"Good Form"
Explain the difference between story-truth and happening-truth. Which is more powerful?
"Field Trip"
Write about a place that once had emotional significance for you, but when you returned there, you found it different or disappointing. Alternately, write about an experience that is very different for you now than it was as a child.
Story-truth makes things present. Happening truth is what really happened. I think happening-truth is more powerful because it is actually the truth and not just a story.
ReplyDeleteA place that once had emotional significance to me was my great-grandmothers house. She lived a few hours away but we visited her with my other family quite often. After she died, the house was sold and it was years before we went back to the city she lived in and decided to go visit the house. I remember we didn't get out of the car, but we stopped the car and looked at the house. It was quiet and no one said anything, but I could tell that, just like myself, everyone was disappointed in what they saw. I had remembered the house being small and beautiful with a well kept yard and very inviting. The house had been sold and the people who now lived there had not taken very good care of the house as my great-grandmother had. So I was very disappointed to see that the place where I spent a great deal of my childhood had been, in a way, taken away from me.
I've had a similar experience with a childhood home. So sad.
DeleteStory-truth is when you are present at an event and elaborate on the events. Happening-truth is the real events told as they were. I believe that happening-truth is more powerful to me because they are completely real events. They don’t need the elaboration. They are amazing as they are.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, my parents would send me to my grandparent's house to spend time with them. I can remember tea parties with my grandma and making cookies with my grandpa. After my grandfather passed away, it was never the same. I started spending less and less time at my grandmother's house. I still spend time with her, but it is not as exciting as it used to be.
Part of it may be that you are growing older, too. A good memory.
DeleteStory-truth is when you are at an event and give more detail about that event. Happening-truth is the event told exactly how it happened. I think happening-truth is much more powerful because it connects the story with a real event, making it seem easier to picture.
ReplyDeleteAn place that used to hold emotional significance was Disney World. Now that I go back, it is less exciting because I now know that most of it isn't real. When I was a child i believed in all the "magic," but now that I am older that belief has faded, and the experience is less exciting.
You've written about Disney before. It's an excellent example, Ryan.
DeleteStory-truth is being at an actual event and telling more about it than what actually happened. Happening-truth is no elaboration, the exact truth is only what is told. Going to school isn't as exciting as it used to be. I remember my first day of school being young and being so excited that I was a grade older that year, now it's not really that exciting. Going to school feels the exact same as it did the year before just with different classes.
ReplyDeleteThat's part of the aging process, unfortunately. College will feel new and exciting at first, but then will settle into a similar groove.
DeleteStory truth is simply whatever happens in a story that the reader believes to be true. Happening truth is what is actually true. Story truth is more powerful because as long as the reader believes that something that they read is true. O'Brien says that as long as the reader feels emotions from reading the text, then it doesn't matter if it was actually true or not. When I was younger Metzger park in Louisville was the best place for me to be. My brothers and I would have fun playing in the castle there. However, I returned last summer with my brother, and nephew, and it was not as fun as I used to remember. Im too big to have any real fun there anymore. It's not nearly the same as it once was.
ReplyDeleteGlenn, that's part of aging. Once upon a time, a backyard swing could occupy me for hours. Those days are long gone. :(
DeleteThe difference between story-truth and happening-truth is huge. When someone says something that is "happening-truth", it is simply a recounting of events. When someone tells a story that is "story-truth", the events may or may not have happened, but the events elicit an emotional response from the listeners that the narrator wishes to extract. Story truth is infinitely more powerful because it is designed to harvest real emotions from the audience. These emotions connect the audience to the narrator more effectively than a retelling of the events.
ReplyDeleteA place, or rather a time I used to look forward to excitedly as a young child was Christmas time. I LOVED Christmas, but now I'm more of a Halloween gal. The reason is this: as a young child, Christmas was pretty much the only time I got to see my entire extended family on my mom's side. We would all go to one of my aunt's house (the location changed every year) and I got to spend all night playing with my zillions of cousins (seriously, there are a lot) and exchange gifts in our annual gift exchange and watch the adults get drunk and sing songs and play instruments. This experience, coupled with my belief in Santa Claus, made Christmas seem like a truly magical time. Sadly, as I grew older, things did not stay the same. As my family grew bigger and older, things seemed a little more drab. Sometimes my whole family isn't there. One of my aunts has emphysema and rarely leaves the house anymore. Nobody has enough money for the gift exchange. My aunts and uncles are aging and their stamina for drinking has lowered, and the desire to have fun has certainly dimmed in all of us. My family started renting a bar instead going to one another's house because we decided it was too crowded for all of us to fit. It saddens me to think how we are all growing about. Recently, however, my other cousins have made this observation and are starting a movement to bring us all closer together and slowly but surely, I'm starting to feel like things used to be. :)
Good story. Christmas is one holiday that never compares favorably between childhood and adulthood, at least until you have children of your own.
DeleteThe story-truth is when you were attending the event and can elaborate. Happening-truth is the facts of the event only. Story-truth is more powerful because the person was there experiencing it and passes the feeling to you.
ReplyDeleteI used to go to my Fathers cabins in Canada and fish with him during the summer when I was younger, and it was so much fun when I was little. I had returned two years ago after not going with him for awhile and it was not very fun like i had remembered it.
What made the experience different, Jake? Your age?
DeleteStory-truth is when you bring up an event from the past that has details that are slightly changed. Happening-truth exactly what happened.
ReplyDeleteA place that had emotional significance to me was Universal Studios. I still love the place, but it wasn't quite as exciting as it was the first time experiencing it.
I haven't been to Universal Studios in years, Evan. I would like to go back again.
