Blivens Reflection

"The world is a set of stories which must be chosen among."

This statement is aligned with Fishers ‘homo narrans’ concept in which all human beings are storytellers. We all use stories as a way to establish meaning, relate histories, and convey morals. Narratives have both a function in the lives of humans and are utilized in different ways. The perverseness of narratives in our culture illustrates the primacy of the quote. The multitude of narratives in my family taught me about myself and made me feel better about obstacles I faced. Family stories showed me I wasn’t alone in my experience. It helped me embrace obstacles with a sense of shared solidary. Other stories offered warnings and showed a clear demarcation for what was appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

When thinking back to family stories that I heard growing up most of them taught a lesson or contained a moral argument. Whether it was the value of education, saving money, or simply family history it points to the important role narratives play in society.The rational world paradigm that he explores details how humans use reasoning in narratives. Fisher suggests that stories are meant to give order to human experience and promotes community by encouraging common ways of living.

I often watch the History channel and enjoy the narrative qualities they use to tell history. In a recent documentary they detailed America’s Gilded Age and traced the histories of Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Morgan. They use different storytellers, video clips, and historical documents to weave together the story of this time in American history. The narrative can be found in several genres.

One of my favorite directors takes a narrative approach to examining different topics. Ken Burns’ documentaries on Jazz and the Central Park Five both have the feeling of storytelling. He uncovers the stories of the wrongly convicted Central Park Five, which had been mostly relegated by history. The narrative approach brings to life the dreadfulness of what happened.








When Fisher says that stories must be chosen among it makes me think of those narratives that are marginalized. If the world is full of stories then there has to be stories that we don’t hear.