Why do “words make us feel closer to the world we live in?”

Chamberlin’s understanding of riddles and charms is quite quizzical; “a word is not what it is and yet it is” (160). He discusses the idea of having to change ones understanding of language in order to solve riddles, where one must make sense of the nonsense put in front of us. I always found riddles strange, but I think Chamberlin is commenting not only on the strangeness of language to trick us but also this change from strangeness to truth. In understanding that words hold the power to trick, and yet tell truths, you start to understand this idea of a “world of words.” Words influence much of the society we live in, we use language everyday, our societies are based off words, and our daily events involve words in some way. We use words to “live our lives like a tale that is told,” and recognize from a very young age that we believe the stories that are told to us (175). Nursery rhymes, tales of heroism or good fortune offer us stories to believe in, stories that hold power to influence ones way of thinking. A nursery rhyme that my father used to always say to me was “If all the world was apple pie,” it is nonsense, but what I gained from it was to think imaginatively. The rhyme didn’t mean anything but to stimulate my thinking outside the box. Chamberlin’s understanding of words reflects this idea that words are nothing, yet they are so powerful; words themselves do not hold significance, and yet it is their formulation that can be so influential. I found this idea very interesting, the world is made up of words, regardless of culture, and we live in this world of words that are nonsense but are not. It’s a perplexing idea to thing that words have so much influence for our entire lives, yet they are nonsensical, and they do not necessarily mean what we are told they mean. This idea of “a rose is a rose is a rose,” where the word itself is not a flower, and still it means that it is a flower.

I think from this reading, I found that words make us feel closer to the world we live in because they give meaning to nonsense. Words are a way to “define what is worthwhile in our lives;” we invent and discover meaning and use words to nourish our imaginations, hopes and dreams (192). We use stories to bring imaginative dreams into belief, where the reading of stories creates power. Words, in a sense, allow us to connect our imagination to our reality, and give importance to specifics in culture. I think that the general idea that I gained from this reading was the power that comes with words and stories, and how stories can carry on in our minds for years. Chamberlin explains that we must take comfort in contradiction when it comes to riddles and charms, and that they are just words to which we learn from.

Works Cited:

Chamberlin, J E. If this is your land, where are your stories? : finding common ground. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2004. Print.