Julie Beck, who wrote Life’s Stories about how sorting your life’s points into a narrative shapes who you are, quoted Jonathan Gottschall when she said, “Even if we are, as the writer Jonathan Gottschall put it, “storytelling animals,” what does that mean from one person to the next?” I feel like the actual meaning of storytelling animals is not different between one person to the next, but how we think of the story being told and what it means for us is different. Storytelling animals is a simple concept, organisms that tell stories. I don’t see how that meaning could be different for the next person if it’s self-explanatory.
One spot that caught my attention was when Beck quoted Pasupathi, “I think normal, healthy adults have in common that they can all produce a life story.” I feel like people who have disorders, diseases, people who are considered not normal, and who may not be healthy can produce a life story just the same as the healthy normal adults. I have an uncle who has the brain of a toddler he is still able to tell his story and have relationships with people he meets. So, I do not think adults have to be healthy and normal to produce a life story like others. What is considered a normal, healthy adult?
Beck said, “The uncertainty of the future makes people uncomfortable, and stories are a way to deal with that.” Why? I agree that the future makes us uncomfortable but, why? What is it within us that freaks out about not knowing what the future holds. When we watch movies we don’t know how it’s going to end but, we watch it anyway with excitement for what comes next. We don’t awkwardly sit there uneasy about how the movie is going to end, so then why is it different for our lives?
Below I have shared some of the annotations I have made for the article, Life’s Stories, by Julia Beck.
Great job questioning the author, I am personally someone who hates all of these authors outrageous claims that they pass for facts and I’m glad someone is calling them on their BS. Also great job refuting the authors points with connections to your life its not easy to do that
For your first point, I think you had an interesting take on the term used in the article, “storytelling animals”. Although, I could argue that this is a complex term and wonder what exactly it entails to be a storytelling animal, and even go as far as what is categorized as storytelling. But from a broad spectrum, I agree that the term means exactly what it is implying. In the second instance, I like that you questioned the text. It made me wonder the same thing and even come up with further questions regarding this quote. I loved your last quote. This part of the article stood out to me also. Although my thought process was significantly different which is why reading your take on the topic intrigued me.
I commend you on reading so critically! I am so inspired when someone stands up against the broad stroke application of the word “normal.”