Revised Exploration

  In my secondary research I decided to look into why humans share stories in the first place. I believe that this will give me a better idea into the goal of a storyteller, and what they are trying to prove or evoke. I was able o find an article written by Jonah Berger, in a journal from the Association for Psychological Science. Berger states that “the sharing of stories or information may be driven in part by arousal. When people are physiologically aroused, whether due to emotional stimuli or otherwise, the autonomic nervous is activated, which then boosts social transmission. Simply put, evoking certain emotions can help increase the chance a message is shared” (Berger 1). Related to the novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O’Brien, we can see that he shares stories because hey are important to him. These stories are a way to vent his emotions and feelings. Berger also goes on to state that “feeling fearful, angry, or amused drives people to share news and information” (Berger 1). These feeling are probably very relevant in O’Brien’s memories of Vietnam. Possibly another reason he shares his stories, and sometimes very detailed.

As this semester progressed we continued to see the human story unfold in many different lights. The most interesting thing I saw was how all of the stories are related, and how they all stem off of one idea. Identity. Identity is the key to every human story. How could we understand people like Tim O'Brien if we did not first understand who he was. For example Warren Buffet's identity is a hard working philanthropist, while Captain Americas is a symbol of the American culture. Every feeling and sensory detail is used to create this. Just as O'Brien used style and form to create his world, artist used color and symbolism to create the world of Captain America. This all again helps sustain that that message will be passed on to the reader.  


 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110630131838.htm