...Mr. Jones, the proprietor and overseer of the Manor Farm, has just stumbled drunkenly to bed after forgetting to secure his farm buildings properly. As soon as his bedroom light goes out, all of the farm animals except Moses, Mr. Jones’s tame raven, convene in the big barn to hear a speech by Old Major, a prize boar and pillar of the animal community. Sensing that his long life is about to come to an end, Major wishes to impart to the rest of the farm animals a distillation of the wisdom that he has acquired during his lifetime. As the animals listen raptly, Old Major delivers up the fruits of his years of quiet contemplation in his stall. The plain truth, he says, is that the lives of his fellow animals are “miserable, laborious, and short.” Animals are born into the world as slaves, worked incessantly from the time they can walk, fed only enough to keep breath in their bodies, and then slaughtered mercilessly when they are no longer useful. He notes that the land upon which the animals live possesses enough resources to support many times the present population in luxury; there is no natural reason for the animals’ poverty and misery. Major blames the animals’ suffering solely on their human oppressors. Mr. Jones and his ilk have been exploiting animals for ages, Major says, taking all of the products of their labor—eggs, milk, dung, foals—for themselves and producing nothing of value to offer the animals in return. Old Major relates a dream that he had the previous night...
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...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 to pick up on a little of what it was teaching me. Teaching? You ask, yes this movies is a Fable, and fables teach us. They show us how we cope with our fears and how we have preconceived ideas about our fears, whether taught to us from our parents or from life. But when...
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...Universal Stories Teamwork The Bundle of Sticks An Aesop Fable The Greek folk hero, Aesop, illustrates the concept of teamwork in this short but affective fable. The story centers on a father demonstrating to his sons, the importance of working together. Illustrating this concept, especially to these feuding siblings, wasn’t a simple task but was made easier by using a common item that each son was familiar with. The father challenged his sons by giving each a bundle of wood. The sons were then asked to break the bundle in half. As hard as each boy tried, they could not split the bundle of wood. The father then untied the bundle and gave each of them one stick to break. Each son was able to break his piece of wood without any difficulty. This simple test, showed how working together, this band of brothers could reach goals far beyond the ones they could reach as individuals. Compassion The Lion and the Mouse An Aesop’s Fable Compassion has always been a virtue most of us like to think we practice. But there are those who choose not to share compassion with others no matter how much they need it. After a small mouse disturbs a sleeping lion, the mouse is threatened with certain death. As a consequence of convincing the lion that he, a tiny mouse, could someday save his life, the lion set the mouse free. By releasing the lion from a net a few days later, the mouse proved the he could, after all, save the lion’s life. The compassion the lion had for the mouse proves that...
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...8 SOUTHERN THAILAND FOLK TALES Foreword… It all started a few years ago in a discussion with our English Major Students. We were talking about regional differences; how perceptions of people differ. I explained how people in the north of England view the folks from London and the south, and vice-versa. “It’s the same here in Thailand” one bright student chimed, “the folks in Bangkok and the north think everyone down here in the south are stupid, ignorant and to be viewed with extreme suspicion. But we have a very rich cultural heritage” she went on to explain. “We have history and stories that have been passed from father to son, from mother to daughter, for centuries.” So, it was agreed, the students would mine the Southern Thai Culture for the myths and legends that go to make folk tales. These would be documented and translated into English. This was to be a useful extra-curricular activity in the student’s quest for better English usage and understanding. The project ‘grew like Topsy’ and before long we had plans afoot to publish a small book that could, with a bit of luck, help to narrow the cultural divide between north and south Thailand. And, of course, educate and amuse us poor, ignorant, foreigners! Together with my friend and former colleague, Ajarn Kevin Marshall, we agreed to edit the student’s submissions, bring the often-archaic language up-to-date and inject modern usage and idioms whilst retaining the spirit of the original. It was a big idea but one that...
