The Power of Words Essay Example

Stories can hold a large influence on an individual. The power of the words within stories can change the way, someone perceives a concept. Everyone will have their own perspectives but stories can change the way you perceive a certain topic. It opens their mind to new thoughts and idea which may have never occurred before. A story with a powerful message behind it can have the reader acknowledge or contradict the author. Powerful words can help change minds.

Stories are all written with different cultural and racial beliefs. You may disagree with the practice a group performs, however it is important to respect and learn about different opinions other than yours. ‘The rain Came’ was a story written by Grace Ogot. The story illustrates a girl who has to be sacrificed for the sake of her village for the rain to come. As a reader, you may consider that to be extreme practice and or just a silly myth. Although, the story portrays how vital these beliefs are to the tribe and the centuries this has been going on. The father sacrifices his daughter for the sake of his community. He had to become a leader. His daughter does not go through with the sacrifice, yet the rain still came. It shows the importance of community and belief for the tribe. You gain an understanding of how essential community is for the people in the tribe. The theme the author conveyed to the reader helped understand the importance of belief and tradition.

The author uses emotions and descriptive details to help the reader understand the emotion of the characters and thought process. During this process, the reader is able to acknowledge what the character is going through. It shows the perspective of the character and helps the reader grow and learn what it feels like.  The short story ‘The Sniper’ was written by Liam O’Flaherty was extremely descriptive and was filled with powerful emotions. In the story, the sniper is in a civil war. He was turned from an innocent kid to a killing machine. As he was fighting in the war, he shot a soldier on the opposite side of the battle, when he saw who he killed it was his own brother. The plot twists the author creates filled the reader with emotions. The author was trying to show how an innocent kid can turn into a cruel man because of the circumstances she is put in. He was trying to show the reader, how it was the circumstance that influenced him to become who he is. The audience was shown a different point of view of war brutalities.

Stories share valuable knowledge, to help one become empathic towards each other and understand the problems they may be facing. The ‘Doll House’ by Katherine Mansefeild is an excellent example of showing a different perspective. In the story, focus on a low social class and the impact that has on day to day life. The reader was able to see how people were influenced by social ranking. The audience was able to understand what they go through. Katherine did a great job to show the reader how the social class could hurt someone. The audience was able to learn and understand what these people go through every day. As a reader, you could have overlooked the struggles of a low social class, and not understand the problem. You saw a different point of view which may have influenced your perspective on social rankings.

Briefly, to conclude, an individual can be influenced by the power of words a story beholds. The three short stories which we read were an excellent example of how perspectives influence a person. The stories show a different side of the same story. It helps you see different viewpoints in life. The reader may not agree with the message the author is trying to portray but learning and understanding difference can help a person grow. When you are reading you are put into other people’s shoes, to understand what they go through and how it feels. After reading about the topic from a different perspective than yours you are able to grow your perspective and view on many matters. Stories are powerful because the words they hold can change the way people think.