VERSION: 1
“From fireside folk
tales to Netflix dramas, narratives are essential to every society – and
evolutionary theorists are now trying to figure out why, writes David Robson
By: David Robson
Published: BBC, 3 May
2018, http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20180503-our-fiction-addiction-why-humans-need-stories
Level of difficulty:
**
BEFORE YOU READ
QUESTIONS
1.
What is noteworthy about the Epic of Gilgamesh?
2.
We can infer from the introduction to the
article that the Epic of Gilgamesh encompasses some
·
Some universal themes which are still valid
today
·
Some important characteristics that researchers
are interested in
·
Themes and characters that appear in fiction
worldwide
·
The same themes as Homer’s Odyssey and Harry
Potter
·
All of the above
3.
What obvious conclusion can be drawn from the
cave paintings in France?
4.
We can safely assume that people would not spend
so much time buried in fiction if it were just a form of …
5.
The results of the brain scans of subjects
reading or hearing a story prove that …
6.
Why are the results of the above study
significant in terms of society as a whole?
7.
What conclusion can be drawn concerning the
dominant themes in stories throughout history?
8.
Why did moral decision making and cooperation
become such an important theme in stories?
9.
The positive correlation between storytelling
and increased cooperation in society proves that…
10.
The similarity between Odysseus and the Epic of
Gilgamesh is that they both emphasize…
11.
What surprising discovery was made after
studying the answers of the panel of readers?
12.
Why did Thackeray call Vanity Fair a novel
without a hero?
13.
What does “this reason” in the phrase “It is for
this reason that…” refer to?
14.
The ultimate purpose of portraying evil
characters they way we do is to …
15.
The universality and timelessness of fiction
stems, according to McEwan, from the fact that…
WRITING TASK
Write an essay discussing why stories are important to
societies.
OUR FICTION
ADDICTION: WHY WE NEED STORIES; KEY AND TEACHERS’ NOTES
This is a relatively
straightforward text on the important place story telling holds in society and
the writer makes some interesting points concerning universal themes and the
reasons why they have persisted through the ages. It is a well written text and
should provide opportunities for plenty of discussion and a good writing task.
1.
It is read and enjoyed today / it is read today
2.
The first
3.
Narratives have been central to human life for
thousands of years
4.
Pure escapism
5.
Storytelling is a form of cognitive play that
hones our minds (allowing us to simulate…)
6.
The more people read fiction, the easier they
find it to empathize with other people
7.
Our prehistoric preoccupations still shape the
form of the stories we enjoy
8.
Because humans evolved to live in bigger
societies
9.
Moral decision making in tales translated to
daily activities.
10.
Cooperation and friendship
11.
Our interest in cooperation has not dwindled
with the increasing individualism of the Industrial Revolution.
12.
Because the ruthlessly ambitious (and possibly
murderous) Becky Sharp was at the very center of the novel
13.
A greater chance that your genes will be passed
onto a greater number of grandchildren
14.
Reinforce our own sense of altruism and loyalty
to the group
15.
We share some common emotional ground, some deep
reservoir of assumptions with the writer even though he is from a time remote
from our own or from a culture that was profoundly different from our own
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