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 D371 English Composition I, SPR2015
Official site for ENG1101 D371
In Jonathan Gottschall’s, “The Storytelling Animal, Ink People Change the World,” Gottschall’s ink people are leading people, whether in story or television/film who influence real life movements. In this chapter, Gottschall’s tells us the story of Adolf Hitler’s inspiration. Adolf Hitler was influenced by Richard Wagner’s opera, Rienzi, and Wagner’s inspiration was from Edward Bulwar-Lytton novel, “Rienzi.” As you can see, the influence stemmed all the way from a novel. Gottschall also notes Abraham Lincoln’s actions behind the American Civil War were based on Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Ink people are influential because story is constantly changing the way our minds are molded. The deeper the fiction, the deeper we emotionally connect to it. One would believe we can simply separate fiction story from our lives but we cannot. We mix information of our lives with that of fiction and nonfiction story. Overall, the more we are immersed in a story the more likely it will change our mindset. Ink people may have influenced me over the years but the one person that comes to mind at this moment in my life is a young girl named Talia Joy Castellano. Talia Joy passed away from cancer at the age of 13. Her story, in conjunction with my past health history, inspired me to want to get involved in the medical field. Just like Talia, I too want to give back and changing careers will set me in the right direction.
According to Jonathan Gottschall’s chapter, “ Ink People Change the World,” Ink people are unique leaders. Based on the chapter, ink people are unique leaders who influence others in life. He talked about Adolf Hitler, Abraham Lincoln and he stated ink people who influenced them, described who they were and suggested reasons why they acted a certain way. Both Hitler and Lincoln were influenced by novels. As increasingly realistic the story is, the more influencial it is. Personally, no matter what kind of story it is, as long I am interested in it, it will probably influence me in some way. Throughout my life, I identified Michael Phelps as an ink person to me because he made me love the swimming sport and proved me that nothing can stop you from achieving your goals if you are working hard toward it.
Influential people, who are they? People are always the subject of influence. A person can control or can seek to control, it is up to that person to decide which side to take. A person who had great control over his subordinates, as mention by JG was Adolf Hitler. Hitler was of course the leader of the nazi party during world war 2. Hitler had a great disdain for people who he thought to be inferior, the followers of Judaism living in Germany and its territories being just one of these groups of people. Historians theorize that this hatred stems from Hitlers youth; Hitler had applied to a school for the arts in Austria and was rejected, the school being run by Jewish people. Hitler began a run for the führer of Germany. He exacted revenge on the people that he considered “Undesirable”. People are very easily influenced. Another way of putting this is that people are like sheep. Things that they see in everyday life and in the media influence how we live our lives. The people who seek control of the world and its people are constantly using the media to project their ideals onto the masses. This could the rich and powerful controlling the weak and poor. People with great power in society are the authors of books and other media. The persons described in their works, fictional or not, give the rest of society examples of what to be and what not to be. The persons in the books are the “Ink People” as mentioned by JG. Ink people, the children of the authors’ mind, influence society.
In Jonathan Gottschall’s, “The Storytelling Animal” on the chapter “Ink People Change the World”, Gottschall conveys that fictional characters, also called as “Ink People” can have an influential effect on any individual. Gottschall gave a prime example about Adolf Hitler, whom had lifelong dream of becoming an artist after attending a performance called Rienzi, made by Richard Wagner. Wagner was a highly renowned for his “Political tracts, and a virulent anti-Semite” in his active life. Hitler wanted to be exactly like him, but unfortunately, he was not accepted to the art school. Even then, he still did not gave up his dream; despite being offered multiple jobs from his family. Soon, Adolf Hitler rose up to become a fuehrer, emulating an ideology of Wagner’s play, which was to eliminate all Jews. Hitler was so influenced by Wagner’s fictional play, that Wagner’s “Ink People” led him to create one of the world’s worst historical event that ever took place. It is no secret that Hitler was emotionally attached to a simple nationalist play, with what could have just been just a perfect ideology that molded his time as leader. Furthermore, his hatred towards the Jews gave him no doubts as how he wanted to see the world from the way it was portrayed in the play. Ink People are fictional characters that can undeniably relay powerful influence to us. We tend to grow, and sympathize with characters so spontaneously that we would not believe how much of our human characteristic is heavily influenced by them.
