(Q:1) King is storyteller who is very unique to his own voice. His stark contrasting of both the “Genesis” story and “The Earth Diver” creates a dialogue around the importance of not only the story but the delivery, the background and our individual knowledge. King’s contrast of the two stories down to the very way in which he tells “The Earth Diver” with vivid details as a storyteller yet “Genesis” concisely as an authoritative voice shows the dichotomy he is trying to portray, which he defines as “the elemental structure of Western society”(25). King expresses his belief that at the very core only one story can be “sacred” and the other can only be that, a story, and elaborates on this point throughout the rest of his dialogue. He calls these dichotomies into question and ends up challenging their very essence. King is trying to show up through his contrasting depictions of Native culture and Christianity that the side of the dichotomy that we have been taught though Western culture is ultimately the more destructive side and we should see as a culture to change our own narratives and re-evaluate the side of the spectrum that we choose to believe as what is “sacred”.
King also brings forward another flaw in the deeply rooted dichotomic ideals of Western Culture as one that is chosen. There is no rule book telling us who to discriminate against or who should live in poverty, no clear reason why we have chosen to value humanity over nature, it is simply a choice and continued learned concepts that have formed and conceptualized these things to come to be. “We make race and gender discriminatory markers for no other reason than that we can” (27), King call this out as something which we think about way too infrequently yet is an incredibly powerful statement when brought to light such as in The Truth About Stories.
In the article Moving Cultures: The Perilous Problems of Cultural Dichotomies in a Globalizing Societyby Hubert J M Hermans and Harry J.G. Kempen, they refer to this dichotomy that King emphasizes as “the West versus the rest” (1). They explore this concept that Western culture has taken on the narrative of independence yet excludes everyone outside of this bubble. The impact is huge and creates their side of the dichotomy to be the believed, or the well-known side, simply because of power and breadth of information. They further expand this point by saying that “we live increasingly in “one world””, (2) which is quite the opposite of independence and individuality. The over encompassing cultural incongruencies in the dichotomies put out by Western culture prohibits cultural exploration and truths of people outside of this “one world”, which is overall what I think King is trying to show us with his contrasting creation stories.
In The Truth About Stories, King contemplates and explores that use of storytelling to change the seriousness and believability of his two creation stories. He does this to emphasis the point he is trying to get across that there can only be one true story, however which story we choose is a choice that is not ours due to the dichotomic culture that we live in. This retelling of the creation story “Genesis” is done so in a fairy-tale manner, much more in the style he tells “The Earth Dive”, so I wonder if this telling of Adam and Eve allows for more of a choice between what our individual truths are. King is trying to show us that things are not so black and white as we may believe, there is immense grey area where our views and opinions and especially cultures change our side of the dichotomy, which is not only completely okay, but also needed.
Citations
King, Thomas. “The Truth About Stories.” Weebly.com, Massey Lecture Series, 2003, cislit.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/1/1/26116552/the_truth_about_stories_by_thomas_king.pdf.
Hermans. H, Kempen. H. “Moving Cultures: The Perilous Problems of Cultural Dichotomies in a Globalizing Society.” American Psychologist, 1988, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228809177_Moving_Cultures_The_Perilous_Problems_of_Cultural_Dichotomies_in_a_Globalizing_Society
DailyYou. “Fairy Tale Friday – Adam and Eve.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8HBHPUVIZs.
Eva Dvorak
February 11, 2020 — 8:23 pm
Hi Grace,
I think you did an excellent job of analyzing the ways in which King contemplates the presence of dichotomies within stories and, more broadly, society.
Your post made me consider the ways in which Chamberlin challenges the binary idea of “true” versus “imaginary” narratives. He deconstructs the barriers between literature and story through his emphasis on their intersections.
Both King and Chamberlin seem to be considering dichotomies and binaries of the believability of stories. King seems to claim that belief in a story is dependent on one’s positioning within a diatomic society and Chamberlin suggests that belief in a story is subjective/arbitrary and that all stories are equally true.
I am curious about the ways in which King and Chamberlin’s arguments compare and contrast and would be interested to hear if you have any ideas on this!
Thanks,
Eva
ArianneRobbins
February 12, 2020 — 9:46 am
Hi Grace!
Wow, what a response! This truly was an educational and necessary read, thank you so much for sharing this with us. That telling of “Adam and Eve” does present a choice for the audience as to what they believe to be their individual truth.
I wonder, in your life what tendency do you tend to see in the pattern of your own beliefs? How often do you float in that grey area and why do you think that is? What is your individual truth?
Cheers,
Arianne Robbins
Chase Thomson
February 12, 2020 — 10:52 pm
Hello again Grace!
I really loved your blog post; I feel as though you offered some insightful, important, and relevant comments on the readings but also society as a whole.
I particularly enjoyed the article you shared, as it helped me understand further the sentiment of “the West versus the rest.” I think that often times western civilization believes that they are the be-all-end-all of the universe, when in fact that isn’t true at all.
My question for you is: how do you think we can steer away from living in “one world?” We all fall victim to Western mentalities and behaviours, but how can we start making efforts to change this concept?