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Narrative: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Narrative
On a large vessel discovered at the Indus Valley Civilization site of Lothal, an ancient artist depicted birds with fish in their beaks resting in a tree while a fox-like animal stood below, a scene that bears a striking resemblance to the story of The Fox and the Crow from the Panchatantra. This archaeological evidence, dating back thousands of years, proves that the human impulse to construct connected sequences of events predates recorded history itself. The narrative is not merely a modern invention of the written word but a fundamental cognitive tool that has shaped human culture since the earliest days of civilization. The features of the animals on the vessel are clear and graceful, suggesting that the storytellers of ancient India possessed a sophisticated understanding of character and plot long before the invention of the printing press. This ancient artifact serves as a testament to the universality of storytelling, showing that the desire to explain the world through connected events is as old as humanity itself.
The Architecture Of Story
Scholars have identified specific elements that define all narrative works, creating a structural framework that applies to everything from a simple sentence to a complex novel. Characters are the individual persons inside a work of narrative whose choices and behaviors propel the plot forward, often serving as the primary vehicle for audience empathy. These characters may be entirely imaginary, real-life individuals, or roughly based on real-life people, and their actions create the conflict that drives the story. Conflict is broadly defined as any tension that drives the thoughts and actions of characters, ranging from character versus character to character versus self. The resolution of this conflict marks the end of the story, bringing the narrative to a close. The narrative mode, or the set of choices and techniques the author selects, determines how the story is told, including the scope of information presented and the point of view. Plot is the sequence of events that occurs in a narrative from the beginning to the middle to the end, structured through a process of cause and effect. Setting provides the time, place, and context in which a story takes place, sometimes resembling a character in its own right. Theme represents the major underlying ideas presented by a story, left open to the audience's own interpretation and often debated long after the story has ended.
The Psychology Of Self
Owen Flanagan of Duke University writes that evidence strongly suggests that humans in all cultures come to cast their own identity in some sort of narrative form, making us inveterate storytellers. Narrative may refer to psychological processes in self-identity, memory, and meaning-making, serving as the fundamental nature of the self. The breakdown of a coherent or positive narrative has been implicated in the development of psychosis and mental disorders, and its repair is said to play an important role in journeys of recovery. Narrative therapy is a form of psychotherapy that helps individuals make sense of their experiences. Illness narratives are a way for a person affected by an illness to make sense of his or her experiences, typically following one of several set patterns: restitution, chaos, or quest narratives. In the restitution narrative, the person sees the illness as a temporary detour, with the primary goal to return permanently to normal life and normal health. In the chaos narrative, the person sees the illness as a permanent state that will inexorably get worse, with no redeeming virtues, typical of diseases like Alzheimer's disease. The third major type, the quest narrative, positions the illness experience as an opportunity to transform oneself into a better person through overcoming adversity and re-learning what is most important in life. Personality traits, specifically the Big Five personality traits, appear to be associated with the type of language or patterns of word use found in an individual's self-narrative, meaning that language use in self-narratives accurately reflects human personality.
What is the oldest known example of a narrative scene in the Indus Valley Civilization?
The oldest known example of a narrative scene is a large vessel discovered at the Indus Valley Civilization site of Lothal. This vessel depicts birds with fish in their beaks resting in a tree while a fox-like animal stands below, resembling the story of The Fox and the Crow from the Panchatantra.
Who is the scholar that developed the formative theory of trifunctionalism in Indo-European mythologies?
Georges Dumézil is the 20th Century philologist who developed the formative theory of trifunctionalism found in Indo-European mythologies. He asserted that Indo-European life was structured around three distinct societal functions: sovereignty, the proverbial hero, and the common people.
What are the three major types of illness narratives described in narrative therapy?
The three major types of illness narratives are restitution, chaos, and quest narratives. The restitution narrative views illness as a temporary detour, the chaos narrative sees it as a permanent worsening state, and the quest narrative frames the experience as an opportunity to transform oneself.
When did Lawrence Stone detect a move back toward narrative in historiography?
Lawrence Stone detected a move back toward narrative in historiography in 1979. He defined narrative as organized chronologically, focused on a single coherent story, and concerned with people rather than abstract circumstances.
How does the Western Apache tribe use stories to teach values?
The Western Apache tribe uses stories to warn of the misfortune that befalls people when they do not follow acceptable behavior. One specific story illustrates the offense of a mother's meddling in her married son's life, which leads to her death.
What is the battle of the narratives in the context of information warfare?
The battle of the narratives is an emerging field of information warfare fought in the cognitive dimension of the information environment. It involves establishing the reasons for and potential outcomes of a conflict on terms favorable to one's efforts to shape reality and influence public opinion.
