Assignment 2:6
In his article, “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial,” King discusses Robinson’s collection of stories. King explains that while the stories are written in English, “the patterns, metaphors, structures as well as the themes and characters come primarily from oral literature.” More than this, Robinson, he says “develops what we might want to call an oral syntax that defeats reader’s efforts to read the stories silently to themselves, a syntax that encourages readers to read aloud” and in so doing, “recreating at once the storyteller and the performance” (186). Read “Coyote Makes a Deal with King of England”, in Living by Stories. Read it silently, read it out loud, read it to a friend, and have a friend read it to you. See if you can discover how this oral syntax works to shape meaning for the story by shaping your reading and listening of the story. Write a blog about this reading/listening experience that provides references to both King’s article and Robinson’s story.
Rhythm of the story created by syntax
Coyote Makes a Deal with the King of England was a story that was very difficult to read in silence. As I made my way down the page, I found myself opening my mouth on instinct to read out loud. It wasn’t the lines of dialogue that prompted me to read it out either, it was simply the lines that told the story, lines such as:
When I seen him in 1917, and I was seventeen at that time.
When I seen him, he was kinda way older than me now.
See, I am eighty years old now.
But the time when I seen ‘em in 1917, he’s more than eighty.
Pretty old. (Robinson 81)
As King writes, Robinson “develops what we might want to call an oral syntax that defeats reader’s efforts to read the stories silently to themselves, a syntax that encourages readers to read out loud” (186). There’s an insistent rhythm that beats throughout the story, created by the line breaks, grammar, and diction used. It is interesting to compare this rhythm to the rhythm of a text meant for written story-telling, which may have a flow to its sentences that is compatible with a reader’s silence. However, Harry Robinson’s story does not have this kind of flow. Instead, the syntax is extremely choppy and jarring at times due to the inconsistent grammar, but that is what gives readers the desire to read aloud. When we speak, we do not always use correct grammar or complete sentences, and our diction is often colloquial. Robinson’s story successfully grasps the similarities, creating the comforting familiarity between speech and writing. There is also frequent repetition throughout the story:
God sent the Angel to Coyote.
Sent the Angel.
Do you know what the Angel was?
Do you know?
The Angel, God’s Angel, you know.
They sent that to Coyote. (Robinson 66)
Repetition is often used in written literature as a technique to emphasize the significance of a particular idea. In Robinson’s story, however, while repetition still may be used for emphasis, it also parallels the way we speak. We don’t always repeat ourselves for the sole purpose of emphasizing an idea, but simply because we are gathering our thoughts in the middle of our speech before continuing on.
Assumptions of the reader and how it affects story-telling
King discusses the destructiveness of assumptions in the context of the term “post-colonial” literature, in which he states that assumptions are dangerous because they offer a premise that is “churn[ed] out of our imaginations to help us get from the beginning of an idea to the end” (183). In other words, assumptions offer us complete, self-imagined stories that are hard to break away from once we have latched onto them, even in the face of disagreeing factors we might come across. It is hard to remain an unbiased reader and we form opinions as we read based on our previous knowledge, ideas, and judgement. To state a very obvious point, the way I told Coyote Makes a Deal with the King of England must be vastly different from how Robinson told it. I lacked the understanding and connection to the story that he had, and words on the page cannot capture the tone, the mood, and the emotions which Robinson used to tell the tale. Although it is a story created to be told orally, I am still a reader, and the only way I could tell the story was to have my own understanding of it first, then have it come out of my mouth. This article defines simply the differences between story-telling and writing, and includes a quote by Mark Twain on the importance of pauses in telling a story. As much as there are line breaks in the story to guide me, the pauses that I choose to take reflects my own understanding—or, assumption—of what the story means. Hearing one of my friends read it out loud is yet another way that the story is told, different from my own. Their comprehension, confusion, or initial thought upon reading the story all contributes to their experience as a story-teller, and mine as a listener. Even though we are telling the story orally, as it is meant to be told, our assumptions as readers have changed the story altogether.