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...Slow and Steady Wins the Race Steadiness, although progress may be slow, will eventually be more beneficial than being rushed or careless just to get something completed. Mythical stories, fairy tales, and fables have been among the collective unconscious told and passed down for generations to teach the listener/reader morals. The link between the stories and person being told help them understand situations that can lead to a victorious outcome. With determination, one can succeed at almost anything. Our earliest encounters with literature, the stories told or read to us, probably influenced our expectations of later life (Janaro & Altshuler, 2012, p. 56). A well known fable by Aesop, “The Tortoise and the Hare”, is a story that supports the importance of consistency and consequences of arrogance. The fable tells of a hare that boasted about his speed to others. There was a wise tortoise that he repeatedly teased about being very slow. The tortoise became fed up with the hare’s arrogance and challenged the hare to race against him. Both animals agree to a race, and at the start the hare races ahead while the tortoise slowly plows forward. With the tortoise moving so slow the hare was sure a nap wouldn’t jeopardize his chance to beat the tortoise. Waking from a short nap, the hare begins running while leaving the tortoise behind moving at a slow but steady pace. Observing the distance between himself and the tortoise, the hare decides to stop and grab a quick bite to eat...
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...Pride goes before a fall This proverb is coined from the well known story entitled, “The Hare and die Tortoise,” from Aesop’s fables. We all remember having read it during our kindergarten days. The hare always quick on his feet challenged a tortoise to a running race! The tortoise who knew that, being a slow animal he was no match for the hare. Yet he accepted the challenge. On the day of the race all the animals assembled at one place and die race commenced. Alas! Like a lightning the hare sprinted across and disappeared from sight. But poor tortoise walked slowly, as usual. The haughty hare, which had gone too far away, paused under a tree. He knew that it would take a long time for the tortoise to reach him. So he stretched and slept. How long he slept, he never knew. Meanwhile, the tortoise came there, saw the hare sleeping and went ahead quietly and reached die winning post, giving a crushing defeat to the hare! This was a lesson not only to die hare, but to everyone who feels too proud and underestimates the others. No matter whatever one’s capacity is, one should not feel proud of it. To cite another example, we have all seen the English movie, ‘Titanic.’ One of the main reasons that the ship sank was the overconfidence of the captain and the ship’s crew. They underestimated what harm an iceberg could do to such a mighty ship of theirs. Hence, the overconfidence broke the ship and sank it, drowning many hundreds of passengers. People say that even a watch that stopped...
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...on the environments that they placed on and all the cultures are in relation with each other. A Senegalese social scientist Cheikh Anta Diop has a theory about the roots of the civilization. He supports that Ethiopians and the Egyptians played a key role in the processing of civilization by their developments in science, art and religion. These developments were required for the adaptation of the people. The Greeks interiorized the elements of civilization which they inspired from Egyptians, continued to develop them and spread them to the Eurasians. The Greek philosophers and scholars thoughts were shaped by the Egyptians. Their style of architecture was similar with the Egyptians’. They also effected from Egyptians’ literature like fables. One of the French writers, La Fontaine, inspired from a Greek writer, Aesop. Diop also claim that Greeks impressed their gods from Egypt. He proved that with the foreign sources which were mostly written by Egyptians. Apart the theory of Diop, there is a big relation between religion and civilization. People had found supernatural solutions or explanations for natural problems like climate change, volcanic eruptions or darkness and lightness and they also have a supernatural solution for fertility – mother goddess which was a symbol of fertility – which was very important for the people who have...
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...Aesop Fable Aesop was a famous Ancient Greek fabulist. His short stories example everyday situations in basic terms that can be applied to everyday life. His fables have a moral that can apply to peoples’ lives in many different ways. Aesop was an Ancient Greek fabulist or story-teller born around 620 b.c. and died around 560 b.c. He was a slave, but he was given his freedom because of his literacy and storytelling. He was described with many physical deformities, and a speech impediment that was healed a deity. He was said to be a clever and persuasive. Many times when he was up for punishment, he would tell a story of the irony of the situation and the punishment. His death is a mystery just as much as his life was. The myth is that he won so much fame throughout Greece for his short stories, that he became the target of resentment in the town. Aesop supposedly stole a golden cup from town, and in result he was tossed from the cliffs as punishment for the theft. The fable The Hare and The Frog is about a group of hares living in the forest always frighten by other animals, even scared of there own shadows. The hares said they would rather die then to live in fear and shame. So the hares raced down to the pond in the forest to drown themselves. While the hares were racing down to the pond, they made so much noise, they were heard by the group of frogs. The frogs were so frighten by the hares. The hares came to realize that they are even some creatures...
