Maybe Storytellers are a Good Thing

I was startled to glean from The Storyteller that it seems there is a lot of emphasis put on stories and the place they have in culture and life. This may be hardly news to any of us, and certainly came upon me slowly as a multi-week startling process, but it’s shocking to me that the storyteller seems to be highlighted as the pinnacle of human achievement.

Now obviously, the book puts much emphasis on the storyteller. Mascarita recounts the day he realizes his new-found position on page 210.

”So there I was -- the storyteller. I was thunder-struck. There I was. My heart was like a drum. Banging away in my chest: boom, boom. Had I met my destiny? Perhaps.”  (Llosa, 210)

Maybe I was startled when I read this because I, deep down, think that we all have a purpose that must be “greater” than one who tells stories. But upon inward reflection, I realized this faulty thinking process within myself. In an achievement driven culture, it seems that we could all use a dose of the reality that we need to slow down and think about where we have come from—because that is what determines where we are going, pal.

So perhaps we need more storytellers in this world.

That, anyway, is what I have learned.