UNDERSTANDING ALLEGORY
The Tortoise and the Hare
There once was a speedy hare who bragged about how fast he could run. Tired of hearing him boast, Slow and Steady, the tortoise, challenged him to a race. All the animals in the forest gathered to watch. Hare ran down the road for a while and then paused to rest. He looked back at Slow and Steady and cried out, "How do you expect to win this race when you are walking along at your slow, slow pace?" Hare stretched himself out alongside the road and fell asleep, thinking, "There is plenty of time to relax." Slow and Steady walked and walked. He never, ever stopped until he came to the finish line. The animals who were watching cheered so loudly for Tortoise, they woke up Hare. Hare stretched and yawned and began to run again, but it was too late. Tortoise was over the line. After that, Hare always reminded himself, "Don't brag about your lightning pace, for Slow and Steady won the race!" Why it's an allegory? This classic fable from Aesop tells the story of a plucky hare who acts the bully and teases Tortoise for being so slow. Tortoise challenges Hare to a race and, because of Hare's overconfidence and laziness, wins. While this story can be enjoyed as just a fun story where a tortoise beats a rabbit in a footrace, it is obviously meant, like all other fables from Aesop, to teach a lesson, and therefore this story is considered an allegory. The hidden meaning, or moral, here is that some people are born with natural talents but waste them to idleness or laziness. The tortoise's character is meant to show how despite natural talents, perseverance, hard work, and focus can win the day. Adults read this fable and see both the tortoise and hare as people they know in real life or have heard about. The race, read allegorically, is actually life itself. |
UNDERSTANDING SATIRE
Satire of Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written shortly after the Civil War, in which slavery was one of the key issues. While Mark Twain's father had slaves throughout his childhood, Twain did not believe that slavery was right in anyway. Through the character of Jim, and the major moral dilemma that followed Huck throughout the novel, Twain mocks slavery and makes a strong statement about the way people treated slaves. Miss Watson is revered as a good Christian woman, who had strong values, but she is a slave owner in the story. She owns a slave called Jim, who runs away upon hearing that Miss Watson might sell him to New Orleans.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written shortly after the Civil War, in which slavery was one of the key issues. While Mark Twain's father had slaves throughout his childhood, Twain did not believe that slavery was right in anyway. Through the character of Jim, and the major moral dilemma that followed Huck throughout the novel, Twain mocks slavery and makes a strong statement about the way people treated slaves. Miss Watson is revered as a good Christian woman, who had strong values, but she is a slave owner in the story. She owns a slave called Jim, who runs away upon hearing that Miss Watson might sell him to New Orleans.