Becca Yeomans
Professor Michelle Damour
ENGL 1223 A2
April 22, 2019
Humans are a Collection of Their own Experiences and Stories
“The Truth about Stories is that that’s all we are!” (Thomas King). This is an assertion
that Thomas King made in his short story “The Truth of Stories”. King talks about how human
beings are just stories in our world and how their experiences told over time change and evolve
their narrative. As they tell others about their experiences, they educate and teach others about
themselves. Others learn how to either follow or avoid their mistakes. As the stories are told and
retold, the details change and are adapted to the surroundings of the storyteller. They take on
another’s truth and experiences to fit a new narrative. Therefore, becoming part of another
person’s story and portrait. Storytelling is a way for humans to share a part of themselves with
others. As this is retold again and again, people take what means most of the account to them
and apply it to their own lives. If a person feels no connection to the story, then the details are
not remembered and therefore the narrative changes and history lost. Like Kings story, Ferris
Jabr also wrote a short story called “The story of storytelling” which also talks about stories and
how they are told, and the many different versions of these, which can be formed and changed
over time. Both of these stories connect together to prove Thomas Kings assertion which is, “that
the truth about stories is that, that’s all we are”. These stories do this by speaking about the
different way’s stories can be told, their different versions and the point of view of the storyteller.