This book stood out to me because it sounded a lot like the sources Emily was quoting when talking about a universal narrative, and how it is so quintessentially human. This book has been cited almost 500 times, which tells me it is a very credible source to look into.It begins by relating the movie Jaws to Beowulf (the overcoming the monster plot), and how there are so many similarities between the basic story lines in all places. At first the author says that he was not so sold on this notion, but after 30 years of research he is ready to buy into it. I have not read the whole book (it is a BIG book), but the 7 plots he goes into are overcoming the monster, rags to rights, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth. Booker says that it does not take us long after we start talking to begin demanding stories, which is evidence of the innate appetite we have for them. However, this source goes beyond noticing the phenomenon, but tries to identify why we do it. Booker goes on to say that if you say random words you are given mental images, and these go on to create sequences, and like a film we see this manifested in things like dreams. As humans, we have remarkable imaginations and it seems we cannot refrain from crafting stories of our existence.
Booker then goes into a bunch of different books and movies and talks about some of the basic plots that connect them all, but what was more interesting to me was what he says about why these stories are found in all different cultural contexts. I think that this could be a great source to tie together some of the thoughts I am having about the universal narrative, and it answers some of the fundamental questions about why we tell stories to begin with. For a creative project, it is necessary to have a source like this to justify me going into the field at all.
Booker, Christopher. Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories. New York: Continuum, 2006. Print.
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