It is said that, “Fiction is a lie through which we tell the truth” (Albert Camus). And it no coincidence that fictional stories have become a massive part of society and sometimes these stories define how society and humans behave. Through fictional stories such as the fun series “Geronimo Stilton” or serious fictional stories like “IT”, the author creates a fictional world for readers, where authors and readers are the masters of their world and are only limited by the imaginations. Through fictional stories, authors and readers form a connection between the fictional world and the real world by expanding imagination, introducing different ideas, as well as creating and following positive role models.
Beginning with the idea that fictional stories provide an opportunity for readers to expand their imagination, “The Fall of a City” and the article, “The Hidden Agenda of Bedtime Stories” support this idea as well as describe the benefits of fictional stories. More particularly, in the short story “The Fall of a City”, written by Alden Nowlan, it describes how essential fictional stories are to a human’s personality development. This short story is about a boy named Theodore, who lives with his aunt and uncle. At the beginning of the story, the readers are introduced to Theodore sitting in the attic with the kingdom of Upalia, that Theodore made out of matchboxes and humanoid figures cut out of paper. In the story, it describes how Theodore imagined that “The armies of the Emperor Kang of Dariova were attacking the fortifications on the Upalian frontier! Teddy inhaled deeply and held his breath, his thin chest pressing against his sweat shirt” (Nowlan 1-2). This quote supports the idea that a child’s imagination and perception is the most influential factor that helps shape a child’s behavior. Although at the beginning of the story, Theodore is seen as a brave and fearless young boy, however, in reality, Theodore suppresses the identity created through the imagination of the Kingdom of Upalia. This is evident at the end of the story when Theodore’s uncle notices what Theodore has been doing up in the attic and Theodore destroys the kingdom, representing the loss of imagination. This loss of creativity could be dangerous for a young child as it inhibits the growth in personality. In conclusion, “The Fall of a City” represents the imagination through which fictional stories such as the story of Upalia are formed, which is essential for developing behavior unique to an individual. The article “The Hidden Agenda of Bedtime Stories” represents the benefits of fictional stories told during bedtime to a child.
Another example that supports the idea that fictional stories provide an opportunity for readers to expand their imagination is the news article, “The Hidden Agenda of Bedtime Stories” written by Andrea Gordon. In the article, Gordon talks about the importance of bedtime stories for a child as these stories provide a relaxation period, as well as a period in which a child’s cognitive skills can be enhanced. It is observed that while reading or listening to bedtime stories, melatonin is released that allows readers to sleep and process information gathered throughout the day and expands imaginations. Among other benefits, the author states that sleep allows the brain to process the information, which in the article, parent Natalie Foy and Ted Betts, “want the books we read to engage the kids, to make their minds work, and most importantly, to capture their imaginations” (Gordon 3). These opportunities given by bedtime stories such as Peter Pan’s Neverland encourages children to imagine by immersing themselves into the story, where the reader can relate to and can become the character to tackle various problems and interact with other characters made up by the reader in the dream world. By reading about a character’s life, readers are transported to a different world, where anything the mind can think of is allowed and readers are also introduced to different ideas.
Continuing from the idea that fictional stories provide readers with an opportunity to increase their imagination, these fictional stories also provide readers with different ideas and perspectives on various topics. Both the article “The heritage of storytelling” as well as the Ted Talk “The danger of a single story”, represents and discuss these ideas. More specifically, the article “The heritage of storytelling”, discusses the idea that all fictional stories follow a similar storyline with repeating messages, however, characters encounter different problems. As told in the article, in earlier centuries, stories were told orally and overtime this method of storytelling slowly transitioned to writing. In the article, it also states, “Stories are the launching pads for the great characters who populate our collective imagination and our language: Scrooge, Dr. Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein’s monster, Sherlock Holmes, Big Brother, Romeo. The great stories seem to never die but instead refresh themselves with each generation” (Fulford 4). Some examples of stories that have been refreshed for new generations, is the story of Cinderella. As all readers know, Cinderella is about a young maiden, who was forced to work as a slave, as the step-family was jealous of Cinderella. One night, there is a ball happening in the castle, where the prince would choose the bride to be. Cinderella wants to attend; however, Cinderella is restricted from going by the step-family. However, with the help of a fairy godmother, Cinderella attends the ball and the prince chooses his bride to be. At the end after the glass slipper search, the prince marries Cinderella and lives happily ever after. Throughout the story, Cinderella shows different perspectives on problems plaguing the society today, one such example is when Cinderella combats bullying, as Cinderella is teased by the step-sisters, as well as the step-mother. This idea of combatting bullying is huge in today’s age as there are just several mediums available including social media that are used for bullying a person. Through combatting bullying, Cinderella also shows how to remain positive in tough situations. In conclusion, fictional stories provide readers with not only a chance to expand their imaginations but also provide new perspectives on ideas and opinions. This idea is also represented in the Ted talk “The danger of a single story”.