In this chapter, Gottchall talk about ink people. Ink people are leaders, people who influence others using words, actions, etc. He talked about how people like Abraham Lincoln and how he was influenced by others, which led to his legendary presidency. Ink people are special in that they are able to connect with the person they are influencing in some way. Someone who I would consider and ink person is Gerard Way, the former front band of a band called My Chemical Romance. Even though he doesn’t write novels, I still consider him an Ink person because he was influenced many people who listen to his music to not only care about themselves, but accept themselves for who they are.
In Jonathan Gottschall’s “The Storytelling Animal: Ink People Change The World”, Gottschall talks about how ink people influence the world and individuals in negative or positive ways. Ink people are leaders such as Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler. Gottschall mentioned that Adolf Hitler’s ink person was Richard Wagner, who produced an Opera called Rienzi. Wagner’s opera shaped Hitler’s path that changed history. In my life, I consider Michael Jackson as an ink person. Not only did he influence me as a child growing up, he also infuenced the world in a posItive way. Michael Jackson was the reason I became a dancer as a kid. Many artists up to today’s generation replicate Michael Jackson’s dance moves and fashion.
In Jonathan Gostchalls book “The story telling Animal” in the chapter “Ink People” he talks about how Ink People are those who influence others or are leaders. It doesn’t necessarily have to be in a positive way but others are influenced in negative ways as well. Some Ink people he described were Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler. The Ink person in my life is my mom. Throughout her life she has went to struggles and even since childhood when her mother passed away. During that time the difficulties she faced but the way she overcame them, always makes me want to be like her. The way she still went to school and got her education and became a teacher. She has always encouraged my siblings and me to do so much more with our life’s. To me she has always been the epitome of perfection in every way, and I would always want to follow her footsteps.
In the chapter “ The ink people change the world” is about the influence of authors, artists, and other literature work have on people’s decision and path they live their life through. A particular example is a theory where Hitler’s belief came from. As a teenager, Hitler was believed to get his belief from an opera called “Rienzi. He believed that one day he would lead the people to bring new meaning to of “Freedom”. No matter what that meant to him at that time, it’s how he perceived ones piece of work, and it influenced him to do things in the future that will change the world’s knowledge of power and dominance over a particular country. Some examples of literary work that has changed my belief into something else, or question the fact is “the study of science”. I was born into Catholicism but once I started to study more in depth about the stars and universe, it has widened my interest in finding the fact of “human existence”. There is a higher being somewhere and I do not doubt that in any way, but finding the truth about something has always been a part of my life since I can remember.
In the chapter Ink People of Jonathan Gottschall’s, “The Storytelling Animal”, the chapters title basically means people with creative minds that separate their inky world from ours. There are many Ink People that has changed our behaviors and our customs which has transformed our societies and histories. Martin Luther King Jr. for instance was the predominant leader in the Civil Rights Movement to end racial segregation and discrimination in America. Martin has got this great idea to do non-violent protests and marches from reading letters and hearing stories about Mahatma Gandhi who has also done non-violent marches and protest to gain independence from the British. “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world”. I think that Robin Williams quote has a very strong message related to this chapter because its true. There have been many Ink People whose words and ideas did change the world and many more that can still change the world even more as we see more writers and thinkers develop.
In Ink People Change the World, Gottchall talks about the people who influence other with their words and gesture in positive or negative ways. He gives example of Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler and tells how they influence people by just using the proper gesture and words in their writings and speeches. Gotchall talks about how Hitler As a teenager was believed to get his belief from an opera called Rienzi. He believed that the day will come when he would lead the people to bring freedom. Overall Ink people are the leaders who influence us but sometimes a common person becomes an ink person for us by just giving some advise and we want to follow that because the way they present the idea gets our full attention and they influence us.