Historical Perspective
John Ink2Quill Opinion
www.ink2quill.com

Every we take in depends on perspective. From which vantage point are we watching an event. Watching a brawl in the town square might look like an insane mess if looking down from a mountain or rooftop. Or it might look like a legitimate struggle if viewed from inside the mob itself. Perspective really matters. And there are different perspectives. The perspective of distance or height are some of the most well known. But their is also the individual’s perspective which is an obvious one for anyone who loves reading, storytelling or even art. The individual’s perspective is a beautiful, rich, sometimes tragic and hard place.

There are also different perspectives that depend on what a person, people or protagonists do for jobs or with their lives. You can write a story from a jewel thief’s perspective and then write another story from the point of view of the police chasing the jewel thief. Both are great story potentials. Both have great story potential. Both can be exciting or tragic. The perspective of profession is such good storytelling.

What about the “village perspective”? That is to say, what about the environment the protagonist is in and how that environment creates a point of view? Take the example of Albert Camus’ masterpiece “La Peste”/ “The Plague”. In the story the protagonist is stuck in a town suffering the plague. The plague is like a powerful character in the story that influences everyone. It really is. Think of stories where protagonists are living under a dictatorship or under fascism, like Nazism in WWII Europe. So, the perspective of the village is a real and powerful thing.

What about historical perspective? Now there is a very big point. Historical perspective might very well be the mother of all perspectives. It includes the language and customs, culture of a world. So, storytellers should not forget to consider historical perspective when thinking up a story. It might make for a more interesting story. I’m just rambling.

John Ink2Quill

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