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..."It's a common belief that positive thinking leads to a happier, healthier life. As children we are told to smile, be cheerful, and put on a happy face. As adults we are told to look on the bright side, to make lemonade, and see glasses as half full. Sometimes reality can get in the way of our ability to act the happy part though. Your hope can fail, boyfriends can cheat, friends can disappoint. It's in these moments, when you just want to get real, drop the act, and be your true scared unhappy self." -Meredith Grey "No matter how thick skinned we try to be, there's millions of electrifying nerve endings in there opened and exposed and feeling way too much. Try as we might to keep from feeling pain, sometimes it's just unavoidable. Sometimes that's the only thing left." -Meredith Grey "You never know the biggest day of your life is the biggest day. Not until it's happening. You don't recognize the biggest day of your life, not until you're right in the middle of it. The day you commit to something or someone. The day you get your heart broken. The day you meet your soul mate. The day you realize there's not enough time, because you wanna live forever. Those are the biggest days. The perfect days." -Isobel "Izzie" Stevens "Change, we don't like it, we fear it, but we can't stop it from coming. We either adapt to change or we get left behind. And it hurts to grow, anybody who tells you it doesn't is lying. But here's the truth: the more things change, the more...
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...Aesop’s Fables Fable: (1) a short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters. (2) a story about supernatural or extraordinary persons or incidents. (Dictionary.com) As a future teacher, I chose to research Aesop because I appreciate the life lessons his stories teach. Aesop’s fables have become some of the greatest traditions of Greek culture. They were first told nearly two thousand years ago by Aesop (620 BC), a slave, unable to speak as a child. When he finally spoke, he was a gifted speaker. (Good Reads) He was freed by his Greek master who enjoyed the humor and charm of his stories. Aesop traveled to the Lydian city of Sardis, where he became a favorite of King Croesus (600-546 BC). (New World Encyclopedia) Aesop impressed the statesmen in Greece when the king asked his wisest advisors to consider who the happiest man was. After several responses, Aesop finally answered, “Croesus was as much happier than other men as the fullness of the sea was superior to the rivers in his kingdom.” Aesop found favor with the king as a storyteller. He was sent on a mission to the temple of Apollo at Delphi to deliver gold. He referred to the Delphians as parasites when they squabbled over the gold (Giloth), and they labeled him sacrilegious. They set him up to appear to have stolen from Apollo, and he was accused of theft and sacrilege and pushed over a cliff to his death. (enotes) Greek culture at this time was self-absorbed...
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...Turning the Screw: Analysing Douglas’s Tale In this essay I will be exploring the narrative style present in “Turn of the Screw” by Henry James and discussing the character called Douglas as a frame narrator for the governess’s tale. I will explore the reliability of Douglas and his relationship with the governess and look at any bias caused by this relationship. I will be analysing the narrative style of the novella, and discussing how this style contributes to the development of the story. Along with this, I will be comparing “Turn of the Screw” to traditional ghost stories, and discussing whether there are differences between the two. Douglas is presented from the outset of the story as a frame narrator in that he begins his tale by offering to recite a manuscript written by his sister’s former governess, who is a person who Douglas holds in high esteem. This act of recounting another person’s story, or presenting a story within a story, is a clear indication that the type of narrative present in the book is frame narrative (Frame Story - Wikipedia, n.d.). If we look at this fact in terms of the quote presented within the study material, we notice that Douglas places particular emphasis on his story, proclaiming to be “quite too horrible” (pg 1). Due to the fact that Douglas is a frame narrator rather than an omnipresent narrator, he comes complete with a range of human faults, including exaggeration and bias. The introduction of the story adds to this idea, as Douglas betrays...
