...TOPIC:-What is Moral Fable? How can you say that Hard Times is a Moral Fable? BY: CHETAN ANKUR Moral fable combines the left (logical) & right (creative) side of the brain, so it both entertains creatively and validates certain types of behaviour, morally. The creative part is the fairy tale which often involves animals rather than humans. It speaks to our hearts as it entertains us; the ending is the logical, moral conclusion that satisfies our logical brains and seems "right". The problem with all moral fables is that there are often 2 sides to the same story ... things are rarely so black and white in reality ... so there could be more than one ending ... e.g. there are times when speed is necessary over steadiness - of course, there also has to be good judgement. Although it is not appropriate to describe a work of art, which Hard Times undoubtedly is, as a moral fable or a morality play, yet the fact remains that there is a strong moral intention behind this novel. Hard Times is a satirical attack on some of the evils and vices of Victorian society. Satire has always corrective purpose and is therefore basically moral in its approach to the subjects it deals with. Apart from that, there are passages of direct moralising in this novel. Hard Times is a novel which from the moment of its publication aroused very different sentiments in the reading public. Dickens's reasons for writing Hard Times were mostly monetary. Sales of...
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...The Gentlemen of the Jungle is a fable written by Jomo Kenyatta. Kenyatta is famous due to the work he has done with the rights and for the independence of Kenya. He was arrested because he was a member of a radical anti-colonial movement. The British used to call him the African leader to darkness and death. The story is about a man living and speaking with animals, but the animals trick him, even though they pretend that they are his friends. In the end the man kills the animals. In my analysis and interpretation I’ll be focussing on the use of genre and style of writing and at last I’ll talk about the message of the story. The genre is, as said before, a fable. It is a fable because Kenyatta uses animals to represent what he means. The animals are given human feelings and actions and on top of that they are able to speak and think as humans. He also uses sentences as “once upon a time” and “lived happily ever after”, which are typical fable sentences. It is an omniscient narrator seen from another point of view, which is already seen in the first line, where it says “Once upon a time an elephant made a friendship with a man.” In which none of the characters are described as I or we but described from another point of view. This is also a typical thing from a fable, because it often has a deeper meaning, and therefore everyone should be able to relate to it, which can be difficult when using personal characters. The animals are talking to each other with titles before...
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... The only place fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future, it is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist, that is near insanity. Now do not misunderstand me, Danger is very real, but fear is a choice. We are all telling ourselves a story, and that day, mine changed.” That is a quote from Cypher (Will Smith) talking to his son Kitai (Jaden Smith) after their crash landing on the planet where the ship broke in two, leaving the only working beacon in the tail of the ship some 100 kilometers away from them, on earth 1000 years after they have left it. "After Earth" is a lovely surprise. This film from producer-costar Will Smith and director M. Night Shyamalan, about a father and son marooned on a hostile future earth, is a moral tale disguised as a sci-fi blockbuster. It's no classic, but it's a special movie: spectacular and wise. Says Matt Zoller Sietz from RogerEbert.com If you’re looking for an action adventure, or a pure Sci-Fi you might be disappointed as the storyline isn’t after that. If you notice little backdrop details about the scenes of the movie and love an interesting storyline, that’s where this movie comes through very strong. It isn’t just about a father and son being shipwrecked on a planet, or even about them bonding together even though it does cover that pretty well. As far as movies go, it seemed to me to be a little predictable even watching it the first time, but I was still able...
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...Standing on each others backs, they decide to perform for the men in hope of gaining food. Their 'music' has an unanticipated effect; the men run for their lives, not knowing what the strange sound is. The animals take possession of the house, eat a good meal, and settle in for the evening. Later that night, the robbers return and send one of their members in to investigate. It is dark and he sees the eyes of the Cat shining in the darkness. He reaches over to light his candle, thinking he sees the coals of the fire. Things happen in quick succession; the Cat swipes his face with her claws, the Donkey picks up his hooves and kicks him, the Dog bites him on the leg, and the Rooster crows and chases him out the door, screaming. He tells his companions that he was beset by a horrible witch who scratched him with her long fingers (the Cat), a man with a knife (the Dog), a monster who had hit him with a club (the Donkey), and worst of all, the devil who screamed from the rooftop (the Rooster). The robbers abandon the cottage to the strange creatures who have taken it, where the animals live happily for the rest of their days. The Boy Who Cried Wolf The Boy Who Cried Wolf, also known as The Shepherd Boy and the Wolf, is a fable attributed to Aesop (210 in Perry's numbering system[1]). The protagonist of the fable is a bored shepherd boy who entertained himself by calling out...
