2. Overview of Powerpoint Narratives are important to every culture. Narratives vary among cultures Examples are given Narratives vary between states Examples are given Evaluating the examples Narratives teach You can adjust and create narratives to reflect different values and morals A personal example is given (one I created)
3. Cultural Narratives Narratives are important to every culture. As the book Among Cultures, The Challenge of Communication, explains: Narratives teach us: The way the world works Our place in the world How to act in the world How to evaluate what goes on in the world They are elementary guides on the world, and the way we should behave within it. Narratives vary between cultures.
4. Narratives Vary Narratives vary among cultures. American: Cinderella highlights a classic American belief that if you work hard, you can go from rags to riches. One Mexican tale is about a boy who dances with another girl at a ball after his girlfriend stays home with her sick mother. In the end, he danced with a ghost and becomes very frightened. He vows to only dance with his girl forever.
5. Narratives Vary, Cont. One Saudi Aribian tale is about a man who’s son is kidnapped at the local market. The man hires a crier whom shouts through the streets and offers a reward. The captor becomes greedy and decides he will wait until the reward raises. The next day, the reward is 4,000 paisters less, and the net day, only 100 paisters, so he quickly jumps to get what is left of the reward. He asks the father of the boy why the reward dwindled. The father explains that his son was worth more the first day when his son likely did not eat any of the captors food. On the second day, he was worth less, because he likely shared food with his captor. His honor was gone and he was nearly worthless to his father. These different narratives show what morals are important in what cultures. Many Americans would consider the Saudi Arabian narrative to be puzzling.
6. Narratives Vary Among States Not only do narratives vary between cultures, but they also vary between states. One Kentucky narrative shows how racing and “being number one” is important to the Kentucky state. The story is about a woman who decides to travel to New Orleans to sell a load or her lard. She was worried about the riverboat dangers she had heard of, such as racing other riverboats. She asked the Captain to refrain from racing. Then, a couple of days later, she saw another riverboat passing them. She runs up to the Captain and excitedly demands him to race the other riverboat. She gives the man her lard so they could better race the other boat, and they win the race. At the end, she exclaims, “Now that’s the way we do things in Kentucky!”
7. Narratives Vary Among States, Cont One narrative told in New York is about a baker who is happy and has a happy family. Then one day, an ugly old lady comes into the shop and asks for a dozen cookies. He gives her a dozen, and she demands for more. He refuses, and tells her he doesn’t give things away for free. After this, his bakery is cursed and none of his goods come out correctly. He becomes stubborn and mean and wants to defeat the old witch. He prays to Saint Nicholas, and soon sees that he needs to be more generous. The next time the old lady comes into the shop, he gives her 13 cookies.
8. Narratives Tell Us About Other Cultures Narratives give insight into different cultures and the ways of living in different regions of the world. America prides in hardworking values, and shows that a little work can get you a long way. Cinderella is also a “happily ever after” story. The Mexican story shows that remaining loyal to a loved one is important to that culture. The Saudi Arabian story shows that their culture is very different from both an American culture and a Mexican culture. Honor is valued in the Saudi Arabian society.
9. Narratives Tell Us About Other States As seen in the story of the old lady in Kentucky and the old man in New York, narratives give insight on other states. Being able minded and ahead of the game in Kentucky seems to be a valued trait, while being generous and giving in New York seems to be valued as well.
10. Narratives Teach Narratives teach us. When you were a child and you were told stories at bedtime, each story had a theme and a moral, and you learned secondhand of right and wrong. Narratives teach us general principles and how to act appropriately, etc. The role of narratives is a powerful role in society. Narratives can be adjusted and even created to fit different values and morals.
11. Adjusting and Creating Narratives Narratives can be manipulated or created to fit different morals. I will use an example of creating a narrative. I will demonstrate a story that shows how you can create narratives that follow a desired set of morals. There was once a young man named Charles who was living in a small town in California. He was very interested in one of his friends, Aaron, from the same town, who went to his high school. Every day on the bus he would sit next to Aaron and they would chat about homework, running (a hobby they both loved) and which colleges they were interested in. One day, as he walked off the bus, a couple of kids grabbed him and beat him up in the alley beside their school. They called him “faggot” and threw him in a trash can. A woman walking by saw the kids running from the scene, and called the police. She helped Charles out of the trash can and encouraged him to give an accurate police report about what had happened. The kids were then caught and sent to a class that promoted tolerance of gay individuals. Charles soon grew to make speeches across the country and fight against the bullying towards homosexual individuals and promote tolerance of all people.
12. Creating Narratives, Cont Of course, the previous example is not aimedfor a very small child (otherwise it would need to be more fantasy like, and maybe have an evil demon or something of the sorts, etc) but it gives an example of the ways people can create a narrative to promote certain values. Remember that stories are a building block for children and people in general, and that creating your own stories is a great way plug important values into a lesson for others.
13. Works Cited "Folk Tales From Soudi Arabia." Passagen - Hemsidor. Web. 06 June 2011. "Reich's American Narratives." Changing Minds and Persuasion -- How We Change What Others Think, Believe, Feel and Do. Web. 06 June 2011. Americanfolklore.net." American Folklore: Famous American Folktales, Tall Tales, Myths and Legends, Ghost Stories, and More. Web. 06 June 2011.
