“I have a great story to tell you.”

Something happened long long ago, years  before you and I, when there were only two territories on earth that of the land and that of the sea. .  The land  and sea people had never physically encountered one another , however they had both heard stories which had been passed down and been remembered well.

The people who occupied the land lived in peace and harmony. Families worked in unison to gather food and water, and to build shelters. People lived off the land,  shared and traded goods and food. There was no war or poverty. The land provided more than enough for all .

The water people lived similarly until a corrupt leader named Shugra  took the sea throne. The once peaceful society the sea people knew and loved  changed dramatically when Shugra decided he deserved more than  others and  implemented a rule where a half of every family’s food and belongings were to be given to him. He introduced money into their society, and soon there was a large gap between the rich; his friends & family and the poor.

His younger brother, Shutsy, pleaded and begged Shugra to abolish the money policy that was causing such inequality and dissension. However, Shugra would not budge despite the obvious destruction of the once peaceful community of sea people. Some lived in abject  poverty while others gained from Shugra’s reign. People began to think only of themselves and to thieve from each other. The sea world was in complete chaos.

Shutsy knew  there was no rationalizing with  his stubborn, materialistic brother, and his only choice was to try and get help from the land people. Shutsy, much like the majority of his community had only heard stories of the land people, so he asked the elders  where he might find them. After speaking with nearly the whole elderly population, he had a general idea as to where he might find the land people and set out to find them.

After fifteen days of swimming and ten hours of walking, he saw what looked like a small village. As he got closer, he began to get teary-eyed as he realized, the village looked just like his had before Shugra had taken over the sea throne. The land people saw Shutsy who was sobbing loudly now and began walking towards him. A curious elderly man asked, ” Why are you crying? Who are you, and what brings you here?”

Shutsy sighed and began to tell the tragic story of the poverty and bloodshed occurring amongst the sea people due to his brother’s greedy hand . The land people were horrified and couldn’t believe the terror Shutsy revealed. They pleaded to Shutsy to “call the story back”(King 10). “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).

To my surprise, this story actually took longer to write than some research papers. In high school, creative writing was one of my favorite classes however, after majoring in Sociology and  writing mainly research papers and literature reviews, I have definitely lost touch with my creative side. While I had somewhat of a writer’s block for a good hour or so, I definitely had some fun with this exercise! Thanks,  nice to use a bit of my right brain for once!

References:

King, Thomas. “”You’ll Never Believe What Happened” Is Always A Great Way To Start.” The Truth about Stories: A Native Narrative. Toronto: House of Anansi, 2003. 1-29. Print.

Paterson, Erika. ““ENGL 470 Canadian Studies ;Canadian Literary Genres.”University of British Columbia. UBC Blogs. 2014. Web. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl470/unit-1/lesson-12/

7. At the beginning of this lesson I pointed to the idea that technological advances in communication tools have been part of the impetus to rethink the divisive and hierarchical categorizing of literature and orality, and suggested that this is happening for a number of reasons.  I’d like you to consider two aspects of digital literature: 1) social media tools that enable widespread publication, without publishers, and 2) Hypertext, which is the name for the text that lies beyond the text you are reading, until you click. How do you think these capabilities might be impacting literature and story?

The incredibly fast-paced progression of technology has greatly influenced literature in the twenty-first century. The unprecedented increase in the use of social media has changed the interpretation and the relationship individuals have with stories.

As discussed in the lesson, there is a different dynamic between listening to and the reading of stories. As the listener of a story and the storyteller interact with each other the listener has the ability to change and influence the story. “Stories change depending on where and when and to whom they are told”(Paterson 1:2). In contrast, no matter how much an individual may agree, disagree, take offense, or adore a particular text, in most cases readers “will have little, if any, impact on the actual text” regardless of the impact the text may have had on them, as there is no interaction (Paterson1:2).

In the past, reading text has been a one directional flow of information while listening to stories is bidirectional and interactive. However, with modern day technology not only are there different dynamics between reading and listening to stories as discussed above, there is also a different dynamic between reading a book and reading an online publishing. With recent social media tools individuals now have access to “widespread publication, without publishers” (Paterson 1:2), and this new phenomenon has changed stories and the relationships individuals have with stories.

Today, almost anyone is capable of publishing a text online. There are little to no restrictions or standards individuals are required to meet to publish an online text. These “widespread publications” enable a wide range of perspectives, ideas and thoughts to be seen and heard (Paterson 1:2).

The way information is conveyed to an audience is crucial in determining how they will understand and perceive it. With online text, reading is no longer one directional. As most online publications include comment boxes, individuals from different cultures and backgrounds are able to interact with the author as well as other readers.  David Croteau’s term “ the global village” accurately describes how physical distance is no longer a barrier because of the availability and accessibility of information internationally; this is exemplified through online forums (Singer 123).

This progression of technology has allowed readers to acquire more of an objective view on particular topics by reading other’s opinions and ideas epitomizing Marshall McLuhan’s quote, “The medium is the message”(Chamberlin 70). While the medium, or how information is communicated differs, so does the audience’s perception of a story or a piece of literature.

Hypertexts :“the name for the text that lies beyond the text you are reading, until you click” have also had a significant impact on literature and stories (Paterson 1:2). Hypertexts allows “multiple perspectives and expressions to tell the same story”, they provide the reader with a deeper understanding of the context and description of the text (Huesca and Dervin).

The impact of these advances in communication technology on literature has been huge. New media has blurred the roles of, and the distinction between, the consumers and the producers of text. I believe that this helps deconstruct the hierarchical categorization of literature by leveling the playing field & opening it to all, and I would consider new media to be the “common ground” Chamberlin refers to in his text  “If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories: Finding Common Ground” (240).

References:

Chamberlin, Edward. If This is Your Land, Where are Your Stories: Finding Common Ground. A. A. Knopf: Toronto, 2003. Print

Paterson, Erika. ““ENGL 470 Canadian Studies ;Canadian Literary Genres.”

University of British Columbia. UBC Blogs. 2014. Web. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl470/unit-1/lesson-12/

Singer, Jane B. Participatory Journalism: Guarding Open Gates at Online Newspapers. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011. Print.

Huesca, Robert, and Brenda Dervin. “Hypertext and Journalism: Audiences Respond to Competing News Narratives.” MIT Communications Forum. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.