1:5 – How Evil Came to Be
by VictoriaWoo
At the end of this lesson you will find detailed instructions for this assignment. Your task is to take the story that Kings tells about how evil comes into the world at the witches conference [In “The Truth About Stories” ] — and change the story any way you want — as long as the end remains the same: once you have told a story, you can never take it back. So, be careful of the stories you tell, AND the stories you listen to.
Then learn your story by heart, and then tell the story to your friends and family. When you are finished, post a blog with your version of the story and some commentary on what you discovered. If you want, you can post a video of you telling the story, in place of text.
How Evil Came to Be
There is a story I know. It’s about a woman who had two faces. But no one knew she had two faces, for, she only revealed one of them in the light of the day. Many thousands of years ago, this woman lived in a small town populated with folks of all kinds— merchants, labouring men, women, and their children. Now, this woman often stood behind a shoddy wooden stand in the town’s marketplace, auctioning off trinkets and bottled concoctions supposedly possessing metaphysical powers. The town folk were wary of her, though, and warned their children not to stray too far near her, for they had heard rumours of her wickedness from the animals that lurked the streets at night.
One fateful night, however, a young boy of no more than 6 found himself wandering through the cobblestoned marketplace, in search for the whale-shaped stone he had found earlier that day while playing near his father’s kiosk. His eyes, scanning the ground intently, were suddenly drawn to a rather curious looking jewel, which seemed to glisten in the light of the full moon. Lurching forward to pocket the strange ornament, he was startled by the hooting of an owl. And, when the boy looked up, he was startled again by the sight of an old woman standing before him, immediately noticing her straggly black hair, which hung to her waist, and her piercing blue eyes which swelled as though ready to spill out at any given moment. Of course, innocent as he were, the boy gestured the jewel to the woman thinking that it must be hers. But he froze petrified, in the midst of his movement, because the old woman’s head began to turn. And creak. And then turn again. Her head continued to turn until it had swivelled halfway around her wrinkly neck, revealing a face that was unknown to mankind— unknown to the innocence of a child. The boy’s body instantaneously fell lifeless, and with that, Evil prevailed and Innocence was lost forever.
The town’s animals, the only true witnesses, murmured amongst one another, mourning the fall of Innocence. They told the story of the two-faced woman far and wide throughout the town, but the people were stricken and most refused to listen. “But, of course, it was too late. For once a story is told, it cannot be called back. Once told, it is loose in the world” (King, 10).
Commentary
My imagination has fallen quite a bit to the wayside since I was a child, and I think this shows in my story. I found it pretty difficult to come up with a preliminary idea that was completely original, but I guess all ideas draw from some previous influence (whether subconsciously or consciously). The difference between written storytelling and oral storytelling became so apparent to me through this assignment; I told my story aloud to friends and family and found the intonation of my speaking so important in portraying it how I imagined. With the written version, I found that it sounded more story-like to me if I wrote it out in the same way I would say it aloud. For example, usually I wouldn’t start sentences with “but” or “and,” yet the story seemed to flow much more organically when I did. I tried to leave parts of the story open to interpretation (names of characters and names of places) such that a reader/listener could construct the story as they saw it in their own mind. This was definitely a challenge to me creatively.
Works Cited
King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2003. Print.
Popova, Maria. “Networked Knowledge and Combinatorial Creativity.” Brain Pickings. n.p. n.d. Web. 29 May 2016.
Hi Victoria,
I would disagree that you have lost your sense of creativity! I quite enjoyed your story and appreciate its originality. Mr. King mentioned that he thinks a large part of the story is creating the image. I think you did this part very well, I can picture not only the fear on the young boys face when the old woman reveals her second face, but also the way in which the old woman’s appearance contributes to her ‘evil’ persona.
You mentioned that ideas come from some previous influence. I think the same thing happens for the reader. For example, your story reminded me a little of Harry Potter. I don’t mean the story line itself, but the tone and imagery you created, I can see it fitting very well with Harry Potter.
I have not had a chance to complete this assignment yet, but I can understand how telling the story orally gives it more depth. The tone used to speak the words can change the whole feeling of the story – it is for that reason that I think the author is the best person to read the story. Actors can do it as well, obviously. However, the author reading the story to you really gives you a full understanding of their vision. I found it interesting how in his interview Thomas King could pick out pieces of writing that were explicitly meant for oral presentation.
Do you view this piece as more of an oral or written piece? Why?
Hi Alanna 🙂
Thanks for your comment. I can definitely see the Harry Potter influence— the two-faced woman in particular reminds me of Voldemort.
As for whether I think this story is more of an oral or written piece, it’s tough to say. On the one hand, I think the vagueness in the story is well suited for a reader, as it allows them to pause, imagine, and think about what they’re seeing in their mind (like you mentioned you were able to). On the other hand, the story is really brought to life by intonation when told aloud. Ultimately I think it could be suited for either or, but I definitely preferred telling it aloud. Hope that answers your question!
Hi Victoria,
What a fantastically creative story. I really enjoyed reading this. I can see that you shaped your writing style intentionally to reflect an oral-story-telling method. I can hear you telling the story as I read and I enjoyed the fact that you didn’t name your characters or places. This does give the story a more “universal” feel.
