No matter the format, stories have the power to affect the way people behave. From early religious texts to modern video games, television shows, books, and movies, narratives have the power to influence our collective conscience. There is no rhyme or reason to the ones that catch fire, but there is an obvious trail of the burn marks they leave in their wake. Let's explore three examples. 1. The Sorrows of Young Werther In the late 1700’s, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published a story that detailed the woes of the disaffected youth, Silas, who moves to the countryside and falls in love with the simplicity of the peasant lifestyle and a young woman named Lotte. Lotte has been charged with the care of her siblings following the death of her mother and is engaged to an older gentleman. In spite of her circumstances, Silas falls in love with her. He revisits his aristocratic world but finds it lacking. So, he returns to fight for Lotte but finds her already wed. Since he can...