This question is very interesting to me because I love stories. I love the way authors build a world up and the characters they create and the feelings that the words can evoke. Whether they are told around a campfire in the dead of night as a scary, cautionary tale, written in beautifully collected words bound by paper and glue, or in big productions with captivated audiences and experienced actors— all stories have some effect on their listeners. Sometimes the impact is so great, the stories are still being talked about today. In my opinion, that is the purpose of a story; to spark discussion about the topic it was written about.
A few sources I would use that would help answer this question are Professors Jose Flores and Dia Vechayiem from Whittier College and Joseph Cambell, through his works about the Hero’s Journey. I also stumbled across a few videos (1, 2) and one paper about storytelling in general.
So please join me on this journey as I attempt to answer the question: How does storytelling help shape a community?
