Identity Light Stories and their Retellings

This project looked at entertaining stories and the different audiences they may be told to. The goal was to learn more about the relationships of the storyteller through their entertaining stories, specifically focusing on those they have told the story to and those present in the story they tell. Ten emerging adults from ages 18 to 29 were interviewed and asked to tell an entertaining story and then recount a time they remember telling it. Participants were all English-speaking from the northeastern United States and had completed some level of college. These interviews were coded to look for themes of agency and themes of communion. Themes of Personal Development, Self-Interest, and Learning About the Self were found within agency, while themes of Camaraderie, Family, and Bonding were found within communion. Prior tellings of shared entertaining stories were found to prioritize bonding as a purpose for sharing, supporting previous research regarding entertaining stories (McLean & Thorne, 2006). Learning about how stories are used to bond also has implications in a time many stand divided.