Character of a Story

 CHARACTER OF A STORY

All the characters in a story refer to the protagonist: they oppose him, ally themselves with him or carry out both activities; However, the relationship between the protagonist and the opponent is the most important and unique. By working through the conflict between these two characters, the most important themes and issues will be developed. They both have the same desire, although they want to achieve it in a different way.

A good storyteller must make sure that the antagonist also has a desire, a justification for acting as he does; It needs to be a powerful and compelling but ultimately incorrect justification. In the story, the antagonist's values conflict with those of the protagonist and both learn from each other and transform.

Whether in the form of a heroic soldier, a good investigator, a ridiculous puppet or an ant with human features, the protagonist is the figure with whom the audience will identify most. That's why he wants it to succeed, because its destiny becomes, in a way, that of the viewer.

The description of the main characters should serve, above all, to know them internally: the desires that move them and the defects they present. You don't always need great descriptions: sometimes, with a single act or gesture you can reveal the type of character you have in front of you. For example, if a character provides a small service without reward, we classify him among the good characters; On the other hand, an incorrect or rude gesture immediately predisposes us against that character. Then, the characters' actions progressively show their personality.

It is especially important to show some vice or defect of the protagonist. Without defects there is no need for transformation. On the other hand, a story also requires internal combat. Additionally, the audience is more likely to empathize with the character if he or she is flawed. If it's perfect, it becomes distant. In fact, one of the antagonist's functions is to highlight the protagonist's greatest weakness, so that he is forced to face it and grow.

In the previous chapter we explained the theme or moral argument, that is, the message proposed by the story. Well, it is important that this is related to the protagonist's main weakness. In this way, when the character "understands", when he "sees" the moral issue, his transformation occurs. For example, only when the hero understands that it is worth giving his life to save a city, does he stop running and become into a true hero. Only then does he transform. 

That is, the moral theme connects with the main character because it usually crystallizes in a moral decision that the protagonist makes, usually near the end of the story. 

Attention: if your character is the same at the end of the story than at the beginning, you have not done something well. 

© Don. J.B Nyamunga'24 

AN ANATOMY OF A STORY

 

ANATOMY OF A STORY 

1. First, the “moral theme or argument.” It is the message that we want to communicate, the idea or value that we want to transmit. It implies a moral vision of the world and human action. It is not the story we want to tell, but the advice we want to give to the reader or viewer. Therefore, within the anatomy of a story, the moral argument would be the brain, since it must guide and condition each subsequent choice (the characters, the conflict, etc.).

2. Secondly, we must think about the characters. They are the actors who, guided by a desire, act to face a conflict that becomes inevitable. In the face of conflict, they transform and understand the moral issue, that is, they discover a truth and the public does it with them. The characters are the heart of the story, what gives it life.

3. The third element of the anatomy of a story is conflict: it is the obstacle that the character finds between his desire and its realization. The conflict forces the main character to undergo a transformation. Conflict can remind us of our stomach, as it fuels the story.

4. Then we have the plot: an intricate choreography of actions performed by the protagonist and his adversaries, designed to surprise the reader, listener or viewer. In the plot, the characters' desires intersect until the final enlightenment. The plot would be the skeleton.

5. Finally, we have the narrative universe, that is, the place and time in which the story takes place and which can help in transmitting the moral theme.

As we have noted, these are the main elements of a story. In the most complex stories they are all present; in the simplest ones, some will be absent.

© Don. J.B Nyamunga'24 

Values in a Story

There are no stories without values, but very often the proposed values are only a means to another end: selling a product, asking for votes in national elections, suggesting a tourist destination for vacations or many other purposes. In this short course we only want to highlight the ability of stories to share positive values.

First, we must ask ourselves: what are values and why are they suitable for stories? The word “courage” comes from the Latin “ valere ” and means “to be strong, healthy, capable.” By extension, values would be those principles that guide a person's life. Stories that transmit values suggest, therefore, criteria for making good decisions in life, for choosing well, for guiding one's own behavior.

For this reason, it is said that good stories have the ability to dress old issues in new clothes, and can connect the concerns of modern man with classic narratives and with ethical or religious proposals.

One of the strengths of stories is their ability to communicate the indescribable. Stories put words and images to the best intuitions. They contain realities that cannot be seen or touched, but can be known or felt. In this movement from the abstract to the concrete, history not only makes the values at stake clearer and more accessible, but also facilitates the memorization of the concepts we want to convey.

Good stories contain what is known as the dramatic code . The dramatic code, etched deeply into the human psyche, is the artistic description of how a person can grow or evolve. The narrator hides this process behind some characters and actions: while these change driven by the conflict, the viewer/reader also feels called to improve. This works because each of us wants to become a better version of ourselves (in short, a story follows the trajectory of what a person wants, what they will do to get it, and the consequences that follow from it).

When the audience identifies with the protagonist, they learn when the protagonist learns. When storytelling is good, the audience can relive events in the present and understand the strength, resolve, and emotion that drives the character to do what they do. Thus, stories offer the public a type of knowledge called emotional wisdom.

