Selected Fables By Aesop Short Answer Questions 1. Write down the message communicated by e Archer and the Lion. Can you think of a situation in modern American political or social life that this fable illustrates? 2. What kind of people do the goat and the wolf represent in the fable e Wolf and the Goat? Are there any situations in your own life that this fable aptly illustrate? Have you ever acted the goat or wolf? 3. e words of the crane literally apply to the peacock but figuratively can apply to human beings. Restate the crane s statement so that it reads as a general maxim or saying. 4. Write down the general message communicated by e Moon and Her Mother. 5. Write down the general message communicated by e Hares and the Frogs. Do you believe that the animals chosen are apt figures for what is being expressed? If not, what animals would you have chosen? Literary Terms: Fable A fable is a short story in which animals or inanimate objects appear as characters and o en talk and behave as humans do. e essential message is suggested by the details of the story and the traits of the animal characters. In Aesop s Fables, the stories are like parables and the messages o en form life proverbs, which are some of the oldest forms of literature in both Western and Eastern cultures. One attractive feature of the fables is their immediacy; readers immediately recognize the kinds of people represented by the animals and can apply the situations the animals find themselves in to situations in real life. Another attractive feature is the profound but very practical truth the fable expresses, which may be verified by ordinary human experience. Writing Exercises Write a short fable of your own which expresses a truth that you learned from experience. Be sure to choose your animals or inanimate objects carefully. At the end of your parable write down the message that you are trying to communicate.
Mother Holle By Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Short Answer Questions 1. What are the differences between the two girls in the story? How are these differences recognized or not recognized by the stepmother? 2. e obstacle or problem that faces a character in a work of fiction is called a conflict. What is the conflict in this story? What is the magical agency or means by which the conflict is resolved? 3. Write down a description of mother Holle. Why was she frightful to the unfavored girl and not frightful to the favored girl? 4. Why did the favored girl leave Mother Holle? Why did the unfavored girl leave? Literary Terms: Freudian Sigmund Freud (1856 1939) was an Austrian psychiatrist who founded psychoanalysis, a therapeutic method used to reveal the unconscious mind. rough psychoanalysis, Freud believed that a patient could be relieved of a physical ailment or mental instability associated with a past traumatic but forgotten experience. is idea of entering into the unconscious mind to relieve a patient of his sickness was first published in a paper Freud wrote in collaboration with Josef Breuer titled On the Psychical Mechanism of Hysterical Phenomenon. Freud further explored the conscious mind in a work titled e Interpretation of Dreams, in which he proposed the idea that dreams have a direct correspondence to our fears, desires, and experiences. People, places and things that appear in a dream may seem random and nonsensical, but really are symbolic or significant and may aid a patient in understanding himself and in solving his problems. In the past, many literary critics have written what are called Freudian interpretations of literature. Such interpretations look at the actions of fictional characters in terms of psychology. is approach to literature has its limitations, but may be helpful in understanding fairy tales, which appear to be very much like dreams in their strange, nonsensical details. A Freudian analysis of Mother Holle may reveal things such as the significance of the world that the girl enters and the meaning of the well. It could be that the well represents a dream world that reveals who we are rather than what we appear to be; it also is a place that reveals our true inner worth.
Cupid and Psyche By Thomas Bulfinch Short Answer Questions 1. Why is Cupid sent out by his mother Venus on a mission to punish Psyche? What is the punishment? 2. Explain why Psyche is lonely. 3. What is Psyche s fate according to the oracle of Apollo? In what way is the oracle misleading? In what was is it accurate? 4. Describe the mountain top in which she is destined to meet her future husband. 5. Write down in your own words what Cupid says to Psyche when she discovers his true physical appearance. 6. What is the fate of Psyche s sisters who try to be transported by Zephyr to the mountaintop where Cupid lived? 7. What does Venus say to Psyche when, obeying Ceres words, she seeks out Venus to win back her favor? 8. Briefly explain the three tasks that Venus gives to Psyche. 9. What is Psyche s fatal mistake in performing the third task? 10. Who rescues Psyche from death, and how specifically is the rescue accomplished? Literary Terms: Myth and Allegory As stated before, an allegory is a story in which the characters, setting, and events have a figurative meaning. In some allegories the literal level of the story merely serves as a prop for the figurative level. In these allegories, the narrative focuses on the figurative level to the extent that the literal level has little meaning or sense for the reader outside a knowledge of the figurative. Many of the myths have been interpreted allegorically, such as the story of Cupid and Psyche. Psyche is an English transliteration of the Greek word ψυχήή, which means soul or mind. Cupid is the Roman name for the Greek god Eros, the god of romantic love as well as passion. He was the son of Ares, the god of war, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love; thus he makes his victims fall in love with warfare using a bow and arrow. He is also pictured as blindfolded, insinuating perhaps that there does not seem to be rhyme or reason for people to fall in love. It may be obvious to you already that Psyche represents the soul, and that Cupid
represents man s physical nature. Can you explain the events that occur in the myth of Cupid and Psyche allegorically?
