Theme Of The Rats In Council

Likewise, the application of human logic on animals is used again in the fable “The Rats in Council” where the central theme is actions speak louder than words. The story follows the meeting of rats who are attempting to find a way to reduce the number of casualties caused by the cat. It is decided that a bell be tied around his neck to alert others of his presence, but no one volunteers to do the deed and the situation remains the same. (26) In this case the jeer is obvious, everyone is willing to help out so long as they don’t have to do anything dangerous. The rats all desired to find a way to protect themselves, yet none were willing to stick their neck out, as quoted in the fable, “‘I’m not the fool to try.’…everyone seemed to cower, All withdrew.” (27) One is reluctant to carry out the honorable task because
Since no of their lives are currently are risk, the rats do not feel obligated to go above and beyond to solve the problem. Politically, this council of rats parallels a council of humans. As stated in the text all that is ever done is, “Confer and arrive at nothing”. Meetings could be conducted for months full of brilliant ideas and plans, nonetheless the council’s fancy language and promising solutions are pointless if not carried out. Moreover, the lack of interest in the problem stems from the fact that “few [deaths] were visible” (26) to the rats on the council. The argument is that those in charge of making decisions of the community are inadequate to serve the community because they live in a different world than the rest of the people. For the community it was, “… death upon all the rats there were.” (26), they lived in constant fear for their lives because of the cat. Yet, because the council members rarely witness these deaths they dismiss the threat. Once the threat reaches the homes of the council, the situation may be to late to