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...A Perspective on Traditional Literature • Traditional literature can provide a window on cultural beliefs and on the spiritual and psychological qualities that are part of our human nature. The Origin of Folk Literature • Children sometimes identify these stories as “make-believe,” as contrasted with “true” or “stories that could really happen.” • The origin of the myths has fascinated and puzzled folklorists, anthropologists, and psychologists. • Folktales are also of special interest to scholars of narrative theory because of the way the tales are honed by many generations of telling; only the most important elements of the story survive. The Value of Folk Literature for Children • When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of their Household Stories in 1812, they did not intend it for children. • Originally folklore was the literature of the people; stories were told to young and old alike. • Traditional literature is a rightful part of a child’s literature heritage and lays the groundwork for understanding all literature. Folktales • Folktales have been defined as “all forms of narrative, written or oral, which have come to be handed down through the years.” • Questions often arise about which of the available print versions of a tale is the “correct” or authentic text. Types of Folktales • There will be features of these stories that are unique to each culture...
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...Fairy tales are more than just stories read to children before bedtime. They contain valuable messages that are commonly ignored. In Maria Tatar’s piece, “An Introduction to Fairy Tales,” she explains how much we need fairy tales in our lifes. Fairy tales give us a special feeling of excitement, happiness, joy and safety. These things are a really big part of why people read fairy tales and why they love them so much. Maria Tatar explains how Fairy tales affect us, and how the change our personalities, actions and our character. Although Fairy tales is something almost all kids read when they were children, they seem to fade away, be forgotten and get treated as childish things. Maria Tatar mentions that when people grow, they forget about how strong fairy tales can be and the messages they hold. Fairy tales can bring more than just messages, they can bring back happy memories, it could be a flash back of the time when your mother read you the story of “Sindbad”, sad memories, of the time you read a fairy tale with someone that passed away that you cared about. These stories help people feel peaceful, calm, happiness and joy. But fairy tales don’t always seem to be perfect. They tend to send wrong messages to children and Maria Tatar points out that,” fairy-tale characters always seem to be lying, cheating, or stealing their way to good fortune.” (Paragraph-10, Pg. 309) These things most parents don’t want their kids growing up down, but we seem not to notice them because...
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...The chilling voice of the man-made goosebumps all over my body, “The children...have you checked the children..” the man said. It was too late. The screams of them still remain. Urban Legends are stories that cause fear in those who know no better, the stories could be a crazy phenomenon with serial killers or even ghostly figures that disappear into oblivion. These stories can be passed down generation to generation, it’s like a game of telephone but the game last for years. The fear for children is a commonly exploited fear in most of these Urban Legends. Examples of these could be in the story “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs”, The story of “Gravity Hill”, and even the story of “Bunnyman’s bridge” with the fear for children in each of these. The story “The Babysitter and the Man Upstairs” explores the fear for children by having the children upstairs become the victim of the serial killer in the house. The moral of the story is; don’t leave children unsupervised in a big house. This moral can make parents or babysitters scared of leaving children unsupervised in your house for too long. In the story, the man on the phone with the babysitter says to the babysitter “Have you checked the children…” from The Choking Doberman. That line could indicate that the children are in danger and should be brought to safety quickly considering there is a man upstairs. Next, the story of “Gravity Hill” has the fear for children by having said children dying on the bottom of the hill...
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...The Boy Who Cried Wolf (Appropriation) I was lying there still on the grass, the flock of sheep grazing next to me. My eyelids battered against my urges, resisting the need to sleep. I got up with the wind ruffling through my hair. I called "Dolly" to the nearest sheep. She came over and leaned in lovingly while I stroked its ear. Suddenly there was a rustle behind me. I turned around anxiously. To my horror I was staring eye to eye with a wolf. Its piercing blue eyes caused me to freeze, its neck white as snow. With two leaps it had reached me and in one quick move it pinned me to the ground. I tried to call for help, but I could only manage a weak gasp. Its eyes were filled with malice and intent while a tear rolled down my cheek. As it scratched my face, I finally managed a sound. "WOLF" I bellowed at the top of my lungs. I heard the village stir and I think the wolf heard it too as I watched it slip away into the night. After about 30 seconds the first villager appeared with a pitchfork. "Where is the wolf, boy?", he asked. I replied, "It disappeared into those bushes". The villager gave me a menacing look and turned to the bushes. "There is nothing there" he exclaimed. "Y-Yes there was just a minute ago", I pleaded. "The last time there was a wolf here, was many years ago", the villager stated. He continued, "It took away a boy just like you. He would cry wolf just to see us villagers panic and try to help. However when we got there, there would be no one except the boy...
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