I followed the link you gave to the article about “Networked Knowledge” by Brain Picking. I think you are on to something there. In many ways history does repeat itself. We often build off the knowledge of those around us and the stories they have told.
I found this to be true when writing my own blog. So much of my story and its characters were shaped by stories I have been told before–without even knowing it.
I wonder, though, if technology offers us a different perspective and an opportunity to step outside these cycles of repetition. Between the power of collaboration and data sharing, web-based innovation is taking a new direction.
Last week, I read Ashley Nicolson’s blog (https://blogs.ubc.ca/ashleynicholson470a/13-digital-literature/#comment-10) that discussed this idea and I wonder if the discussion has relevance here, too.
I think as we begin to access more information and analyze it in more innovative ways, perhaps (as is the premise of Gapminder.org) we will come up with new thoughts, ideas, and solutions to current issues of social justice and public policy (https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_and_ola_rosling_how_not_to_be_ignorant_about_the_world?language=en).
I guess my question is this:
Just as having access to new data and information can open our eyes to the truth, do you think that the act of telling stories and reflecting on our own stories (like what we did for this assignment) is enough to begin to open our eyes to how much our ideas are being shaped by the stories of our environment, culture, and upbringing? Are these practices enough to drive innovation? or Are we doomed to simply repeat the same stories we’ve been told through our words, lives, and actions?
Janine
Hi Janine 🙂
I’m glad you could enjoy my story and thank you for such a thought-provoking comment! I think being self-reflexive in the stories we tell ourselves (and those we tell others) is vitally important. Perhaps it sounds cliché, but being reflexive and identifying problems in past narratives is the only way to innovate and improve upon current and future ones. I think, in particular, we should reflect upon narratives which stigmatize an entire group of people. For example, in this course, one of our primary goals is to identify colonizing narratives about First Nations people and to rethink labels such as “settler” or “nomad.” In short, I do think it’s imperative that we reflect upon stories which have shaped an entire nation or an entire identity because of how pervasive these narratives can be. If we fail to do so, then yes, I think we are doomed to simply repeat the same narratives we’ve been fed.
Hi Victoria,
I enjoyed your story, especially the idea of two faces. This really impacted me, because I feel that everyone has two faces. One they keep to themselves, and one they show to the world. One is their true identity, and one is their ego. One good, and one evil.
I also related with your comment about appropriating your story. It is very true that all art and science is built upon what has come before. It put me in mind of this quote: “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” Isaac Newton http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/i/isaacnewto135885.html.
I noticed in your story you included the boy finding a jewel. Could you tell me whether or not you felt this gave any import to the ownership of possessions? I am looking forward to your response.
Linda
Hi Linda 🙂
Thanks for your comment! I’m very glad you enjoyed my story and that the two-face trope resonated with you; I was worried it was overly cliché. But you’re right, the duality of identity isn’t just reserved for fictional stories— it’s a very real notion.
As for your question, I guess the jewel glistening in the light was intended to represent temptation. That the little boy picks it up represents his naivety (especially since he’s wandering around at night), which I thought would really stress the idea that he is the embodiment of innocence. Now that you’ve brought the significance of all this to my attention, I realize that my subconscious may have borrowed from the origin story of Adam and Eve (in regards to the temptation of eating from the tree of knowledge). I guess that just further confirms my opinion that no idea can truly be original.
I really enjoyed your story Victoria! I also totally really appreciated the idea of two faces because it reminds me of many books and movies that I have read or seen. Good and evil is a constant battle in which one person fights, and in this evil won. Just like there are two sides to each person or character there are also two sides to each story. Even King says in his chapters that the Adam and Eve story has been told many different ways, though the end is always the same, but even that story can have many different sides to each person. My question is that is the knowledge of evil something that is than a negative thing? As it results in innocence, would it not be better to have knowledge of evil so you can stray away from evil, and be mindful of what it is. I know parents always monitor what their children read or watch so their innocence is intact. This is how our society functions but isn’t being aware of evil better than being ignorant of it. It interests me how everyone has perceived evil differently in their stories and I enjoyed yours a lot!
I also loved your thoughts on oral and written storytelling, because for me I found the exact same thing, that it flowed more organically when I told the story orally because it just flowed, when I was writing it down I was constantly mindful of the things that might not make sense, and less was left to the imagination and I became concerned with it making sense. The story was more contained when I wrote it, because when I told the story with the tone of my voice or by my emotion I could make some situations that were not believable seem believable!
Thanks,
Mariam
Hi Mariam 🙂
Thanks for your comment. Aside from my story, I think that as each child grows older they lose their innocence at some point; this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, rather, it’s a part of entering adulthood and embracing the realities of life.
In my story, however, I think the reason it’s evil is because it’s the loss of a young child’s innocence in particular. Because children are generally fragile and impressionable (especially in comparison to adolescents and adults), there is some sense of injustice in exposing them to evil. You make a good point, though, and perhaps it is useful for children to know of evil to avoid it.