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...Teach Africa tm World Affairs Council of Houston The Oral Traditions of Africa What are oral traditions? Oral traditions are messages that are transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages may be passed down through speech or song and may take the form of folktales and fables, epic histories and narrations, proverbs or sayings, and songs. Oral Traditions make it possible for a society to pass knowledge across generations without writing. They help people make sense of the world and are used to teach children and adults about important aspects of their culture. The art of storytelling There is a rich tradition throughout Africa of oral storytelling. Although written history existed for centuries in West Africa, most writing was in Arabic, and the majority of people did not read or write in Arabic. So the transmission of knowledge, history and experience in West Africa was mainly through the oral tradition and performance rather than on written texts. Oral traditions guide social and human morals, giving people a sense of place and purpose. There is often a lesson or a value to instill, and the transmission of wisdom to children is a community responsibility. Parents, grandparents, and relatives take part in the process of passing down the knowledge of culture and history. Storytelling provides entertainment, develops the imagination, and teaches important lessons about everyday life. World Affairs Council of Houston PO Box 920905 Houston, TX 77292-0905 Voice...
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...likenesses of each story, as they are being told to the audience. The short stories that I have chosen to discuss for this essay are “The Necklace”, by Guy de Maupassant and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, by James Thurber. I will try to compare and contrast both stories and give the audience a brief summary, explaining the likenesses and differences and engaging the reader, while doing so. In the short summary of the short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". This short-story tells the tale of Walter Mitty while on a trip into town with his wife, the bossy and serious Mrs. Mitty. Walter is sadly incompetent of doing many things; he forgets a lot of things, is very absent-minded while driving, and cannot handle the simplest tasks. But, what makes Walter unique throughout this short-story is his imagination. While Walter goes through his tasks, he escapes into a world of many fantasies, each brought on by reality. While driving his car he starts to day dream that he is a commander on a “Navy hydroplane" going through a storm. (Clugston, 2010). While passing a hospital, he believes he is a famous surgeon, known throughout the world for saving lives. He imagines he is being interrogated in court on a case, when he hears a newsboy shouting about a trial. Also, when he is waiting for his wife, he imagines himself to be a British pilot after seeing pictures of a German plane. And lastly, as he waits outside the drugstore for his wife, he fantasizes that he is about to be shot...
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...editions -- book number, chapter, section, aphorism, essay number. The page number in the cited edition follows a comma where such information is helpful. AL The Advancement of Learning DA de Dignitate et Augmentis Scientarum Essays Essays or Counsels Civil and Moral (1625) GI The Great Instauration ;NA New Atlantis NO Novum Organum PFB Philosophy of Francis Bacon Preface Preface to the Great Instauration PW Plan of the Work (in Weinberger 1989) WA Of the Wisdom of the Ancients INTRODUCTION Understanding political judgment in Baconian terms necessitates an investigation of the question of who rules in Bensalem, Bacon’s island “utopia” presented in his New Atlantis. Only by answering this question might one know where to look for one who either possesses or is in a position to exercise such judgment. By locating the individual(s) who exercise political power, one might begin to come to an understanding of the qualities, disposition, and capacity – both moral and intellectual – of one who exercises judgment as well as, perhaps, the political framework within which the ruler operates. Even if a particular ruler is unable to be located, the investigation may prove fruitful for seeing what a ruler must be – the principles behind any rule as such, regardless of personage. The question of who rules in Bensalem is not a new idea. Indeed, it is among the most common questions asked by scholars seeking...