Concluding thoughts
Another example I can think of regarding this topic is the reading of poems. Poems hold both similarities and difference to Robinson’s stories, as they are written to be read out loud also. However, the function of Robinson’s stories leans more towards being told orally, while the poems can be functional being read out loud or in silence. One of my favorite poems is Morning in the Burnt House by Margaret Atwood. My experience of reading it in silence, reading it out loud, and listening to others read it varied greatly. I found two readings of it here and here, which are also very different from each other due to reader’s interpretations and assumptions.
Works Cited
Atwood, Margaret. “Morning in the Burnt House.” Poets.org, 1995. Web. 19 Feb. 2019, https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/morning-burned-house.
Callahan, Shawn. “Story-telling versus story writing.” Anecdote, 21 Aug. 2006. Web. 19 Feb. 2019, www.anecdote.com/2006/08/story-telling-versus-story-writing/.
King, Thomas. “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial.” Unhomely States: Theorizing English-Canadian Postcolonialism. Peterbough, ON: Broadview, 2004. 183- 190. Web. 04 April 2013.
Lindberg, Mark. “Morning in the Burnt House- Margaret Atwood.” Mark Lindberg. Youtube, 7 Mar. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv2xM9bbOzU.
“Morning in the Burnt House by Margaret Atwood.” The Prometheus Report. Youtube, 8 Sep. 2016. Web. 19 Feb. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uGgtShgUzo.
Robinson, Harry. Living by Stories: a Journey of Landscape and Memory. Ed. Wendy Wickwire. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2005. Print.
Hi Anna,
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts about how oral storytelling shapes the impact. While I was reading your post, I kept thinking about the connections between poetry and oral storytelling, which you referred to at the end of your post. I was curious what you think the difference is between poetry and oral storytelling that allow for poetry to function similarly in both and oral and written formats while oral stories can only really function in an oral format. Does if have something to do with the rhythmical patterns generally used in poetry and oral stories or may it be something else?
Hi Cassie,
Thanks for taking your time to read and comment! I think the main different between oral stories and poems is the fact that poems are carefully crafted in their rhythm and structure while they are being written down. Therefore, even though poems are functional when read out loud, they are originally forms of written literature. As for oral stories, they are crafted by our minds, mouth, and tongue, by the spoken language, which is vastly different from the written language. That’s what I think, thanks for the interesting question!
Thanks for your post! The first example from the text that you give perfectly shows how some written words seem meant to be spoken. You’re totally right about the rhythm of his words and how they evoke certain feelings. I connected to your thoughts on poetry as well. One of my favourite poems, Howl by Allen Ginsberg is a 24-ish page, repetitive, eccentric journey, but it’s an entirely different journey when we read it silently to yourself, read it aloud to a friend, hear Ginsberg himself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkNp56UZax4&t=2s) recite it, or even hear James Franco (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM9BMVFpk80) (as Ginsberg in the film Howl) reciting it. Hearing Ginsberg recite it and hearing his inflections, pauses, and tone, really makes me consider how much can be lost when something that should be oral is turned into something written. It makes me think about the huge problem facing many Indigenous groups today, where conflicts arise over whether to record (written, or even as an audio file) various sacred oral stories (usually in languages that are dying (https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/ywj9nj/indigenous-languages-are-dying-in-canada-heres-how-people-are-trying-to-save-them). Some people believe that even though their stories are historically sacred and shouldn’t be recorded in any form, it’s better to adapt them rather than lose them; whereas other individuals argue that they are sacred and losing them entirely is still a better option than forcing them into a foreign medium that doesn’t fit because its meaning or essence is lost when its written down or recorded. Do you think there’s a certain type of story that should never be written down? How do you feel about certain Indigenous groups wanting to protect the sacredness of their stories to the extent that they’d rather see them lost than recorded and potentially abused?
