Everything happens for a reason

Blog 13

I Am Not A Story 

This essay caused me to become very aggravated as I continued reading. To begin, the overall set up of the essay seemed very poor to me. The essay consisted of way too many unexplained, or unnecessary quotes that just seemed to fill the space. Often times the quotes I was reading were in a  “Naysayer” style that didn’t make sense. I would agree with the quote and completely disagree with what Strawson was attempting to explain. As I got further and further into the essay I became more and more frustrated with what I was reading. I couldn’t pinpoint any specific evidence to support the overall claim. Honestly, it was hard to even find what claim Strawson was attempting to make. Since his claim that life is not a story is so foreign and opposite of what I believe most individuals would believe, I was looking forward to hearing a new point of view that could potentially change my outlook. That did not happen. I was left disagreeing with Strawson’s claim more than when I started the reading. I believe that our life is a story. We have personal experiences and memories that help shape us into who we are today and are key to who we will become in the future. The patterns we can see in the stories we tell about our life will be included in the life we are going to live in the future. Humans are constantly telling stories to introduce themselves, connect on a deeper level, or make sense of any situation.

Overall after reading our first essay, “Life’s Stories” and now reading this new essay, “I Am Not A Story” I can not understand how people don’t see life as a narrative. The evidence in our first reading was so simple to understand and just made complete sense. The evidence in our second reading seemed almost non-existent. How can we live our life without referring to any past memories or experiences or emotions felt? I believe that it is not possible.

 

 

3 Comments

  1. gjohnson8

    I completely agree with every one of your statements. I too was frustrated as I made my way down Strawson’s article. At many times his reasoning was too nonchalant for the evidence he presented. I could feel the emotion coming from this response and I felt it as well. When you mention his naysayer paragraphs, I couldn’t help but cringe at the mention of it. Overall, good job!

  2. Rachel

    I completely agree with the way you felt while reading this essay. I found myself often confused by the quotes Strawson chose and agreeing with the naysayer paragraphs but not to his argument. I also totally agree with your last few sentences in your first paragraph. In our lives, we live these stories unknowingly and they shape us into who we are and how our future will proceed.

  3. elishaemerson

    I love how you react to Strawson’s rhetorical choices (i.e. floating quotes, too much naysayer). When you find a writer’s choices unconvincing, you gain information on what writing works (in your opinion) and what writing doesn’t work. Keep that up!

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