Pyramus and Thisbe By Thomas Bulfinch Short Answer Questions 1. Explain why Pyramus and isbe cannot love each other. 2. What ironically keeps the two young people apart and yet brings them together? 3. Why does isbe flee from their meeting place and what does she leave behind? 4. What does Pyramus find when he arrives at the meeting place and how does he react to his discovery? 5. According to the myth, how do the berries from the mulberry tree turn red? Literary Terms: Myths, Fairy Tales, Folktales, and Legends Although many of the classical myths read today are found in anthologies, the actual sources of the myths are varied. e myths were passed down orally from generation to generation until they were finally written down by such poets as Homer and Hesiod. It is from the writings of these great classical poets and writers that we know the stories of Apollo, Icarus, Odysseus, and the war between the gods and the Titans. One valuable reference book on the subject of myth is the poet Robert Graves e Greek Myths. is two-volume work not only tells the myths and their variations, but also tells their source. e source of Pyramus and isbe (not included in Graves work, as it is Roman in source) is a mythological story that was written down by the Roman poet Ovid. e story is part of a series of myths contained in a work titled e Metamorphosis in which Ovid attempts to explain how things came to be. Myths, fairy tales, folktales, and legends are o en confused. e most realistic of these genres is the legend. Legends, like that of William Tell or Robin Hood, are o en about a larger-than-life hero that defeats some villain. ey are fantasy, to be sure, and o en contain unrealistic incidents, yet they definitely have more down-to-earth characters and plots, and, unlike fairy tales, do not o en involve magic. However, like the folktales of Hans Christian Andersen and the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, mythological stories are stories of the imagination. ey involve people, places and events that evolve not solely from human experience, but from the mind. ere are several distinctive features of myths that one does not find in fairy tales and folktales. Myths originally had a religious purpose although not exclusively. And while fairy tales and folktales deal with human events, albeit fantastical human events, the myths o en deal with the gods and goddesses. In the myth of Pyramus and isbe, for example, we read of the appearance of the goddess of dawn, Aurora. In the myth of Cupid and Psyche, the deities Venus, Cupid, and Ceres make their appearance.
One other trait of myth is its keen insight into the mind of man. Freud, in fact, believed that many myths, like dreams, were wish fulfillments. e story of Orpheus, for example, is a very revealing tale of the psychology of loss. In the myth, Orpheus loses his wife. With his lyre, the musician travels down to Hades, and there he plays his sad, beautiful music. Enchanted by his song, the King of the Underworld allows Orpheus to take his wife back once more to the land of the living, but under one condition he cannot look back at her, for once he does that, she must return to the Underworld. And so, his wife follows him, but only as a dark shadow that he cannot see. As they travel, curiosity and longing get the better of Orpheus, who peers backward only to see his wife retreat back to the silent world of Hades. In a poetic way, the myth of Orpheus reveals the psychology of grieving. ose who grieve a loss wish that their beloved could once more return to the land of the living. But only in the imagination is such a thing possible. In song or poetry the memories of the loved one are conjured up and it appears for a moment that the loved one has returned. But not for long. e loved one really is only a shadow of the mind and flees instantly when viewed in the cold, hard perspective of reality. ere are other characteristics of myth. Pyramus and isbe illustrates how myths also explain how things came to be. How did the mulberry tree berry get its rich red hue? Ovid explains it. e red hue came from the blood of a man who took his life in love for a woman. In the myth of Atlas, we have an explanation of how mountains came to be, and in the myth of the many-eyed guard Argus, we have an explanation of how peacocks got eyes on their feathers. Not all of the myths, however, appear as pure fantasy and fabrications of the mind, and this leads our discussion of myth to yet another aspect: they o en contain a grain of historical truth. Some scholars believe, for example, that behind the myth of eseus and the Minotaur is the story of the political dominance of the people of Crete over Athens years before the birth of Socrates and the Peloponnesian War.
The Swineherd By Hans Christian Andersen Multiple-Choice Questions 1. e word humor (printed in bold) as it is used in the story most nearly means. a) being funny b) mood c) poor d) situation e) lack of politeness 2. e word daubed (printed in bold) most nearly means. a) put pressure on b) wash c) disguise d) describe e) color 3. e prince gives the princess a nightingale and rose tree, which are used as examples of. a) his extravagant and wasteful spending b) his ignorance of what is truly beautiful c) his lack of manners d) extraordinarily lovely things which the princess should appreciate e) natural versus artificial things 4. All of the following characteristics of fairy tale are contained in the story EXCEPT. a) magic b) romantic love c) animal transformation d) royalty e) threes 5. Which of the following is true about the princess? a) She is willing to pay a lot for trifles. b) She can play piano well. c) She is the daughter of a poor king. d) She does not like music. e) She has an attraction for fine things.
6. Which of the following BEST expresses the theme of the story? a) mistreatment of the poor b) looking down upon those of a lower profession, such as herding swine c) the foolishness of pride d) the superiority of natural versus artificial things e) unrequited love 7. e Prince disguises himself as a swineherd in particular because. a) no one really knew the swineherd b) no one would suspect that the swineherd would deceive others c) the swineherd was a handsome man whom the princess would not mind kissing d) it is assumed in the story that herding swine is a dirty and low profession e) the swineherd was known to be an excellent musician and the princess was fond of music 8. Which of the following BEST describes the tone of the story? a) humorous b) detached c) patriotic d) nostalgic e) pious 9. What is the function of the little tune Lieber Augustin repeated in the story? a) e tune refers to the Prince, whose name is Augustin, though the princess does not know it. b) e princess really does love the prince all the while when the song is sung, but does not know it. c) e song has been recently composed by the princess, but she has been fooled by her own charm. d) e princess is attracted to the tune, which is sung in admonishment at the end, providing a fitting conclusion. e) e tune refers to the theme of the story that all things pass away. 10. Why does the princess not want to marry the prince? a) She believes that he is not good enough for her. b) He has a bad reputation. c) His father and her father are enemies. d) He has an attraction for natural things, while she likes things that show an artisan s cra. e) He is in reality a swineherd.