More often than not everything we read or hear is embedded in our memory. In How to Read Literature Like A Professor, Thomas C. Foster writes, “Wherever anyone puts pen to paper or hands to keyboard or fingers to lute string or quill to papyrus. They all take from and in return give to the same story, ever since Snorgg got back to the cave and told Ongk about the mastodon got away.” I think I would have to agree with Foster’s concept that writing and telling is all one big story. I believe that every human heart yearns for that one story and that is the story of sacrifice. Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins, Katniss volunteered as tribute so Prim did not have to go into the games, the Aztecs sacrificed those who would volunteer or prisoners for Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun, Romeo and Juliet killed themselves because they could not bare to be apart, etc. In just about everything we read or watch there is some sort of sacrifice, whether it is the sacrifice for love, the one they love, or the one they worship a sacrifice is almost always there.
In The Awakening by Kate Chopin a woman, Edna, in the late 1800's is struggling to understand the society she lives in; she doesn't understand how people could be so open about certain things. Somewhere along the way Edna starts doing things many women would have never done, try to be herself. While trying to be who she wanted to be, Edna sacrificed being a mother and a wife to be independent. She found a new home and picked up a hobby but she did it without her husband or children. Sacrifice is everywhere we look and I think that is the common factor in most novels. I believe that is how most things are connected and what makes everything one big story.
Hi Christina,
ReplyDeleteI am really interested in your idea of "embedded in our memory." I have heard of a theory that suggests ideas and knowledge are like genes--everything already exists in our brains--encoded like genes in our bodies. This paves the way for the educational philosophy that suggests what teachers do is "draw out" (from the Latin Ex-ducere--education) from students what is already there. So, students already have the knowledge of say, Latin, in their minds, and I just have to bring it out. It's interesting, but I'm not sure I buy it!
Mrs. Mac
Christina, I really enjoy your ideas of sacrifice as being the common theme that puts all stories together, making them "one big story." Once I read it, it all made sense. Every decent story has an element of sacrifice, but is that the only aspect that connects all stories? You mentioned the sacrifice of love. Could love be an element on it's own that joins stories together? Yes, it could be, but in order to love you must sacrifice. I like how sacrifice is the center of all universal themes, and like you said, connects all stories together for the readers. It opened up a new prospective for me.
ReplyDeleteChristina,
ReplyDeleteI'd never really thought about it before, but I believe you're right about everyone yearning for the "one story". It's what connects everyone and everything together, and is why everything a person says or does affects so much more than one might think. It's almost overwhelming to think about. Your ideas concerning sacrifice being the heart of the "one story" are interesting, too. Foster would likely agree with you, at least partially, and so do I. Sacrifice is an extremely common theme in the world. One might even go so far as to say it's part of the human experience. However, I don't agree that sacrifice is the only heart of the "one story". With something as big and complex as the "one story", does it really make sense that it would only have a single thread connecting it all? Of course not. One cannot make as beautiful a tapestry as the "one story" by only using one piece of string. Everything Foster discusses in his book, from weather patterns to sex and religion, is at the heart of the "one story". If it can be related to another piece, another life, or another person, it's a thread in the tapestry.
Christina,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that you picked sacrifice as the one element that connects all stories, and I do buy that there is some sort of sacrifice in all stories. All the examples you mentioned deal with characters being aware that they were being sacrificed and what their sacrifice is for, but what if in some cases the characters were not aware? You discussed how in “The Hunger Game” series how Katniss sacrificed herself and while I do think she did, I have always thought Prim was the ultimate sacrifice or maybe it was just an accidental death—Foster would disagree about the latter. Think about Prim’s death, though. Katniss was about to kill President Snow right before Prim died, but she did not. I think Prim was the ultimate sacrifice that saved their entire population because Prim’s death resulted in Katniss killing the one she felt was responsible for her sister’s death. I might just be putting too much thought into this, but just ponder Prim’s death. I do, though, think sacrifice plays a huge role in stories because we can relate to it so much. I know in “The Iliad” they would sacrifice animals to the gods. This just goes to show that sacrifice is present everywhere in novels.
Christina, isn't the belief that every story has a sacrifice an opinion? The idea that all stories are a part of one larger can also be seen as an opinion, but can we not see people's actions in a different light? We could always view Romeo and Juliet's actions as selfish. Were they sacrificing themselves for each other? Or were they killing themselves because they did not want to live with the pain any longer? Also are you saying the one big story has only one theme? I believe the one large story has hundreds if not thousands of themes that are constantly being employed in all of the minor stories. (I don't disagree with much of anything you are saying. I am just playing devil's advocate and taking new perspectives.)
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