S24E3 - Introduction of Man vs. Man and Character Arcs

There was a point in the history of storytelling where the tales began to include a character arc. They also became more about man versus man, rather than man versus monsters. The stories became about overcoming the external foe as well as becoming something better. About starting as the underdog and becoming the hero.

One such example is the biblical story of David and Goliath. Not only did the David overcome the giant of the enemy forces, but doing so changed him from a simple shepherd boy to king. The phrase David and Goliath has become commonplace even outside religious contexts to represent the tale of the underdog rising up to the challenge.

This era also saw the introduction of the Hero's Journey in storytelling. That structure is still used in modern fiction, acting as a guide for how to develop a character arc from start to finish.

Listen to this episode for more about how stories about man versus man and the introduction of character arcs changed the storytelling world for good.

First aired September 9, 2021.

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