is to try and explain how the natural world came to be and why things happen outside human control and is largely passed orally from generation to generation. The value of storytelling, as well as fiction, is one, they explain things without people knowing (almost like a brainwashing) and two, it gives the citizens something to focus on other than their surrounding (like blinders on a horse). A more positive reasons are fictions and storytelling let people express their views and beliefs without offending others with different beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI think people write fiction for entertainment and creativity. The purpose of fiction is to tell a story. To me, fiction usually is telling a story in a creative way that most of the time has a message behind the story. Storytelling usually catches the attention of people more than non-fiction. Some pieces of fiction may catch the attention of some more than others. It depends on the likes and dislikes of a particular person. Storytelling seems to be liked more by society than non-fiction. From what I see, most people enjoy a fictional story due to the creativity or storyline. I know for me, storytelling for the most part engages me as a reader more than non-fiction. It relates more to people through the storyline and sometimes connects it to a certain message or idea. Storytelling has been around for an extremely long time. I think it has a connection with society because everyone seems to love a good story. Storytelling is used when parents read their children a book at night or when we sit around just to tell stories to the family. I think it builds a connection between people and that is why we value storytelling so much. It is a way people can connect through the use of storytelling and fiction. What I personally like about reading fiction is that you can make up the story in your head. This builds your own image of what the characters and story is like. I think this also connects many people to the book because we can see things the way we would imagine they would be. Storytelling creatively tells a story allowing us all to engage in the plot as we would see it.
ReplyDeletePeople write fiction for entertainment purposes. It is probably more interesting to write fiction because the author can make up exactly how he/she wants the story to go. In nonfiction, the author just writes something that has happened or recalls facts, but it requires really no imagination. The purpose of fiction is for people to engage in something that is not real, and somehow go into a mindset where it is real. It can kind of be an escape from reality. I think fiction can really grab the attention of people because in many fiction books, impossible things happen. Nothing impossible happens in real life, so they read fiction because they are tired of everyday, normal things. The purpose of storytelling is mostly to entertain. It also forces people to think outside the box. I also believe that storytelling can bond people because they are all hearing the same made up story but are entertained by this made up story. I believe storytelling is very important to society. If no one told stories, our imaginations would not be used as often. Therefore, many people might not be as open minded.
ReplyDeletePeople write fiction for many reasons. They write fiction to tell stories of course, but sometimes the story has a moral or there is something to be learned. A widely-known example is the boy who cried wolf. Storytelling is just like reading...but with words voices...and someone is reading the story to you. Storytelling adds more of an effect because if the voice can add different pitches or the storyteller can add different gestures to show more emphasis. Storytelling in society can maybe be more persuasive if there is a moral involved. A storyteller can be more persuasive than a reading because it is more personal and audience oriented.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone probably has different reasons for writing fiction. Some people use fiction as a way to comment on society without having to use real names or places, while others write fiction purely because they love to write. I think the purpose of storytelling has different purposes depending on the time period. Historically, it was used as a way to pass on traditions and help create bonds within a community. I think that storytelling is valuable to society because it helps people form bonds and create a stronger sense of community.
ReplyDeleteI think people write fiction for a multitude of reasons. There are tons of possible answers, but a few of them could be these: To entertain an audience, to express themselves and a lesson they learned through an alternate story line, etc. There also quite a few answers for the "purpose of fiction," but I feel that the main purpose of fiction is entertainment.
ReplyDeleteStorytelling could be used to educate or teach moral values to young children, for example. That's part of it's value to society, too. I feel that this generation doesn't utilize storytelling as much as older generations did, however, I feel it could still be a valuable way to get points across to small children. My grandmother on my mother's side used to tell me stories about kids who were "bad," and what happened to them throughout, I now know, was meant to teach me the difference between right and wrong. I can't recall any of the stories today, but I know what purpose they held.
Each writer probably has his or her own personal reasons for writing fiction, but I think in general good fictions serves to teach us something about ourselves, others, or the world. Storytelling, especially before most people could read or write, was probably used to pass down cultural beliefs, morals, and tales of important people or events. Thus, it was valuable to society because it was sort of a common background that everyone share, and it could be used to teach children the society's customs. Of course, storytelling was also used for entertainment, just like it is today. Still, I think really good literature goes far beyond entertainment. It makes us think deeper, and sometimes it inspires us.
ReplyDelete