Sunday, October 16, 2016

Tsunami Story

What one idea from Mr. Allard's chapter on the tsunami struck you and why? Post a 3-sentence comment to this post.

15 comments:

  1. While hearing about the tsunami that hit the island of Murohama, it struck me that, although the tsunami warning tower failed the inhabitants of the island, the story of a tsunami 1,142 years prior saved them. In a world where we are so technology dependent, it was unexpected to see technology fail the island’s inhabitants and for story to save them. I also made the realization that a story cannot be killed, while a person or technology can be felled.

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  3. After listening to Mr. Tom, I realized that stories are not just for entertainment, but can prevent new generations of people from repeating past mistakes, and in some cases even save lives. What happened with the people of Hirumaru during the tsunami sounds more like a fable than a real event, and it convinced me of the power of stories more effectively than the entire book of Haroun and the Sea of Stories. The Hirumaru people’s story, handed down from generation to generation orally, proved to be more reliable than modern tsunami warning technology.

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  4. The story for safety about the Hiramaru Tsunami, has been passed down for 1,142 years (50 generations), from mother to daughter, and father to son. This strikes me because this story has been passed down for so long, and even though a tower was built to predict another tsunami, but the technology failed them, and the story continued to live. Stories have the power to save lives.

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  5. The idea that stories have the power to save lives struck me the most because when I think of stories, they remind me of something that is used as entertainment and not something that could be the difference between life and death in a person's life. Though I have most likely heard a story that has saved lives before, this story was the first to directly connect and it made the idea of stories even more important than they already are.

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  6. The power of storytelling in the story of Hirumaru really struck me because I realized that the small things (in this case, storytelling) that any ordinary person is very used to can turn out to serve a greater purpose. By passing down the story of running to the second hill for 1,142 years, it had the power to save an entire village. It was striking how when someone tells a story they usually think nothing of it, but any story can have the power to save lives.

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  7. The effect of 2011’s Tōhoku tsunami on the fishing village of Murohama shows stories’ ability to prevent the repetition of history. Though the tsunami flattened the entire village to the ground, because storytellers had passed on the story of a similar tsunami that happened in 861 A.D. and wiped out the entire village’s population, only one person was killed. Our society must look towards stories, not just as a record of the past, but as a vision of the future, because only by remembering our history can we avoid repeating it.

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  8. The Tsunami story personally connected with me right after I was informed of its content. The residents of a fishing island relied on stories from 50 generations ago to protect themselves from a tsunami and in the end, these stories saved the almost the entire island. This reminded me of my ancestors stories from several generations ago regarding their adventures through the Turkish Empire and Eastern Europe.

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  9. In the town of Hirumaru, when technology failed story didn’t. When the new earthquake tower failed story saved the town. The entire town knew to go to the last hill after 1442 years of passing the story down generations.

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  10. In Haroun and the Sea of Stories, stories themselves are seen to be obsolete by individuals such as Khattam-Shud, but in our increasingly technological society, stories can save us from stepping over the line of over-reliance, as stories can never be killed. In the Tohoku earthquake, a massive tsunami was created that would have destroyed the village of Miyatojima, however, an ancient legend spanning more than a thousand years saved them, even when the tsunami alarm tower was destroyed. It’s interesting to see that however stable companies may say their technology is, stories will always be more reliable, as they live on in the hearts and heads of the listeners.

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  11. In Haroun and the Sea of Stories, stories themselves are seen to be obsolete by individuals such as Khattam-Shud, but in our increasingly technological society, stories can save us from stepping over the line of over-reliance, as stories can never be killed. In the Tohoku earthquake, a massive tsunami was created that would have destroyed the village of Miyatojima, however, an ancient legend spanning more than a thousand years saved them, even when the tsunami alarm tower was destroyed. It’s interesting to see that however stable companies may say their technology is, stories will always be more reliable, as they live on in the hearts and heads of the listeners.

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  12. The idea that a story (especially one that has been told for 50 generations and more to come) can save not just one person, but almost an entire village was very intriguing. Adding on, it was very interesting how when all technology failed, basic knowledge of the story save almost everyone. This really made me think about how much we depend on technology.

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  13. It is amazing to know that the power of storytelling could be more effective and more powerful than our modern technology. I am amazed how a single story saved a village because the story had been passed on for 1142 years which was 50 generations of people. It is incredible how the story remained the same.

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  14. The one idea that struck me the most was the story of the village of Hiru Maru, and how it was saved by an one-thousand year old story. It is so important especially in a time in which we rely so much on technology, to keep telling stories because we don't know if the technology will fail and we have to rely on our knowledge alone. This story also got me thinking about if stories like the one of the tsunami told in Hiru Maru are told around the world and just not reported on.

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  15. I was amazed that the people of Hiramaru never forgot the story of the tsunami even though it took place over fifty generations ago. The Hiramarus exemplify the superiority of humans over technology because humans have emotions. Moreover, humans keep their memories alive through stories, they live to retell the stories. Without humans, stories would not exist to keep us curious, learning, and most most importantly, alive. Hence, despite the passing of fifty generations, the stories of the Hiramuras live on to save their predecessors.

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