During the first ten minutes of class, write a summary of your reading of Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, Ink People Change the World. Also, write about the “ink people” who have made a difference to your life and thinking. Post your summary as a comment this this blog entry.
ENG1101 D340 English Composition I, SPR2015
Official site for ENG1101 D340
Probably this is one of my favorite chapters in this book. The author is using great historical examples and bringing a lot of interesting points.
Through the whole chapter Gottschall presents to the readers how Richard Wagner’s opera Rienzi influenced Adolf Hitler and lead him through his life. It is fascinating how something we read, hear or see can form us, our mentality, morals, behaviors, actions, etc.
But in example with Wagner and Hitler, which were extreme German nationalist and anti-semists it shows that not all influence can have positive results.
It is proven that stories sometimes change people or even history, but whether those changes are predictable and systematic. Stories marks us with fears, hopes, and anxieties that alert our behavior, perhaps even our personalities. “The more deeply we are cast under story’s spell, the more potent its influence”- Gottschall
Gottschall’s “Night Story” chapter from “The Storytelling Animal” book kept much more implicated with the topic than prior chapters, it was so easy to read it and understand it as well. At this chapter the author shows us Adolf Hitler’s story since he was just a teenager trying to attend to an Academy of Fine Arts (which rejected him) until he became the leader of the Nazi Germany, who consequently provoked the Holocaust, which drove a war that cost sixty millions lives. It was inspired by Richard Wagner’s (who Hitler considered a God) opera “Rienzi”. Hitler’s biographers assure that “Hitler is one of the few individuals of whom it can be said with absolute certainty: without him, the course of story would have been different.” According to Gottschall, the ink people of scripture have a real, live presence in our world. They shape our behavior and our customs, and in so doing, they transform societies and histories. Stories are essential for the human being, they mark us in ways we could not even imagine, they cause us fears, hopes, and anxieties that alter our behavior, and it does not matter how is delivered to us. Even thought we might think we are able to difference between fiction and reality, there are many things we would not know without fiction stories. I totally agree with the author when he says that the emotions of fiction are highly contagious, and so are the ideas, and they might modify people’s beliefs in a specific field of their lives. Personally, I have experienced this in many ways in my life; there are people, stories, and even situation that have marked me in a ways that I never expected. I have read books that have completely changed my beliefs and have become my life’s philosophy. Moreover, I have been inspired by amazing people, who are responsible of my daily customs and life’s perspective.
Reading Jonathan Gottscahll’s The Storytelling Animal, chapter 7 “Ink People Change the World” reminds the reader of the importance of history and how stories is part of it . The chapter begins with the story of Alois, who have a good job in the military service and a son name Adolfus who dream of being a great painter. More important, when Alois was 39 he legally took his stepfather’s name: Hitler. On the other hand, Ink people are the characters in fiction who shape our behaviors and our customs, transform societies and histories ,who emotions are highly contagious, are effective at changing our beliefs, and have a real live presence in our world. One of the pioneer is Richard Wagner, whose ink people brought on the worst genocide because his musical stories inspired Hitler wicked mind. For example, Hitler called wagner’s musical stories his religion. Moreover, Hitler was a great media artist and his interest in the arts was so intense as his racism. Therefore, this genocide is the Holocaust of 1933: the day that humanity was marked by fear by the Nazis who were purifying German by fire. As the result and the message transmit from this chapter, Ink People are among the most powerful and dangerous people in the world. As one can see, Story whether delivered through films, books, or video games teaches us the fact about the world influences our moral logic.
In Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, the “Ink people Change the World” talks about how stories can have a huge impact on people’s life. Adolf Hitler was an example, he was influenced by Richard Wagner’s opera Rienzi and how Rienzi had revealed his destiny. Adolf Hitler was rejected twice by the academy, he was depressed and he started to suffer. But through all the years of struggle and failure, the confidence he gained from his Rienzi epiphany never wavered. As time passes, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the Nazi Germany because of Richard Wagner’s opera Rienzi changed Hitler’s way of viewing things. It has a huge impact in his life. As you can see the importance of stories, stories can change the way people think and affects people in many other ways.
Wow! Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, Ink People Change the World chapter is one of the best chapters that I have read so far. Who would have thought that Ink People change the world? I must say that I am guilty of that. However, according to Gottschall, “In 1835, Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote a novel called Rienzi. The young Richard Wagner was inspired by the novel and decided to base an opera on it. Bulwer-Lytton conjured people out of paper and ink. Wagner put those ink people onstage and told their story in song. Those songs changed Adolf Hitler and, through Hitler, the world.” Now, it is a fact that Ink People change the world. Yet they do not always have positive effects on people, because some people will read books and misinterpret what the message is conveying. As a result, they create chaos base on their understanding on what they have read.
In this chapter Gottschall brings interesting points to the reader with historical examples. Throughout the whole chapter Gottschall gives the reader an explanation on how Richard Wagner’s opera influenced Hitler and how he lead out to his life. It’s interesting and peculiar how something we hear, read, etc. can change us or lead our lives in a certain way, a way that it impacts or lives where we make decisions quicker or slower. When something affects us, it doesn’t always have to be positive for example Hitler, his decisions weren’t positive. Its proven that stories can change us and sometimes even history, stories are what gives us hope, or fills with fear and curiosity, stories will be forever part of the human race.