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...understanding of another person’s situation, feelings and motives”. The idea of empathy and sympathy are comparable. There are some essential differences. Sympathy would understand another person, while empathy would interconnect two people. A good author plays on the concept of empathy, originating from the Greeks “Pathos”, which had their hero decease because of a human flaw. This made the audience empathetic towards the protagonist. “What is the What” written by Dave Egger, tried to play on the same emotion of Empathy. Achak at a young age is separated from his family during the Sudanese War when Arab soldiers also known as the murahaleen savagely riad his village, Marial Bai. Fleeing on foot to Ethiopia, with other boys like him, forming “The Lost Boys”. Finally they arrive to another refugee camp in Kakuma, becoming his home. Ultimately Valentino comes to America. The story is told parallel to succeeding hardship in the United States. “What is the What” provides imaginative empathy, playing on human trauma and the ability for altruistic motives, the moral obligation to empathize with remote and disparate people. Eggers’ novel represents African culture and memoirs as a way to converse with an audience. These memoirs and representative of culture to an American audience forces a limited, bias view. Egger channels Valentino rather than embellish him. He tends to use the protagonist as a mouthpiece to provide historical background forcing Valentino to relate his story in a series of...
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...Shlok Kumar Professor Padma Baliga English Literature Upto 1900 13 September 2010 The Canterbury Tales and the Panchatantra: Two Frame Narratives contrasted The East has a wonderful tradition in teaching morals through interesting tales; India has given the world the earliest such tales in the form of the Panchatantra, the Hitopadesa and even the Puranas. The Canterbury Tales and the Panchatantra are both frame narratives- often known as ‘story within a story.’ Yet the target audience of both these works is different. And this arises from the nature of these works. Whilst The Canterbury Tales was written by Chaucer originally for a courtly, upper class audience, the Panchatantra was written to teach the high morals and sensibilities of Vedic literature to three disinterested princes in the simplest language, using animals as symbols and characters. Indeed, the Panchatantra and its derivative work, the Hitopadesa are often dismissed as stories for children. Though these fables are indeed vastly instructive, they also teach a way of thriving in the material world and a way of life itself; the Panchatantra is referred to as a niti-shastra. This paper attempts to contrast the Canterbury Tales with the Panchatantra and illustrate the manner in which the latter is a niti-shastra without being merely populated by abstruse, pithy phrases. We know that in The Canterbury Tales, a group of about 30 pilgrims gather at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, across the Thames...
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...defines good in a great many different ways: 'having the right or desired qualities; satisfactory, adequate. (of a person) efficient, competent. (of a thing) reliable, efficient. (of health etc) strong. kind, benevolent. morally excellent; virtuous. charitable. well-behaved. enjoyable, agreeable. thorough, considerable.' Moral philosophy also uses the word 'good' in a variety of ways, sometimes as a noun, sometimes as an adjective. GOOD CAN MEAN: A. An inherent quality which is widely beneficial.. B. The opposite of bad or evil. C. Something one person (or more) approves of. D. Useful, in that the good action/concept/attitude enriches human life. E. God-like, or what God wants. For each of these five types of usage (and the list is not exhaustive) it is possible to see room for differences of interpretation. Usage A will vary, depending on how 'widely' and' beneficial' are defined. 'Widely' could mean anything from 'often in the life of one person' to 'universal, to every being'. 'Beneficial' could mean any of pleasant, healthy, productive, useful, life-enhancing/ enriching. Usage B depends entirely on the person's view of what is evil. Usage C will probably be different in detail for every single individual, and will be dependent .on the background of the person concerned. Usage D depends on the long-term and ultimate goals that a person has in life. A person aiming primarily for monetary wealth will regard training for increasing earning power as...
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...high students to study. Although on one level the novel is an allegory of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the story is just as applicable to the latest rebellion against dictators around the world. Young people should be able to recognize similarities between the animal leaders and politicians today. The novel also demonstrates how language can be used to control minds. Since teenagers are the target not only of the educational system itself but also of advertising, the music industry, etc., they should be interested in exploring how language can control thought and behavior. Animal Farm is short and contains few words that will hamper the reader’s understanding. The incidents in the novel allow for much interactive learning, providing opportunities for students to dramatize certain portions, to expand on speeches, and to work out alternative endings. The novel can be taught collaboratively with the history department as an allegory of the Russian Revolution, allowing students to draw parallels between actual events and people and the imaginary ones created by Orwell. The novel can also be taught as a beast fable following the study of shorter fables by Aesop and James Thurber. Examining the work as a satirical comment on the corrupting influence of power, students should be able to trace the corruption of the pigs and perhaps relate their findings to individuals in our own...