Deletestory-truth is being present at a certain event and telling more about the story than what actually happened. Happening-truth is when you tell the story exactly how it happened. I think story-truth is more powerful because you don't necessarily know what about the story is true and what isn't true. It would tell a better story that is more eventful and exciting so it would keep the reader reading.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger we would go to West Virginia every year for a Christmas party. I loved going because I got to see my family that I never go to see, and I love them all so much. I wish I could see them more often. My cousin, John used to give me an elf hat and he said he was santa and I was his helper. My other cousin, Joey is in the air force so it was always really exciting to see him and know that he was okay. Now we don't go because my uncle who hosted the party died. So when we do go to visit it's very weird because he's not there. It's not as exciting because it doesn't have the Christmas feel.
I'm sorry for your loss, Amber. It's sometimes hard to rekindle the holiday spirit after a significant passing.
DeleteStory-truth is just a false story and happening truth is the honest real truth. Happening truth is more powerful to me because it creates sentimental values because it is the truth and not a lie.
ReplyDeleteA place that had an emotionally significance to me would be Silver Park. I used to love going there for family reunions every year. After my grandfather passed away I don't really go as much. I'm also not as close with that side of my family anymore and every time I go to silver park I think of the memories at silver park and it frustrates me that my grandma doesn't really want to go to them anymore without my grandpa.
We live so close to Silver Park that we probably go there two or three times a week in the spring and summer — sometimes more. Sometimes, when we lose somebody, the places we used to go with that person feel different to us. :(
DeleteStory truth is a potentially made up story used to convey emotions; happening truth is just a true story. (Yay for semicolons) Story truth is more powerful because it allows the reader to feel what the author felt. The reader won't understand the guilt if it just said, "I saw some guy die and was scared to look", but a little detailed exaggeration helps readers relate. A place that was significant to me is camp limrod. I used to go every when I was little and I always wanted to go up even when there wasn't a camp. The summer after eighth grade I went and the excitement was gone. I'm not sure why, it could've been because one of my friends couldn't go anymore. I think about when we went to camp together whenever I go there. A place where the experience has changed completely for me is Disney World. When I was little, Cassie and I waited for hours to ride silly rides like dumbo and get autographs from the characters. When we go now we just want to wander around alone and ride the big rides like splash mountain.
ReplyDeleteYou're becoming a semicolon pro, Abby. Disney is a good example of a location that feels different depending on our age.
DeleteStory truth could be fiction or could be nonfiction, it all depends on what story you want to tell. it could be "true to the story." Happening truth is nonfiction, or what really happened. I think happening truth is more real because its the honest truth of what happened. An experience that is different for me now than it used to be would be going to school. In elementary school and middle school, things were so much different than they are now. School work, bell times, and even what time I woke up has all changed. Maybe it changed for the good, or maybe it changed for the bad, or maybe even both. There are many advantages and privileges I have now, but also many responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteAnd now it's all going to change again as you start out on another adventure. Good luck to you, Tiffany. :)
DeleteStory telling truth is when you have to ability to add particular things to a story that didn't really happened. Happening-truth actually recalls the true events that went on. I believe that happening truth is more powerful because the story is actually 100% true and you do not have to juggle between what is true and what is false.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, my family would take a trip every summer to Geauga Lake/ Wild Water Kingdom for a weekend. It was the first amusement park i've ever went to and I rode my first roller coaster there. Recently, about 6 or 7 years ago, they disassembled Geauga lake and only left Wild Water Kingdom. Together, Geauga Lake and Wild Water Kingdom was a blast. It kept me occupied an entire day. I could alternate between riding roller coasters and going to the water park and I thought it was fantastic. Wild Water Kingdom alone sounds awful and to this day I refuse to go. I feel like if I go there, I will see the remnants of Geauga Lake, have a flashback to my childhood, and potentially may get upset.
I've driven past the remnants of Geauga Lake, and it IS horrible, Kira. The skeleton of a dead roller coaster and acres of weedy parking lots are all that remains. Sad.
DeleteA story truth is a story that is based on truth but details are added to make it more of a full story. A happening-truth is just a story of what actually happen. A story-truth id more powerful because you get to included emotions, and not just what happen.
ReplyDeleteA place where it had emotional significant would be deep in my woods where their was a giant hole because of mining in the 1920s. When I was little it seems like a different world a place of mystery and adventure. Now when i go back it just a hole smaller, and darker than I remembered. It doesn't hold that same feeing as I felt. Now my imagination has token a tool and reality has hit me like a falling tree.
I used to love playing in the woods behind our house in Homeworth when I was a kid. I seldom get into the woods now, though. An abandoned mine sounds spooky.
DeleteStory of truth is basically a story with very vivid details. They're told so realistically they are believable. Story of happening is a very vague, straight to the point story with not much detail. Going to the park used to be my favorite thing to do when I was a child. I would be able to play on the playground for hours. But now, going to the park as a 16 year old isn't much fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat? The park is still a blast! Take a frisbee, a softball, a picnic lunch and enjoy. :)
DeleteStory-truth is what the author might make up to convey emotion or make a point, while happening-truth is a real event that actually happened.
ReplyDeleteIn my basement, there is a room that is solely dedicated to the existence of Barbies. In that room, there are over 200 dolls, a full hotel, three different houses, a beach house, a pool, a castle, an airplane, two convertibles, and a train. My sister and I would spend hours down there together, playing with dolls, quick to claim to hotel and red convertible before the other one got it. I could waste hours playing with Barbies, dressing them up in different outfits and taking them on different adventures. Now, the dolls are packed away in toy bins and the Barbie Town has slowly transcended to ghost town status. It doesn't have the same fun it used to.
That's a very compelling description of Ghost Town Barbie, Sam. If you haven't done something with the image in a story or an essay, you really need to. It's fascinating, wistful and a little creepy — like Toy Story meets The Exorcist.
ReplyDelete