Storytelling: Food for Our Souls
Why the various mediums of storytelling, such as books and movies, are so important to us as human beings.
What of the great literary works, a reader may ask. What of, say, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath? True, the world we escape to is in fact very much our own. Rife with injustices, prejudice, and hypocrisy. In many ways, our boring lives are far more desirable than those of Steinbeck’s protagonists. Yet, these great classics provide food for the soul that is just as hearty as all the other forms of entertainment. They get us to do something we do all too little of in our day to day lives. To think. To philosophize. To question. In a world where tomorrow could be easily mistaken for today, they brings us into the eyes of those who have seen the greatest evil. Not some ancient monster. Not a hellish demon. But as William Golding put it in his Lord of the Flies, “The darkness of man’s heart.” These stories, they bring a poetic quality to our own incomprehensible existences. These great classics, they remind us of what it means to be human.
Storytelling provides us with everything from comfort to enlightenment. It can bring tears to our eyes or make us laugh till our stomachs hurt. It reminds us of that which we need to be reminded of. It gives us faith, and hope. And it allows us to return to our own worlds refreshed, recuperated, and ready.
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