The short video that illustrates this chapter is a beautiful example of how an apparently simple story can make us reflect and transmit a value, in this case strength and the ability to grow.

© Don. J.B Nyamunga'24 

THE POWER OF A STORY

Why does our brain retain stories with particular vividness? Why do stories have so much power? Only by knowing the answers to these questions will we be able to fully understand storytelling and, in some way, try to tame it, use it to our advantage and thus put it at the service of others.

Broadly speaking, we can identify three reasons that give stories their persuasive power. The first lies in its ability to imitate reality. In Aristotle's Poetics it is stated that man is a being who has the peculiarity of distinguishing himself from animals thanks to the art of imitating everything that surrounds him: "It is in our nature - says the philosopher - to imitate from childhood, and therefore For this reason men are distinguished from animals” (Aristotle, Poetics, I, 4, 5-10).

Indeed, with stories we recreate reality, we imitate it. Therefore, a narrative is like a window to the world, a "testing ground" where we learn to manage emotions, relationships with others, behaviors, our attitude in the face of difficulties, etc. Following Aristotle, we can say that our Human nature is comfortable in that “imitation of reality” that we are capable of generating with a story.

The second reason for the power of stories is connected to the first and lies in the deep need for meaning that moves every man. Without realizing it, we look everywhere for guidance on how to live, and stories precisely provide us with a kind of intuitive knowledge about how to act to be happy. It is no coincidence that the words text and fabric share the same Latin root: “ tessare ", which means to weave . It is like this: we weave stories with words just as we weave fabrics with threads. With fabrics we make garments that cover us, give us dignity and tell others who we are and how we want to be seen. However, with words and stories we understand the world, we explain our ideas and tell our lives to others. Both texts and words give us meaning. Stories help us understand.

The third and final reason why stories are so powerful lies in our brain's enormous capacity to process them. That body is especially willing to learn through realtos . It has recently been discovered that the so-called mirror neurons play a fundamental role in this activity. Why are they called like that? Because when we watch a movie or listen to a story, the areas of our brain that process emotions are the same as the narrator's areas where there is neural activity. That is, with stories we replicate emotions, we physically empathize with others, thus promoting a stronger bond with the characters and the message. If the speaker gets excited, we get excited; If he gets sad, so do we. It is as if one brain is a mirror of the other. Stories have also been shown to stimulate the release of neurochemicals, such as dopamine and oxytocin, which are associated with pleasure, reward, and social bonding. 

These substances help create an emotional connection with the audience, making the message more engaging and memorable. For example, that is why we feel so much relief, for example, when the story ends as we had anticipated.

I hope that with these three ideas I have been able to explain why stories are so powerful. They are not just a hobby for children. They have enormous power because they involve us deeply.

To make the most of this second chapter, I invite you to watch a video and reflect on some questions. Furthermore, in the bibliography that accompanies this unit you will find other materials to delve deeper into the proposed ideas. In the third unit we will focus on what we mean when we talk about Storytelling. TELL YOUR STORY!

The Joy of the Gospel - Evangelii gaudium

 Evangelium Gaudium is a 2013 Apostolic Exhortation by Pope Francis on the Church's Mission of Evangelization in the modern world. We can get this right from the opening paragraph of the exhortation that clarifies what we are getting involved in once we become missionary protagonists. He goes on to state that the joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ, Joy is constantly born a new […] He wishes to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon the latest chapter of evangelization marked by joy pointing out new paths for the church's journey in the years to come.

The Pope exhorts the people of God to implement a particular aspect of the Church’s life and teaching. It is not about teaching a new doctrine but suggesting how the Church's teaching and practices can be profitably applied today. This exhortation is geared more toward the pastoral praxis rather than the doctrinal or legal nature. The Christian joy is that the Church may discover the original source of evangelization in the contemporary world. Pope Francis offers this document to the Church as a road map and guide to her pastoral mission for the near future. It’s an invitation to recover a prophetic vision of reality without ignoring the current situation. The language and symbols Pope Francis' imaginative language is a lived experience that can be used, and expressed in homilies, sermons in our parishes by priests, retreat sessions, conferences and ongoing formation programs.

Chapter one of this document treats the Church and her missionary transformation call as a Mother with an open heart (nn.46-49). This means that a mother with an open heart can also be enclosed in a certain place, protected and cared for. The human body contains the heart that gives life to the body. As the heart pumps the blood in the body that gives life, so is it with the heart of a mother who becomes younger and younger in giving life to a new Church, and with her vivid presence that pumps a new life to her children.

Whenever we use the expression… Church as a mother with an open heart is a metaphoric expression that gives a sense of what the Church is. The Church is a mother; in this case a mother with an open heart, warmth, caring, loving, all qualities that our mothers have. This heart is very much open to the eventualities that may befall her whether bad or good. The Church has to be willing to embrace, search for her children and always with a big heart. The example of a prodigal son returning and has to feel part and parcel of the common home. A mother will always wait for her children to return home.

