The article “Function of Stories” is based on ideas Sarah Dillon and Claire Craig collected for their book Story Listening.
The Function of Stories explains why stories are important and why they should be taken seriously. Stories are usually seen as entertainment, something that makes us happy, sad, scared, or amused. However, the essay clearly states that stories do much more than entertain us. As Mar and Oatley say, “Although narrative is entertaining, its function is not one of mere entertainment.” Stories affect how people think, feel, make decisions, and understand the world. To explain this, the essay draws on ideas from many subjects, including psychology, sociology, philosophy, biology, and computer science.
Stories are part of everyday life. People tell stories about their daily experiences, listen to news stories, read books, and watch films. Even though stories are everywhere, we rarely stop to ask why stories are told or what they do to us. Most of the time, we only think about how a story makes us feel. Whether it is interesting, boring, frightening, or funny. Dr Dillon argues that this is not enough. If we want to understand stories properly, we must think about their deeper effects and functions in society.
The essay then explains the meaning of the words “story” and “narrative.” “Story” is the common, everyday word, while “narrative” is more formal and academic. In technical studies, “narrative” refers to the overall structure, and “story” to the content, but in general use, they mean the same thing. As the essay states, “‘Story’ and ‘narrative’ essentially denote the same thing and their use is interchangeable.” Stories can be true or fictional. There are children’s stories and news stories, literary narratives and scientific narratives. The preference for the word “narrative” often comes from a desire to treat stories as serious, but the essay deliberately uses the word “story” to challenge the idea that stories are childish or unimportant.
To explain how stories work in the human mind, the essay draws on Jerome Bruner’s distinction between two types of thinking. The first is the paradigmatic or logical way of thinking. This type is used in science and mathematics and focuses on facts, rules, and proofs. The second is the narrative way of thinking, which focuses on human actions, intentions, emotions, and results. Bruner says that the narrative mode “deals in human or human-like intention and action and the vicissitudes and consequences that mark their course.” Stories belong to this second type because they help us understand people and social life rather than abstract facts.
From an evolutionary point of view, stories are a natural human ability. Brian Boyd explains that stories are a cognitive adaptation. They turn small amounts of information into rich meaning, making them very difficult to ignore. Most importantly, adaptations exist because they serve a purpose. Boyd clearly says that “adaptations show design for some function.” This leads to the main question of the essay: what are the functions of stories? The essay identifies six important functions.
The first function of stories is communication. Traditionally, stories were seen as representations of reality. They communicate information about the world and help people understand events and situations. From an evolutionary perspective, storytelling benefits both listeners and storytellers. According to Boyd, “Narrative arises from the advantages of communication in social species.” Listeners gain useful information that helps them make better decisions, while storytellers gain attention, respect, and social status. However, Margaret Somers challenges this idea. She argues that stories do not just describe reality but actually create it. She says that narratives are “an ontological condition of social life.” This means that stories help shape social reality rather than merely mirror it.
Stories also play an important role in forming identity. People understand who they are by creating life stories about themselves. These stories connect the past, present, and future, giving life meaning and consistency. This is called narrative identity. Stories also shape group identities, such as families, communities, and social classes. Media stories strongly influence how different groups are represented and how people see themselves and others. In this way, stories shape both personal and collective identity.
Another important function of stories is their connection with empathy. Ian McEwan, writing after the 9/11 attacks, said that the violence showed “a failure of the imagination.” He argued that if the attackers had been able to imagine the feelings of the victims, they would not have acted cruelly. McEwan explains that “imagining what it is like to be someone other than yourself is at the core of our humanity.” Stories are believed to help this ability because they allow readers to experience other people’s thoughts and feelings. Boyd says that “fiction cultivates our sympathetic imagination.” Research shows a strong link between reading stories and the theory of mind, which is the ability to understand others’ mental states. Brain studies also show that similar areas are activated when reading stories and when thinking about others’ minds. However, the essay makes it clear that this link is correlational, not causal. Even so, stories may help reduce prejudice and increase understanding of marginalised groups.
Stories also help people gain social knowledge. They teach us how social situations work and how people behave. Stories help us understand intentions, actions, and reactions in complex situations. Boyd explains that stories help us think more socially and make better decisions. They help us in the present and also prepare us for future situations. As Boyd says, “Narratives can offer us either particular social information to guide immediate decisions or general principles we can apply in future circumstances.” Stories also store and transmit cultural knowledge, such as values, beliefs, and social rules. Some researchers even study how stories can be used to teach human values to artificial intelligence. Stories are normative, meaning they show what is right or wrong. They can support social rules or question them simultaneously.
Another key function of stories is simulation. Mar and Oatley explain that stories are “simulations of selves in the social world.” Stories allow people to imagine situations and possible outcomes without real-world risk. Brain research shows that reading stories activates the same areas as real experiences. Stories are similar to thought experiments, models, and play. They help people plan actions and make decisions. Aristotle’s idea of mimesis supports this view because it is better understood as world-making rather than simple imitation of reality.
The final function of stories discussed in the essay is persuasion. Stories have great power to influence beliefs, attitudes, and opinions. Green and Brock say, “The power of narratives to change beliefs has never been doubted.” Stories are widely used in politics, media, advertising, and propaganda. Their persuasive power depends on transportation, which means how deeply a reader is absorbed in the story. The more absorbed a person is, the more likely their beliefs will change. This happens whether the story is factual or fictional. Green and Brock explain that transportation “reduces negative cognitive responding,” meaning people argue less against the ideas in the story. Because story experiences feel real, they can be more persuasive than logical arguments. This also explains why anecdotes strongly influence judgment even when they are not typical examples. The essay finally states that it is impossible for stories to inform without also persuading.
In conclusion, Dr Sarah Dillon’s essay shows that stories are not just for entertainment. They are essential to human life. Stories help people communicate, form identities, develop empathy, gain social knowledge, imagine possibilities, and change beliefs. They do not simply describe the world but actively shape it. Understanding the power and function of stories is therefore very important, especially in a world influenced by media, persuasion, and competing truths.
WORKS CITED
Dillon, Sarah, and Claire Craig. Storylistening: Narrative Evidence and Public Reasoning. Routledge, 2021.
Dillon, Sarah, and Claire Craig. “Storylistening: A Case Study in How to Include the Humanities in Evidence Provided for Public Reasoning.” Journal of the British Academy, vol. 10, 2022, pp. 21–28. https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/010.021.
Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan is a teacher, bilingual writer and artist with over two decades of experience in teaching English language and literature. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of English at NSS College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Her blog, ashlit.in brings together academic resources, creative writing in Malayalam and English, and visual art. The platform features lecture notes, study materials, poems, reflections, short prose, and a curated collection of her paintings. Through this space, she seeks to foster learning, creativity, and meaningful engagement with literature and the arts.
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