The whole notion of life being a narrative truly resonates with me. I truly do believe that our lives are a story and how we perceive that story is the same as our outlook on life. She quotes Dan McAdams as saying “life stories do not simply reflect personality. They are personality”. This caught my attention because I believe this to be true, when telling a story it is your story, your emotions inevitable flow into it. Another thing she said was “not only are there individual differences in how people think of their stories, there’s huge variation in the degree to which they engage in narrative storytelling in the first place”. Again, this is something I agree with. Growing up and even to this day the people I most often interact with are those that use few words. It’s like pulling teeth sometimes with them. Yet, they still have a narrative to tell you. It’s just a matter of what they feel is important and actually needs telling. Everyone has a different degree of this. Lastly she quotes Sarah Manguso for saying “narrative is not a mode that has ever come easily to me”. I am not sure if I entirely agree with this statement because our lives are all a narrative that we have all had to share with someone at some point. So, how does it not come easy to her if it is simply a part of life?
Patrick,
I like how you acknowledge that the narrative article relates with you. As I was reading, the quote from Dan McAdams about personality also stuck out to me. Your quote on “narrative mode not coming easy” was an important thing to point out and it was great how you disagreed with her and asked the text questions. This type of thinking can lead you to new ideas for your upcoming paper.
I also like that part about stories actually being us. The way you perceive an event or experience is subjective and could be different for two different people. This perceptions make you who you are because you live through your experiences. I like that you challenge the writers point about narrative telling not coming naturally to her. I too feel that it is hard to not think of a day, an experience or a life time in terms of a story with a beginning middle and end.
Patrick,
I enjoyed reading your reflection on Beck’s essay. I commend you on reading as both a believer and a doubter. Well done!
A side note: These images seemed to enlarge with no problem at all. I apologize if my comment on your peer review was misguided. Now, I’m wondering if the actual image size is to blame.