Pope Francis states that “The church should be a place of mercy and of hope in God, where everyone should feel received, loved forgiven and encouraged to live according to evangelical call, a place where the doors are opened for everyone to enter, but that means that others too ought to get out to continue with the evangelization to announce the good news received”…This is also emphasized by Cardinal Sepe, when he says ‘We don't need to have fear, as the Divine master taught, we ought to be a Church that is prophetic and missionary that is opening its sacristy door, walking together to other men of our time, participating, not a word, but a charity incarnated to the joy and to the pains of our people. The church does not run away from the world for fear, but that goes to the world carrying Christ, a unique saver, lest we fall into the heresy of fear that is a great danger today.

When a door is closed, it does no good to no one, except paralyzes, and separates. The Church is called upon to be a house. A mother is not someone out there but has a proper place, she can be found and also we can refer to her in case of need.

Today the Church is referred to as a house of bricks but assembly of people of God who form a spiritual house of the faithfuls who build up a sacred place of worship in the name of God, the first place of welcoming to new members who become Christians through baptism and other sacraments, a place to love, receive love and donate love. Pope Francis calls a house "a house is where the doors are opened to receive and hospitality exercised at its best attention to fraternity". If we have to find God in our lives we cannot confront the doors of the Church closed. The Holy Spirit should propel us to open these doors widely to create a place of encounter, a dialogue of love.

A Church is a place where everyone participates in his or her own capacity and talent. To close oneself into self is like closing the doors of the Church. We can’t claim to be unique. The church’s role is to make children, many children and if she doesn’t do so she will remain sterile or suffer the humiliation from the society that will call her a barren woman who is not fertile. In the Bible, women who confront this harsh reality of sterility: are Elizabeth, Zachariah, and Noemi but we see God doing great works in them. In this Church, we are protagonists of change, mothers and fathers living fully into the fertilization capacity of faith and spirituality, producing something new, a new creation.

This only comes when we ask the Holy Spirit to go out of ourselves to the other, to give ourselves into pastoral conversion and mission. Pope Francis picks the comparison with Pope Benedict XVI who stated that the church doesn’t grow for proselytisms, but grows through attraction, the maternal attraction by offering maternity, tenderness, and testimony that generates more sons and daughters. So we cannot call the Church a grandmother, but a woman who re-energizes her maternity, and youthfulness not by carrying herself the medical plastic surgery, that is not what it’s all about, but she becomes younger as she begets sons and daughters.

Pope during his pastoral work as bishop of Buenos Aires talking to priests and the people of God, stated that “he preferred a church that is wounded, dirty, because it’s out on the streets and out there working and evangelizing and saving souls than a church that is sick because it's closed in itself for its own security. The Pope says that it pains seeing the Church so much preoccupied for its own security sake, closed in itself for fear, this seems to be the preoccupation of many getting out of a Church that is more occupied with fear of making mistakes. This gives a bad and false impression of protection in the name of transformation.

Opening the doors according to Barreda is also opening the digital airwaves and connectivity, so that people may enter and find what they are looking for, whatever they see, is whatever they get (WYSWYG). Going out to the street is not a triumph march, it carries risks but better for a wounded Church than a Church that is closed up. “Those others who are outside, are they interested really? These are challenges of the new evangelization, the cascades into renewal of faith.

The Church should be able to warm hearts that lead the people to Jerusalem. The pope calls upon the bishops to do more, warming people's hearts in their profound pastoral duties. The hardest work is that of the parish priests every day listening to all sorts of problems of family, that of death. The pope reminds the pastors to walk before that sheep as they guide the community. This calls for real sensibility and dedication to start a journey that has to be pastoral and familiar.

This will rise in our communication the message and our prioritization of things as far as the hierarchy of truth is taught and lived. This is clearly stipulated in the document (UR n.11) which states that this should not be an obstacle to dialogue with the brethren but has to be presented in its entirety. This ought to be geared towards the love of truth, with clarity and with humility remembering that in Catholic doctrine there exists a "hierarchy" of truth that vary in understanding and clearer presentation of the unfathomable riches. As we put everything in perspective, this too will affect the delivery of the message.

Sometimes the message may be distorted or reduced to some secondary aspects, where the Church's moral issues are usually taken out of context and worse if the message preached, doesn't reach its audience. We need to be intelligent to know our audience well to engage it with a pedagogical approach to relate what we say to the very heart of the gospel which gives meaning, beauty, and attractiveness.

Once we build the Church on moral terms then we end up with a castle of lettere, this is a serious danger we can confront ourselves with. This is what we call the “perfume of the gospel.” Truth has to be understood when related to the harmonious totality of Christian message; all are truths that illuminate, one another if this invitation doesn’t radiate forcefully and attractively.

The edifice of the Church’s moral teaching risks becoming a house of cards, a great risk. The message that risks losing its freshness and will cease to have the fragrance of the Gospel. This is witnessed when priests can turn the confessional boxes into places of mercy of the lord which stimulates towards doing the best possible. It may be a small drop in the sea with human reality and limitations but more grateful to God, but an external sign of confronting a difficult within the mercy of God in human reality and experience. Jesus always wants us to appear as we are, in our very self. We come with our fragility and weakness; sometimes with fear. We ought to be fully human people who can recognize the faults and get back to the right road and binary of life.