My Possible Term Paper, Rough Draft: Storytelling

Storytelling is something we've talked a bit about in class, but I'd like to discuss it further in relation to children's literature and His Dark Materials.

***Please give me some feedback/comments on my extremely rough draft, Thanks***

Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today - Robert McAfee Brown

Lyra is famous for her storytelling, her bending and twisting of the truth to make stories up. She lies to manipulate Iofur the false bear king and lies whenever she thinks she needs to manipulate a situation like on page 292 of The Amber Spyglass Lyra and Will have to get through the door to get to the ghosts on the other side. They meet a harpy called No-Name, who Lyra later names Gracious Wings. The harpy, for the Anthenians, was a sorrowful death angel. Although the harpies in The Amber Spyglass are not death angels, they are door keepers and inspire sadness and fear, but that later changes. The harpy in Greek mythology was a winged death-spirit best known for stealing all food from Phineas. Like the harpies in The Amber Spyglass steal all the happiness and comfort from the ghosts by reminding the ghosts of all the bad things they committed in their lives. No-Name would not let Will and Lyra pass and says, "What can you give me?" so Lyra offers to tell a story, but as usual she weaves a tale in her mind about things that are not true, and when she begins storytelling No-Name rejects the story knowing it to be a lie. All we have to give when we have nothing else is our own story, that would be all No-Name could fairly ask for from Lyra. We cannot take things like material possesions, relationships, or our five senses we enjoy of the body to our death when we die. Medieval drama, Everyman illustrates that the only thing people could take with them to the grave was their good deeds, which would be much like a story of the things they had accomplished in life. The only thing a person has to their name or to their life is the story they lived. This reminded me of Baz Luhrmann's recent film, Australia, near the beginning, Lady Sarah Ashley is talking with the drover and they are discussing how much luggage the Lady has. The drover tells Lady Sarah Ashley that he doesn't have many possesions because they are no good to him. He says all he has is his story and he's trying to make it a good one. The drover was very close to the Aboriginal people of Australia and and that culture values storytelling as a way to teach, remember, and entertain. So the drover would agree when Tialys from, The Amber Spyglass strikes a deal with the harpies on page 317 and says, "Every one of the ghosts has a story; every single one that comes down in the future will have true things to tell you about the world." The harpies have the right to hear the stories and the ghosts will have to tell their story, then the harpies will guide the ghosts to the opening into the world. THe harpies can ask for nothing else because the stories of our lives are all we have to give when we die. No-Name says on page 318, "We have the right to refuse to guide them if they lie, or if they hold anything back, or if they have nothing to tell us. If they live in the world, they should see and touch and hear and learn things." The harpy is saying that we need to gain knowledge and experience life. A person who watched TV all day, slept and did nothing else would not have much of a story at all. My dad always told me that the purpose of life was to love everyone, gain knowledge, and serve others. I suppose if I do all three I will live a pretty good story.

Philip Pullman says "Lyra and Will and the other characters are meant to be human beings like us, and the story is about a universal human experience, namely growing up," in response to his own claim of His Dark Materials being stark realism. Pullman is telling us the story of ourselves, the reaccuring myth of 'the Fall' of Adam and Eve, when they finally know themselves. By growing up we create the stories of our lives and we recreate 'the Fall' by gaining wisdom and knowledge which moves us from innocence into experience.
What does all this have to do with children's literature? As a child, the embodiment of innocence, most people are told stories or read to by their parents or family members to. My Book and Heart Shall Never Part ruminated on the idea of didacticism in children's literature. The didiacticism of storytelling is essential because we use stories to teach, remember, and delight. So by being told stories children are being encouraged to gain knowledge, remember, and have joy which fosters the child away from innocence and into experience. Like on page 433 of The Amber Spyglass when Mary Malone decides to "Tell them [Lyra and Will] stories" where she performs the role of the temptress by telling them of her 'fall' tasting like marzipan when she was twelve years old. This stirs up sensations in Lyra which leads to Lyra's fall. It is interesting how is is not Will who is tempted and falls, but Lyra. And Lyra doesn't really fall does she, she gains knowledge and experience.Which is how we create our own life story, because it is the change and the metamorphosis we go through to advance from innocence and reach the realm of experience.

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People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don't have a middle or an end anymore. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning. -Steven Spielberg

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Life itself is the most wonderful fairytale of all. -Hans Christian Andersen

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To be a person is to have a story to tell. -Isak Dinesen

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The trouble with telling a good story is that it invariably reminds the other fellow of a dull one. -Sid Caesar

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If you don't know the trees you may be lost in the forest, but if you don't know the stories you may be lost in life. -Siberian Elder