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Stereotypes are a major factor in how readers perceive a particular problem, through stereotypes, media audiences are faced with self-doubt about who they are. In the Ted Talk, “The danger of a single story”, by Chimamanda Adichie, the speaker discusses and tackles this issue of stereotypes influence of fictional stories by talking about the effects stories had when Chimamanda was young. In the Ted Talk Chimamanda says, “The consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult” (Adichie, “The danger of a single story”). When Chimamanda began reading British and American books, the stories had a profound effect on how Chimamanda perceived the world to be. Living in Nigeria, Chimamanda started writing stories at the age of seven with characters being white with blue eyes. When Chimamanda goes to the United States, Chimamanda sees stereotypes about people from Africa such as the inability to speak English, cooking on a stovetop as well as the songs listened to. In the United States, there is also a perception of troubles faced by the entire continent of Africa, such as drugs, genocide, and corrupt politicians. Because the people (outside of African continent) are told one story and the number of stereotypes exists, then that stereotype becomes the identity of an entire group of individuals who have lived in different stories in themselves. However, reading different novels as Chimamanda did, opens up a new perspective about what the world has to offer and provides readers with role models. Thus, both examples represent how fictional stories present new ideas. Fictional stories also provide readers with positive role models.
Lastly, fictional stories provide readers with positive role models. The story “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”, as well as Carl Jung’s theory of archetypes, represent this idea. This story is about an innocent man named Andy Dufresne who is convicted of murder but is seen as a very inspiring character for readers. In the story, when Andy is confronted by Bogs Diamond and the group known as the ‘sisters’, Andy says, “Anything of yours that you stick in my mouth you’re going to lose ”(King 19). As demonstrated by this quotation from the short story, Andy is seen as a brave and fearless character that can inspire a lot of readers. Throughout the story, Andy is seen helping the inmates as well as the guards working in the prison. One example from the story is the time Andy helps the guard Byron Hadley by helping with the taxes. At first, the guards are confused by the aid that Andy was providing, however, with hard work, Andy became trustworthy in the eyes of the guards. Because of these actions by Andy’s, no one suspected that an escape was being planned. This example teaches the readers how to remain positive in tough situations, be hardworking, as well as be trustworthy. Carl Jung’s theory of archetypes also represents positive role models.
Carl Jung’s theory on archetypes also demonstrates the idea of how fictional stories can provide a role model, that readers can look up to. According to Carl Jung, there are different classifications of an archetypal character, including a ruler archetype which has some form of power and can influence how other characters behave. One great example of this classification of an archetypal character is Mufasa, from The Lion King movie. In the movie, Mufasa says to Simba, “A king’s time rises and falls like the sun. One day Simba, the sun will set on my time and rise with you as the new king” (Lion King). Not only is Mufasa very brave and fearless, but also wise and virtuous, who is always willing to do the right thing. As a role model to Simba, Mufasa is seen as a wise king, who will lead Simba as well as viewers to a positive future. Throughout the movie, it is seen that Simba is trying to live up Mufasa’s legacy and personality. Thus fictional stories provide readers as well as viewers with role models to look up to.
In conclusion, through fictional stories, a connection is formed between the fictional world and the real world by expanding the readers’ imagination, introducing readers to different ideas, as well as providing positive role models. The story, “The Fall of a City” written by Alden Nowlan, describes how essential fictional stories are to a person’s personality development through the character, Theodore. The article, “The Hidden Agenda of Bedtime Stories”, written by Andrea Gordon, discusses the idea that bedtime stories provide readers (or listeners) with a relaxation period which can increase a child’s imagination. In the article “The Heritage of Storytelling”, the author discusses how stories through generations are refreshments for young audiences as it provides solutions to problems faced by society today. The Ted Talk “The danger of a single story” by Chimamanda Adichie identifies the dangers of stereotypes because of single stories. As these stereotypes fill the minds of readers or societies with particular narrative and causing readers and viewers of media to not develop a new perspective. Lastly, In the story “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”, the character Andy is seen as a role model because, Andy is seen as brave and fearless who teaches audiences to be responsible, hardworking and kind. The ruler archetype theory, represented by Carl Jung, also represents how characters like Mufasa are seen as role models. Even if fictional stories are lies as said by Albert Camus, fictional stories that are essential to the development of society, as well as the development of a person’s behavior and perception of the world humans, live in.
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