The History Of Storytelling

I have always wanted to be a storyteller. It's true that lately I have been doing more of non-fiction, but my long term goal is to become a great novelist. But the thing is that the art of storytelling keeps changing. Over the years, plots, characters, settings and other such things have undergone transformations, with every era having a characteristic style of storytelling.

The oldest variety I can think of is that of fables and fairy tales.  They represent an ancient yet timeless world, where anything can happen- animals can talk, people can fly and you can wear glass slippers without wearing them. Although they are mainly read out to children, they can be fully understood only by the mature. They not only have hidden meanings, but there are stories behind their origin as well. For example, the Panchatantra were said to be written to educate three ignorant princes the 'wise way of life'. Perraults's Cinderella has this moral attached to it which despite not being the ideal teching to impart to children, is quite true- "Without doubt it is a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding, and common sense. These, and similar talents come only from heaven, and it is good to have them. However, even these may fail to bring you success, without the blessing of a godfather or a godmother." Soma may interpret it to mean that our virtues are meanigless without someone taking us under their wing, and others may take it to illustrate the importance of well-wishers in our life.

Cinderella at the ball

Panchtantra

Then comes the kind of storytelling which is reflection of a time gone by. One good example is that of Jane Austen's novels which mainly have to do with the obsession with marriage and money in her time. Sometimes, novels are written to depict a present which is better than the one that actually exists. They can also be representatives of a society which longs for change, say for example, Premchand's 'Godan'.

Pride And Prejudice

One genre that has been very popular in the last, say, fifty years, is that of crime novels. I have never really been a big fan of them. To me, they can be called 'pulp fiction' with a little bit of foreign intelligence, a gorgeous protagonist and some sleazy action thrown into the plot. But I understand I shouldn't generalize. Anyways, the truth is that many crime novelists have a steady career which spans decades and also make a lot of money. This only shoes that readers of today like fast-paced, action-packed books. They don't like to read through pages of interpretations and analysis. This is connected with the lifestyle of today. People don't have much time and unless you can get them hooked, you can't appeal to them.

Last but not the least, teenagers of today seem to like nothing but paranormal fiction. Most internatonal bestsellers in the last ten years have to do with vampires and magicians and fairies. Even though some of the subject matter of these books are questionable, there is no duobt that they make teenagers pick up books to read which is a good thing.

I can plan to be a storyteller today, but byt the time I actually become one the world and it's tastes would have changed. Acoordingly, I will have to modify my skills. Hopefully, I'll be able to do that someday.