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...violent. Mulan never fell in love with her general. At least not in the original versions of the stories; all these changes were added by Disney to make a more interesting movie, or to forward a sexist agenda. A multitude of sexist messages are present in Disney movies teaching young girls that they are expected to fill a submissive role in society. The fairy tales are symbolic of women’s lives being shaped by male influences. Over time, the sexist message in Disney movies has become less apparent, but it has never disappeared; it is merely buried within a classic fairy tale that the “magic of Disney” has transformed into a sexist lesson. Naturally, these movies must not have a traumatic affect on little girls. Parents are not actually harming their daughters by allowing them to indulge their fairy tale fantasies. Not according to Jack Zipes, leading expert on fairy tales and German professor at the University of Minnesota, the movies have “a type of gender stereotyping . . . that has an adverse effect on children, in contrast to what parents think . . .. Parents think they’re essentially harmless – they are not harmless” (Giroux, “Roared” 103). Maria Tatar, Harvard folklorist, also sees harm in the movies since “[Disney] capitalizes on the worst part of fairytales” placing the focus on the material world and removing the cunning and intelligent roles that the females once played (Healy). However, these messages surly must not be intentional, and they are open to interpretation...
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...Language, Symbolism and Theme in "Her First Ball": 37 II.2. Katherine Mansfield – Techniques and Effects in A Cup of Tea. 41 II.3. Literary Colloquial Style in “Miss Brill” by K. Mansfield. 49 II.3.1. Lexical features—Vague Words and Expressions 49 II.3.2 Syntactical and Morphological Features 52 II.3.3 Phonological Schemes of the Figures of Speech 55 II.4. Simplifying Figurative Language in K.Mansfield’s Short Stories 60 CONCLUSION 64 BIBLIOGRAPHY 66 APPENDIX 70 INTRODUCTION Figurative Language is the use of words that go beyond their ordinary meaning. It requires you to use your imagination to figure out the author's meaning. For example, if someone tells you that it is raining cats and dogs, you know that there are not actually cats and dogs falling from the sky. You know it really means that it is raining very hard. Figurative language is not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense. Appealing to the...
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...in currycombing and rubbing down his Horse, but at the same time stole his oats and sold them for his own profit. “Alas!” said the Horse, “if you really wish me to be in good condition, you should groom me less, and feed me more.” — Aesop's Fables Moral of the Story: Looking good is never good enough. When developing your leadership skills, one must soon confront an important practical question, "What leadership styles work best for me and my organization?" To answer this question, it's best to understand that there are many from which to choose and as part of your leadership development effort, you should consider developing as many leadership styles as possible. This page focuses on an aspect of leadership we commonly don't think much about—style. But it is also about leadership. Many think is all about fashion. In fact, choosing the right style, at the right time in the right situation is a key element of leader effectiveness. That's not what most people do—they have one style used in all situations. It's like having only one suit or one dress, something you wear everywhere. Of course, all of us would agree that having only one set of clothes is ridiculous. So to is having only one leadership style. 19 Major Leadership Styles "Our knowledge can only be finite, while our ignorance must necessarily be infinite." — Karl Popper, Austrian philosopher Some styles overlap (i.e. charisma and transformational); some can be used together (facilitative and team building); others...
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...INTRODUCTION The plays and prefaces of Bernard Shaw deal with many and diverse themes. At least four, however, concern themselves with evolutionary themes and ideas: Man and Superman, Back to Methusalah, The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles, and Far-fetched Fables. In Man and Superman, especially the third act, the preface, and The Revolutionist's Handbook and Pocket Companion, Shaw touches on two main themes: the pursuit of man by woman and the direction of evolution, which Shaw sees as leading towards the development of the mind and brain. In Back to Methusalah, Shaw carries forward his vision of evolution as proceeding in the direction of mental development but introduces a seemingly new idea in the last play of the cycle, the antithesis of mind and body. Shaw's dualism receives its most explicit statement in the last play of the cycle although there may be indications of it in the earlier plays. The mind-body antithesis, however, derives as a philosophical problem from Descartes,1 although the antithesis also appeared in the Manichean and Gnostic heresies, the spirit, or mind, being regarded as good and the body as evil. Although the antithesis of body and mind makes its first open appearance in the Methusalah cycle, it is present, at least as an implicit assumption in Man and Superman. Don Juan continually expresses his longing for the life of contemplation, a life which is to be achieved at the expense of the body. We will deal with the presence of the mind body antithesis...
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