Famous Fables

 Famous Fables 

This week, I was introduced to the difference between fables, parables, and euphemisms through David Foster Wallace’s speech, “This is Water”. Walace opens the speech with a wise old fish posing a question to two younger, passing by fish. This met the requirements of a fable as it included talking animals, and later conveyed a moral. The fable served as a good introduction because it hooked the audience immediately and had them thinking throughout the piece. Wallace’s fable spurred me into my own research into various fables and how they’re relevant today.  

The story, “The Crab and His Mother” goes as follows: a mother crab says to her son, “Why do you walk sideways? You should walk straight.” and the son responds, “Show me how to and I’ll follow your example.”. Of course, the mother couldn’t walk straight either being a crab, and realized the error in her ways. This fable goes to show how we are not in a place to judge others when we ourselves cannot uphold a good example.  

The Two Rats story starts with a rat coming across a piece of cheese encased in a rat trap. The first rat deceives his friend rat by lying and saying he doesn’t want the cheese. The younger, gullible rat jumps at the chance to have the cheese and as a result he gets trapped. This fable teaches us to make our own choices and not listen to everything that others say. Our friends may not have our best interests at heart and may be more than ready to hurt you. It’s important to maintain your own sense of self and recognize the decisions you need to make.