Words. Chamberlin talks a lot about language, in particular the strangeness and wonder of how language works. Stories, he says, “bring us close to the world we live in by taking us into the world of words” (italics mine,1). He describes learning to read and write as learning “to be comfortable with a cat that is both there and not there” (132). Based on Chamberlin’s understanding of how riddles and charms work, explain this “world of words.” Reflect on why “words make us feel closer to the world we live in” (1).
Well first of all, what a novel Chamberlin wrote. Wow.
In regards to that cat quote in this question, at the very beginning of the novel, Chamberlain introduces the word “faith” (3). Our concept of faith is believing in something that we cannot see but we know is there. This is demonstrated in cultural stories. Nobody is sure of the actual precise elements of myths, but we continue to be sure they are true and we exist with them if not sometimes by them (may I be so bold to use the bible as an example). I believe that words make us feel closer to the world we live in partially because of the “common ground” of the stories. They are usually are about things we are familiar to as humans within a given culture. I also find that these stories usually represent an ideal, something we hope to achieve.
Something that really stuck out to me in the interview in which Chamberlain discussed his book was his use of the phrase “once upon a time”(Chamberlin and Knopf). If I think of my own childhood, I was always consciously aware that neither Snow White nor Cinderella actually existed but to this day I still feel as thought they are personified people in my life. Growing up my friends and I have always compared princesses, and watched their movies, they have become a topic of discussion for years. It seems that even before Disney, the majority of little girls knew these tales, which began with “once upon a time in a far off kingdom”. Even though these fairytales were written by the Grimm’s brothers in Germany, I think they are a perfect example of “common ground” all us little girls had. Cinderella (even though the original version is somewhat gruesome) is always written as being beautiful and kind. She was an example of what all us little girls wished to become, she was a hero and an ideal we were searching for, someone we idolized. If I may be so bold, I think that the general princess story was an important aspect of play time for all of us little girls. Even though this gave us many warped unrealistic ideals for once we hit puberty and we actually grew a waist, we still love these princesses. I fell in love with those princesses through storybooks and words on a page read to me before I went to bed at night. My point being, those words stuck with me, the faith in their existence stuck with me and I am not sure if I ever want to view them differently.
Are either Native American or European cultures willing to fall out of love with the words they grew up with as children to reach common ground? Maybe they don’t have to, this is just the question currently pondering my mind.
Another great example of how powerful words are in our culture is, newspapers. Even though newspapers are less frequent and more and more people are veering towards online newspapers. Newspapers tell stories daily, and occasionally they are stories which the readers will never forget. There is one writer behind each article, so when we think about it, one writer can make us feel a certain way about the subject even before we finish the article. Even though journalism is meant to be neutral I find headlines give us a direct insight into the writer’s opinion. I would like to use a recent headline regarding funding for First Nations homes. The headline is a contradiction “Harper government defends First Nations housing fund, despite poor results” as listeners (as Chamberlain would put it) this make us feel close to the story and as if these people have an advocate. The article is short, but I would argue that it takes Harper’s side, yet had we had another writer’s article I am sure that we would view the situation in a different way. The power of words once again, demonstrating the faith we have in this journalist’s words. We believe the words that are given to us.
Please tell me what you think,
T
Brothers, Grimm’s. ‘Grimm 021: Cinderella’. Pitt.edu. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 May 2015.
Chamberlin, J. Edward. If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories?. Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 2004. Print.
Beeby, Deab. ‘Harper Government Defends First Nations Housing Fund, Despite Poor Results’. CBC 2015. Web. 28 May 2015.
Chamberlin, J Edward, and Alfred A Knopf. If this is your land, where are your stories?. N.p., 2015. Web. 28 May 2015.
Hi Tai,
Since it is too late for other’s to comment, I will give you some of my thoughts on your blog, which I very much enjoyed reading, thanks.
I was going to comment on our insights on the Cinderella story, but after consideration, I think there are a few feminist scholars in our class who would have some interesting comments for you, and I think I will ask them on Facebook if they have time.
Instead, I will address your interesting question:
“Are either Native American or European cultures willing to fall out of love with the words they grew up with as children to reach common ground? Maybe they don’t have to, this is just the question currently pondering my mind.”
Here is what I find interesting. You have commented on how Cinderella and Snow White are European stories that “we all grew up with” – all us Europeans, or, if you will, white Canadians. And you ponder if we would be willing to ‘fall out of love’ with the stories we grew up with. You also ask the same question of “Native Americans” (Let’s use the term First Nations). But, you have not considered the historical reality that First Nations children were denied their stories, indeed they we taken from their homes and punished for speaking their native tongues — for seven generations. At one point the telling of their stories at the potlatch was outlawed, First Nations people who told their stories were criminals by Canadian law under the Indian Act [1885 – 1951] , and people were sent to jail for telling their stories. So, you can’t really ask the same question of these two groups of people — can you?
Take a look at this website – it traces the history and consequences of the outlawing of the Potlatch for the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples on the West Coast: http://www.umista.org/masks_story/en/ht/potlatch02.html
A note for future blogs – be sure to address each element of the question; I wanted you the think about the power of words in context with Chamberlin’s understanding of how riddles and charms work.
Thanks for a thought-provoking blog. I am indeed going to solicit some comments for you on Face book 🙂
Oppps, my comment will not show up because your settings require moderation, please change this – and do me a favour and alert me when you have via fb – thanks!