The Storytelling Animal

Gottschall opens with a quotation from Christopher Morley, who says that a book is more than just physical materials; it is an entire world of experience. Gottschall uses this idea to explore how deeply human life is intertwined with stories, to the point where individuals often don’t realize their impact.

Gottschall illustrates this point with Nathaniel Philbrick’s book In the Heart of the Sea, a nonfiction narrative about the whaleship Essex, whose disastrous sinking inspired Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. He describes how Philbrick’s narrative technique can pull individuals out of their current surroundings and immerse them into the historical moment of the story. The chapter continues to describe a scene from Philbrick’s book, where the crew of the Dauphin discovers a derelict boat with survivors in a horrifying condition. This narrative, Gottschall says, pulls individuals into a visceral experience, demonstrating how stories can play out in one’s mind beyond the literal text on the page.

Gottschall discusses the concept of the “willing suspension of disbelief” (4), originally coined by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, to explain how readers voluntarily allow themselves to be drawn into story worlds. However, Gottschall argues that one’s engagement with stories goes beyond a willing suspension of disbelief; stories have the power to captivate individuals involuntarily. The author also explores how individuals contribute to storytelling by using their imagination to fill in details and bring the story to life in their minds. This interactive process between the text and the reader’s imagination, Gottschall claims, highlights the active role of the reader in experiencing and completing the narrative.

Through these discussions, Gottschall attempts to demonstrate that stories are not just passive entertainment but powerful engagements that manipulate psychological faculties and pull individuals into their constructed realities. This chapter sets the stage for the book’s exploration of the evolutionary and psychological reasons for storytelling.

Lost in Neverland

Gottschall discusses the connection between human life and the world of stories. He illustrates this through his own children, who spend their days engrossed in imaginative play and storytelling. He points out that such behavior is not unique to his children but is seen in children around the world. This suggests that storytelling and imaginative play are essential parts of human development.

Gottschall uses the metaphor of “Neverland” from J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan to describe this realm of imagination that children inhabit. He reflects on how, unlike the characters in Barrie’s story, who eventually leave Neverland, in reality, humans never truly abandon this world of stories. As adults, the nature of engagement with stories might change—people swap play for novels, movies, and other forms of narrative—but the fundamental attraction to stories remains.

This chapter further explores how integral stories are to human life by examining various ways in which people engage with narratives. Beyond books and movies, Gottschall discusses how stories permeate everyday activities and even subconscious experiences, such as dreams and daydreams. He points out that storytelling is not just a cultural activity but a neurological process, embedded in the human psyche. Human brains are always creating stories, whether they are actively reading a book or subconsciously dreaming. Moreover, Gottschall discusses how storytelling is not just an individual activity but a collective one that happens even under extreme conditions, such as during wars. The omnipresence of storytelling across different mediums and social conditions underscores its central role in human life.

The narrative then touches on the notable amount of time modern humans spend engaged with stories, whether through reading, watching television, or consuming online content. It highlights how storytelling is not just an escape but a fundamental human need, akin to a psychological compulsion, which plays a crucial role in how humans process the world and their experiences within it.

Not Fiction, but Fictiony

This section starts with an analysis of professional wrestling, which is described more as theatrical entertainment than a competitive sport. It highlights how pro wrestling uses choreographed storylines involving heroes and villains to engage viewers, much like traditional narratives found in theater or opera. The narrative extends this analysis to competitive sports, where the pre-fight and pre-game hype often involves crafting personal stories and rivalries between athletes to increase viewer investment and emotional engagement. This storytelling technique enhances the spectacle and significance of sports events, making them about more than just the athletic competition. Gottschall mentions Vince McMahon, CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), for his role in rebranding wrestling as “sports entertainment,” openly acknowledging the scripted nature of wrestling narratives. Gottschall likens a wrestling season to a serialized novel, culminating in major events like WrestleMania.

The discussion also covers how even more traditional forms of media, such as television shows and commercials, utilize storytelling to capture and maintain audience interest. Television programs, especially in genres like reality TV, are crafted with narrative techniques that emphasize conflict, character development, and dramatic arcs to engage viewers.

Moreover, the text touches on how storytelling is integral to various non-entertainment fields, including journalism, law, and science. It illustrates how journalists and lawyers use narrative constructs to present their cases and stories more effectively, influencing public perception and judicial outcomes. Even scientific explanations, Gottschall explains, often rely on narrative structures to make complex information more understandable and relatable.

The Story People

Gottschall presents a thought experiment involving two hypothetical tribes, the Practical People and the Story People, living side by side in prehistoric times. Both tribes engage in essential survival activities such as hunting, gathering, and forming social alliances. However, while the Practical People focus solely on these activities, the Story People also spend significant time engaging in storytelling. Despite the seemingly non-practical nature of storytelling, it is the Story People who prevail and continue to exist today, which suggest that storytelling plays a critical role in human development and cultural evolution. The outcome of this thought experiment challenges the assumption that so-called practical activities are inherently more valuable for survival than the seemingly frivolous act of storytelling.