Aesop's Fables Analysis
Grace through Life Have you ever read a parable or a fable? Do you know the difference between them? You may know the difference but did you know that, Depending on the worldview of the reader, a parable or fable can be interpreted in a variety of ways. A fable is a short story, written to get a point across, usually to young readers. A fable uses animals and real world examples to teach valuable morals to children in a fun way. A parable is also a story, and its purpose is to teach a lesson as well, but a parable has more depth to it than it seems. Jesus told many parables to people in the New Testament, but he often saved the explanation of the deeper meaning for his disciples. When examining fables or parables, the worldview of a reader
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Aesop emphasized law and the consequences of actions, with little to no regard for grace. It is easy to read them for fun, but it is also important to examine the meaning. A person who has a worldview dominated by law might interpret Aesop’s Fables as correct and right. One fable inside the book called “The Ants and the Grasshopper,” is about a grasshopper and some ants. The ants have been working hard all summer collecting food, while the grasshopper goofed off. When winter comes the grasshopper, who is near death, begs the ants for a morsel of food. The ants reply, “since you kept yourself busy by singing all summer, you can do the same by dancing all winter”(Aesop 27). A reader leaning more to a legalistic worldview would read the fable, understand that the surface meaning is to ‘work hard’ or ‘you reap what you sow,’ and agree that the fate of the grasshopper was just. Jesus tells a parable with a very similar moral in Matthew 13. The parable of “the farmer and the seeds,” is about a farmer who is planting seeds. As he walks and tosses the seeds, some fall on fertile soil, but others fall on rocky places or shallow dirt. The reader with a law-heavy worldview might read this parable and say something similar to the fable above. You reap what you sow or don’t be lazy and watch where you are placing your seeds. SENTENCE? As shown in the examples above, if a legalistic worldview influenced our life, there would never be room for
Aesop emphasized law and the consequences of actions, with little to no regard for grace. It is easy to read them for fun, but it is also important to examine the meaning. A person who has a worldview dominated by law might interpret Aesop’s Fables as correct and right. One fable inside the book called “The Ants and the Grasshopper,” is about a grasshopper and some ants. The ants have been working hard all summer collecting food, while the grasshopper goofed off. When winter comes the grasshopper, who is near death, begs the ants for a morsel of food. The ants reply, “since you kept yourself busy by singing all summer, you can do the same by dancing all winter”(Aesop 27). A reader leaning more to a legalistic worldview would read the fable, understand that the surface meaning is to ‘work hard’ or ‘you reap what you sow,’ and agree that the fate of the grasshopper was just. Jesus tells a parable with a very similar moral in Matthew 13. The parable of “the farmer and the seeds,” is about a farmer who is planting seeds. As he walks and tosses the seeds, some fall on fertile soil, but others fall on rocky places or shallow dirt. The reader with a law-heavy worldview might read this parable and say something similar to the fable above. You reap what you sow or don’t be lazy and watch where you are placing your seeds. SENTENCE? As shown in the examples above, if a legalistic worldview influenced our life, there would never be room for