Storytelling

On Wednesday October 19,2011 I witnessed Tracey Kidder, a Harvard University graduate, deliver a captivating speech about his time in Africa and his experience with a friend that changed his life. Kidder begins his storytelling with an anecdote about his soon-to-be friend Dei, who endured pain and strife in the midst of civil unrest in his country of Burundi. Dei eventually escaped to America where he enrolled in Columbia University. Immediately, the idea of sunshine and noir hit me as I imagined the war that proceeded in Burundi represented darkness and confusion (noir) while the hope and promise that America provided represented light and positiveness (sunshine).
Later Kidder discusses how he met Dei and traveled back to Burundi in order help with the poverty that consumed the area. Dei had the mindset of creating something bigger than himself upon his arrival and so he did as he constructed the "Village Health Works". This structure was a hospital that aided the sick and wounded in Burundi. Dei's mindset was completely different from the mindsets of the water barons of Los Angeles such as William Mulholland because, in contrast to Dei, Mulholland only cared about getting water into Los Angeles and not the lives of the people of the Owens River Valley.

Kidder closed his speech with the main point of his speech which was, "one can understand the world through storytelling". He proceeded to elaborate by stating that storytelling is an art that if used right can captivate an entire audience. This reminded me of the reason why students at USC are required to take Writing-140. This class is meant to develop student's ability to create arguments and back them up in order to convince your audience of your position.