Your point about our speech and its imperfections made me think about a Ted Talk (https://www.ted.com/talks/john_mcwhorter_txtng_is_killing_language_jk?language=en) I recently watched for another one of my English classes. It’s by a linguist named John McWhorter and he discusses how texting and online communication are actually reflections of our speech, and as speech came before writing, the way that we are typing and communicating via text message today is not the death of language, as many (mainly) older generations argue, but a reflection of the imperfect way we speak, with all of our slang, run-on sentences, and sentence fragments.
Hi Kirsten,
Thank you for reading and commenting, and also for sharing with me all these interesting links! I really enjoyed the poetic video of James Franco’s reading of “Howl”, but Ginsberg’s reading of it himself mesmerized me more than the images that played on screen in Franco’s. It gave me an entirely different feeling, and it was an amazing experience. Thank you for giving me the privilege of listening to them.
I think all stories can be written down, though of course, the original intent of it may be long gone from the moment the words touched the page. However, I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Stories, as much as they tell about people’s own experiences, are also a way for us to discover ourselves through others and find connections along the way.
As for your question, “How do you feel about certain Indigenous groups wanting to protect the sacredness of their stories to the extent that they’d rather see them lost than recorded and potentially abused,” it is one that I feel like I don’t have the right to answer, if that makes any sense. Their stories are lost through written literature, but at the same time, they are also lost through their silenced voices. I feel…conflicted? Although I would love to hear more Indigenous stories, the context in which I hear them in will not allow me the understanding and connection that these stories might call for. A lot of the meaning behind these stories are lost in translation, so sometimes I don’t even feel like I have the right mindset to “access” them.
Hi Anna,
Great explanation of how oral syntax works to shape meaning from a story. I really like your examples from Robinson, and the different readings of Atwood’s poem as illstrative of spoken differences in the reading of texts.
Once again we’re reminded of the folly of assumptions. When you said, “complete, self-imagined stories…are hard to break away from once we have latched onto them, even in the face of disagreeing factors,” it was an insight that sums up the pervasiveness of the stories we carry with us and how hard it is to change our minds about it.
One story I carry with me is that I express myself better through writing than speaking — so I prefer emails to phone calls! Do you have a story/assumption you carry that you can share?
Hi Andrea,
Thank you for taking your time to read my blog and commenting! I think assumptions/stories that I carry with me is my habit of associating a certain feeling with a particular place, even when I haven’t lived there or know the streets very well. I tend to latch onto the initial feeling that it gives me, whether its positive or negative, and the place comes to life in my own assuming imagination. I hope my answer isn’t too confusing! Thank you for the interesting question. 🙂
Hi Anna thank you so much for you post! My question is how have your thoughts have changed around having assumptions? King is right about assumptions being dangerous but they are also a natural human process. I have learned to be a lot more open when walking into new things/ situations etc. Having assumptions when reading had never crossed my mind until learning about oral traditions. Have you tried to rid of any assumptions around certain works or do you use them to have a different experience each time read them orally, silently etc?
Hi Tamara,
Thank you so much for reading my blog and commenting! I absolutely agree with you that while assumptions may be dangerous, it’s a natural occurrence in our thought processes. I find them unavoidable when I am trying to understand what I am reading since my level of comprehension comes from my previous knowledge and ideas. However, it is definitely problematic as it limits the way the work can be read. I guess what I try to do to get rid of assumptions is to read a wide range of secondary sources on the literature that I am studying, if there is any. I also like reading up on author’s own commentaries on their stories, but often times those are limited as well. It is always enjoyable to see the stories I read from different perspectives because I can gain different experiences from them. However, I don’t know if there is any way to get rid of assumptions completely. Is an unbiased reading possible? Personally, I don’t think so, but we can try–like you said–by being more open-minded when encountering new works or walking into new situations.
Thanks for the thought-provoking question!