In Jonathan Gottschall’s The Storytelling Animal, Ink People Change the World, I never knew that Adolfus Hiedler dreamed of becoming a great painter now I think to my self, if his dreamed turned reality at time, how would the world be, better or worst?. I find this chapter to be very unique because the author is showing not just great point on history, but also showing the other side of those who created history. I have learned about a lot great painter and how they have influence the world but I never herd anything about ink people until today which I found interesting example Hitler, a man who had a dreamed and was crush and it lead him to create a nightmare. I have read a lot stories in my life that had influence and has guide me to be the person I am today. WORDS ARE POWERFUL.
“In the Story Telling Animal” in this chapter “Ink People Change the World” I believe I have understand what Jonathan Gottschall was trying to say. I think he was trying to explain people that are even in the books as ink can also have an influences on others even though they are so called ink people. In other words people can be inspired by the certain works presented by others on what they have done and this is what Mr. Gottschall was explaining. He had explain that a man name Richard Wagner was inspired by a work of literature and because he was influence by this novel, Richard had ended up making an opera about it. This had showed how people that are in the books and refer to as ink people can cause a change to others due to what they have done. After, truly reading and understanding this I began little by little to understand the points to what Gottschall was saying and it started to become clear again. However, not all the time those who are influence by those known as ink people can display a positive effect. It can sometimes lead to a negative effect which causes problems to others and that is when I had finally understand his point.
The characters in fiction are just wiggles of ink on paper. They are ink people. They move through our flesh and blood world and wield real power in it. The ink people of scripture have a real live presence in our world. The shape our behavior and our customs and in doing so they transform histories and societies. This is also true of ordinary fiction. Edward Bulwer-Lytton once wrote a novel Rienzi. The young Richard Wagner was inspired by the novel and decided to base an opera on it. He conjured people out of paper and ink. Wagner put those ink people onstage and told their stories in songs. Those songs changed Hitler and through Hitler the world. Hitler was once just an ordinary boy dropped out of school and trying to attend Academy of Fine Arts, who was twice rejected by the academy but later became the dictator who changed the world. Biographer Ian Kershaw writes “Hitler is one of the few individuals of whom it can be said with absolute certainty: without him, the course of history would have been different.” Historians have, therefore, speculated endlessly about whether the twentieth century might have taken a gentler turn if Hitler had been admitted to arts school, or if he had not attended Rienzi that night and gotten drunk on a fantasy of himself as his nations savior. Hitler was influenced by Wagner’s work. Hitler worshiped Wagner like a god and called Wagner’s music his religion. Hitler himself said “whoever wants to understand National societies Germany must understand works of Wagner.” Hitler is an example of the way that story can shape individuals and histories, sometimes disastrously. The musical stories that Hitler loved didn’t make him a better person. Quite the opposite Hitler was able to drive the world into war that cost sixty million lives. The Nazis deeply inspired by Wagner’s musical stories understood that ink people are among the most powerful and dangerous people in the world. And thus they committed a holocaust of undesirable ink people so there would be fewer barriers to a holocaust of real people.
When I first started reading this chapter I was quite lost in what Gottschall meant by “ink people changed the world” but it wasn’t until the end that I finally understood what he meant. In this chapter Gottschall talks about the way music, fiction story’s, etc change the way we think. A very good example to explain his point was the life Adolf hitler. Hitler wanted to be an artist as a teenager but this dream did not come his way, he was rejected twice from the art school he wanted to attend other than artist hitler was also an opera head, hitler loved Richard Wagner’s music, Wagner was the reason the holocaust happened, Wagner’s music molded hitler mind to a German fanatic by making him believe he’s race worth more than the Jewish race. Fiction stories are more powerful that novels and real stories Gottschall said, I agree with Gottschall’s point one of the reason is because I see in myself how fiction stories change the way I think or see something. For example I love listening to hardcore hip hop and even though I know what the rappers are saying ain’t true it’s still has some sort of influences on the way I talk, walk, think and view certain people. That’s exactly what happened to hitler, he was passionated about Wagner’s fiction style of music and that molded him into the person he became.
Zahirah Hutton
ENG 1101
4/20/2015
When I first read the title I was immediately confused. It wasn’t until I got into the text that I understood the chapter not so much the concept of Ink People but it’s intriguing. Myself personally love history so once I read that this was about Hitler I was hooked. It was good to get an inside view of the thought process of Hitler on what or who influenced his thinking. I remember reading something that said that Hitler’s mother wanted to have and apportion when she was pregnant and the doctor told her that it could kill her little did she know her son was going to grow up to kill thousands. Very intrigued by this chapter this is one chapter that John captured things that I like, he just elevated it to another level.
Ink People Change the World
By Jonathan Gottschall
Summary
In this chapter, Gottschall explains how storytelling can actually affect people mindset and trough that can change History itself or a belief system. Through History, there were people that change the world one way or another. Also, there are many people that were inspired by a writer or compositor that made them to modify their belief system and influence their life. This is the case of kid who wanted to be an artist and was inspired by a compositor called Richard Wagner and one of his masterpieces named the “Rienzi” story that influence to this little kid. Of course, Gottschall was talking about Adulfus Hittler who was influenced by this story who made him believed and act in the way that History has been told. Furthermore, it has been said that he took this story and make it as an answer and make him killed so many people. Another story that Gottschall mentions was Uncle Tom’s Cabin that tells the story of Eliza Harry who wants to survive in an epoch of slavery with her son Harry, and the more interesting part was the one when she and her son cross the Ohio River. This story change the era of slavery in order to make people to abolish this brutal process, and also the former president Abraham Lincoln was impressed by this story. In other words, fictional characters within fictional stories can actually affect the way people believe and people’s daily life because either people were inspired by them or make an impact to those people like Adolfus Hittler or the whole community in the 19th century.