You’ll never believe what happened early one morning when Socrates, Cephalus, Polemarchus,Thrasymachus and Bob sat arguing in a cold marble gazebo on the top of a mountain.
First a little back story. These five men are the Guardians of a sacred state. A state where all citizens were kind, loving and moral – in all their actions and all their words. The Guardians are charged with protecting the state and they do this by deciphering what should be accepted into the world and what should not.
That morning, exposed to the crisp morning air, the Guardians exchanged tales of piety and philosophies for their idyllic state. As they exchanged viewpoints on statehood, virtue and existence, they began to debate the power of literature.
Socrates explained, “stories are used to shape character and therefore it is best to be strict on what stories are allowed to be told in our perfect republic.”
“hear, hear, how true,” agreed Thrasymachus. “please, Socrates enlighten us more.”
“Stories which contain any immorality ‘must not be admitted into our state, whether they be allegorical or not’ (Plato 6)” continued Socrates…
“I disagree completely!” said Bob, “stories are educational and should be used to allow citizens to decipher between right and wrong.”
“No, no, no” Socrates replied, “we must be weary of corrupt language, because language begets actions.”
Bob shook his head, “oh, old Socrates you are talking nonsense again, let me show you…” at this moment Bob began to tell a tale of such ugliness and depravity that the words will not be repeated here. “You see old Soc, we are just fine.”
“AAh, take it back. That awful tale must never be repeated. Take it back I say!” shouted Cephalus.
As Cephalus spoke clouds began to form in the sky, they blackened the sun and the Guardians were confronted by a bitter emotionless rain.
“Alas, it is too late” wept Socrates, “for once a story is told it cannot be called back. Once told, it is loose in the world.”
I was very inspired by the second book of Plato’s Republic; so, I decided to use his characters, well… and Bob, in my story for how evil came into the world. In the second book Socrates is examining literature and its utility. And while Plato may be a bit extreme in his idea that stories should never contain anything but positive and “moral” ideas, I do agree with him that stories are a fundamental aspect of education. Stories help us learn and understand experiences and views that we otherwise may never get to connect with.
However, stories can also be devastating and deconstructing. Stories can allow people to distort, to misunderstand and to hate one another. I think it is important to be aware of the stories you hear, as well as to observe storyteller. Examining the originator of a story allows you to determine how much power the story will have for you. For this reason, I wanted to experiment with telling my story through different mediums; in-person, on the phone, and over Skype. Each medium provides the listener with a different level of visual interpretation of my body language and expression.
The first thing I noticed was that I was much more enthusiastic telling the story in person. I was more engaged and could alter my telling of the story a bit more to suit the non-verbal reactions of my listener. Skype was similar to telling the story in person (more similar then it was to over the phone), but there was still a degree of distance and I was less motivated to be as passionate. Over the phone I found the story was hard for the listener to follow and it required me to repeat or retell it a bit. I was also much less engaged in the telling of the story.
I told the story multiple time in person as well and found that my story changed a little each time, usually in the dialogue (and the pronunciation of the names). I also noticed that I altered the pace and tone of my story based on the specific listener. While my story varied in timing and exactness of the dialogue, the order of my story stayed the same: guys on mountain > perfect world > power of literature > argument > evil story > cloud and rain > too late!
Works Cited
King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Peterbough:Anansi Press. 2003. Print.
Plato. “Republic – Book II.” Ed. Dominic M. Lopes. Philosophy of Literature: Contemporary and Classic Readings. Ed. Eleen John. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004. 5-14. Print.
“When to Use Face to Face Meetings and When to Hold Virtual Meetings.” The Meeting King. Paracas Solutions, 9 Feb. 2012. Web.
Hi Hannah (nice name!)
I really enjoyed reading your blog posting. Your use of historical philosophers so was interesting and really fit with your theme, I also enjoyed that you used an actual quote from Plato – very clever! I agree that stories are fundamental to education, but I think that even a devastating or distorted story can bring lessons to light for the reader. Perhaps it is dependant upon who is giving the story? This concept of who the story teller is, is very interesting. I agree that someone of authority can hold a different power to a story than that of a friend; the teller of the story really does affect how it’s received by the listener because stories evoke emotion and a reaction. Do you think morals have the power to change based on how the story is read, or who is telling the story?
Thanks for you comment! I really like the idea that even the devastating stories can bring lessons. I definitely agree.
A good example of stories and morality for me was my brother-in-law. He is a very religious man and was not very accepting of many things, including the LGBTQ community – But one day he went to church and a new pastor there gave a sermon (told a story) about acceptance, and after that he was able to change his moral position. This situation confirms to me my belief that the perceived legitimacy of the storyteller plays a key role in how a listener will react to a story and how much power the story will have to that listener. It also makes be believe in the power of stories – So, yes I do think stories are powerful enough to change or shape someones morality.