George Mason University Fables and Didactic Stories Discussion Questions After you have fished reading Fables & Didactic Stories page, write a respond to a

George Mason University Fables and Didactic Stories Discussion Questions After you have fished reading Fables & Didactic Stories page, write a respond to and analyze the stories you’ve read. you should answer the questions. the answers need to be clear, readable, and reasonably well-organized. also expect you to answer each question substantially, using multiple sentences and specific examples to explain your ideas.
What are some of the key similarities and differences between the fables that you read? Make sure you include the names of the fables that you highlight. the link of the fables is in the uploaded file
What are some of the characteristics attributed to certain animals?
In the case of these fables, what themes do you think the author is expressing? What other meanings can you find when you dig into the fables? Choose one fable and write a DIFFERENT moral for it.
What are some of the key similarities and differences between the fables and the didactic tales “Goody Two Shoes” and “The Purple Jar”? How can you tell that the didactic tales were written specifically for children?
How do you think modern children might respond to the didactic tales? (If you know any children, try telling them one of the stories and see what they think about it.oh, also pls make it look simple and clear. do not use any completed words or sentences Fables & didactic stories
Fables are one of the earliest genres of literature we have recorded in writing (myths and
some epics are older). They were originally composed and performed orally and, as
traditional literature, there was no single author. Folk authorship means that the stories we
know have gone through a long process of creation, development through retellings in small
communities, retellings and adaptations to other groups for centuries (or millenia). Most
world cultures have a tradition of fables: short didactic tales in which the main characters are
usually anthropomorphic animals encountering problems in their world. (Didactic means
with the purpose of instruction, usually teaching a moral lesson; anthropomorphic means
with human characteristics.) Some of the most famous fable traditions come from the
Mediterranean world (North Africa, Southern Europe, the Middle East) and from India. In
fact, these traditions may have influenced each other. Some of the Aesopic fables
(Mediterranean) are related to the Jataka tales (India).
Originally, fables were meant for adult audiences. The legendary Aesop himself (c. 620-560
BCE) was a Greek slave (perhaps freed during his lifetime) who skillfully used fables to help
resolve legal disputes and to criticize political injustice and tyrants indirectly. Jack Zipes, a
folklore scholar, argues, “The messages and warnings stem from the experiences of the
oppressed, and these people…employed animals and inanimate objects in oral tales as ciphers
in a symbolic code, probably out of necessity, for they were fearful of speaking the direct
truth about particular oppressors and yet desirous of spreading truthful antidotes to counter
the poison of oppression. Historically, fables were first and foremost oral antidotes to tyranny
and slavery and became established as a literary genre when conditions allowed for more
freedom of speech in script.” (Aesop’s Fables, Signet, 277) Fables began to be directed
towards younger audiences in the third century BCE when Greek authors added fables to
books intended to educate boys and young men in grammar, rhetoric, and philosophical
debates. Ancient Rome continued this didactic use of fables (and in teaching some girls as
well as boys).
Please go to http://read.gov/aesop/001.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external
site. and read “Belling the Cat,” “The Town Mouse & the Country Mouse,” “The Fox & the
Grapes,” “The Fox & the Stork,” “The Hare & the Tortoise,” “The Dog & his Reflection,” “The
Shepherd Boy & the Wolf,” “The Ants and the Grasshopper,” “The Bundle of Sticks,” “The
Milkmaid and her Pail,” and “The North Wind and the Sun.”
In the 18th century, writing and publishing books specifically for children really began with
the didactic purpose of moral instruction. (Read this article: https://www.bl.uk/romanticsand-victorians/articles/the-origins-of-childrens-literature (Links to an external site.)Links to
an external site.) Some fables were chosen to support 18th- and 19th-century values, while
other ancient fables were dropped as being unsuitable. Writers and publishers like John
Newbery were also interested in making literature appealing to children. (Read this
article: https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/moral-and-instructivechildrens-literature (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.) Since then, much of
children’s literature has attempted to combine the purposes of education and amusement.
For more information on this history, please read Chapter 1: An outline history of publishing
for children in English in Children’s Literature.
Two of the most famous didactic stories written in this period are The History of Little
Goody Two-Shoes (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (published in 1765 by
John Newbery) and “The Purple Jar” (Links to an external site.)Links to an external
site. (written in 1796 by Maria Edgeworth). As you read these two stories, think about what
lessons they’re trying to teach and the difference in narrative shape (Goody TwoShoes summarizes years; “The Purple Jar” covers just a few weeks.) Here are the links to the
stories:
The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
“The Purple Jar” (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

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