Reply to comment

-Prianna Pathak

After reading the different creation stories I found a common idea of the almighty being that creates the world and all those in it. This same idea of an omnipotent god is found in the creation stories I was told as a child. Having grown up in a moderately religious, Hindu family that lived in the a predominantly Christian area, I have an interesting mix of faiths. I combined the religions and formed my own hybrid. Just like King said, “The truth about stories is that that’s all we are.” That’s just what I am. I am that amalgamation of religions and beliefs.

King’s approach to story telling is one that I have explored before, especially as a writer. The tone of the piece sets the stage to how it is read, and also how it is received or understood. The casual tone and the simple syntax of the Native American story produced a folklore, in contrast Genesis proved to be a more formal and inflexible. I do not fully agree with King’s belief that this religion as a whole is rigid, in fact I have seen the varying degrees to which the many different sects of the Christianity have adapted and given passion to the stories. These story telling techniques are seen again in varying degrees in the many cultures’ creation myths. For example, in the Hindu creation myth the low diction used to tell the story is the same of the Native American, Chinese, and Mayan stories really provides the folklore feel to the myths.

In all these distinctive stories, each shares another thing in common, their ability to pass along a moral or idea to the listener. I believe this trait of a story is the most important part of the story. Whether or not the myth is believable through its little details, such as talking animals or killer floods, those values distilled in the listener is what reflects, maybe not always how the world truly is, but what it should be. Values such as loyality, respect, and selflessness.