Tuesday, May 8, 2018

OUR FICTION ADDICTION: WHY WE NEED STORIES


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
Level of difficulty: **
BEFORE YOU READ
·         The Epic of Gilgamesh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8scf80TnbU
·         The Odyssey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSRucHuNHP4
       
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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