An emerging field of information warfare known as the battle of the narratives has become a full-blown battle in the cognitive dimension of the information environment, just as traditional warfare is fought in the physical domains. One of the foundational struggles in warfare in the physical domains is to shape the environment such that the contest of arms will be fought on terms that are to one's advantage. Likewise, a key component of the battle of the narratives is to succeed in establishing the reasons for and potential outcomes of the conflict, on terms favorable to one's efforts. This concept extends to the military, where the battle of the narratives is a critical component of strategic communication. Storytelling rights may be broadly defined as the ethics of sharing narratives, including firsthand, secondhand, and imagined stories. The ethics of retelling other people's stories may be explored through a number of questions: whose story is being told and how, what is the story's purpose or aim, what does the story promise, and at whose benefit? Storytelling rights also implicates questions of consent, empathy, and accurate representation. While storytelling and retelling can function as a powerful tool for agency and advocacy, it can also lead to misunderstanding and exploitation. The battle of the narratives is a testament to the power of stories to shape reality, influence public opinion, and determine the outcome of conflicts.
The Mythic Structure
The nature or existence of a formative narrative in many of the world's myths, folktales, and legends has been a topic of debate for many modern scholars, but the most common consensus among academics is that throughout most cultures, traditional mythologies and folklore tales are constructed and retold with a specific narrative purpose. These explanatory tales manifest themselves in various forms and serve different societal functions, including life lessons for individuals to learn from, explaining forces of nature or other natural phenomena, and providing an understanding of human nature. Georges Dumézil, a 20th Century philologist, developed a formative theory of the trifunctionalism found in Indo-European mythologies, asserting that Indo-European life was structured around the notion of three distinct and necessary societal functions. The first function was sovereignty, divided into magical and juridical categories, reserved for the status of kings and other royalty. The second function was that of the proverbial hero or champion, conveying themes of heroism, strength, and bravery, represented by valiant warriors. The third function was composed of gods that reflect the nature and values of the most common people in Indo-European life, presiding over realms of healing, prosperity, fertility, wealth, luxury, and youth. Dumézil's theory suggests that through these myths, concepts of universal wisdom and justice were able to be communicated to the Nordic people in the form of a mythological narrative. The theory also stood at the foundation of the modern understanding of the Christian Trinity, citing that the three key deities of Odin, Thor, and Freyr were often depicted together in a trio, seen by many as an overarching representation of what would be known today as divinity.
The Indigenous Voice
All human cultures use storytelling as a way to record their histories, myths, and values, with the oldest and majority form being oral storytelling. Stories are often used within indigenous cultures in order to share knowledge to the younger generation, leaving room for open-ended interpretation so that native stories often engage children in the storytelling process. This promotes holistic thinking among native children, which works toward merging an individual and world identity. Such an identity upholds native epistemology and gives children a sense of belonging as their cultural identity develops through the sharing and passing on of stories. For example, a number of indigenous stories are used to illustrate a value or lesson. In the Western Apache tribe, stories can be used to warn of the misfortune that befalls people when they do not follow acceptable behavior. One story speaks to the offense of a mother's meddling in her married son's life, where the Apache mother hears a scream, thinks it is her son's wife screaming, tries to intervene by yelling at him, alerts the Pima tribe to her location, and is promptly killed due to intervening in her son's life. Alaskan Indigenous Natives state that narratives teach children where they fit in, what their society expects of them, how to create a peaceful living environment, and to be responsible, worthy members of their communities. The Mexican culture uses stories to teach children values such as individuality, obedience, honesty, trust, and compassion. The Métis community shares the Humorous Horse Story to children, which portrays that horses stumble throughout life just like humans do. Navajo stories also use dead animals as metaphors by showing that all things have purpose. American Indian elders state that storytelling invites the listeners, especially children, to draw their own conclusions and perspectives while self-reflecting upon their lives.
The Historian's Revival
In historiography, according to Lawrence Stone, narrative has traditionally been the main rhetorical device used by historians. In 1979, at a time when the new social history was demanding a social-science model of analysis, Stone detected a move back toward the narrative. Stone defined narrative as organized chronologically, focused on a single coherent story, descriptive rather than analytical, concerned with people not abstract circumstances, and dealing with the particular and specific rather than the collective and statistical. He reported that more and more of the new historians are now trying to discover what was going on inside people's heads in the past, and what it was like to live in the past, questions which inevitably lead back to the use of narrative. Some philosophers identify narratives with a type of explanation, arguing that narratives explain actions by appealing to the beliefs and desires of actors and by locating webs of beliefs in the context of historical traditions. Narrative is an alternative form of explanation to that associated with natural science. Historians committed to a social science approach, however, have criticized the narrowness of narrative and its preference for anecdote over analysis, and clever examples rather than statistical regularities. The debate continues over the role of narrative in history, with some arguing that it provides a more human understanding of the past, while others contend that it sacrifices analytical rigor for the sake of storytelling. The revival of narrative in historiography represents a shift towards understanding the human experience of history, focusing on the individual stories that make up the collective past.