On My Terms - an Analysis of Multiple Aesop Fables
Autor: Mikki • April 24, 2018 • 1,041 Words (5 Pages) • 668 Views
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However, as we witness in the Aesop fable “The Vain Jackdaw,” when animals fail to reflect upon themselves and their position in the animal hierarchy they will be unsuccessful in their endeavors. “The jackdaw having dressed himself in feathers that had fallen from the peacocks, strutted about in the company of those birds” only to be rejected by the peacocks and then rejected by his own species when he returned to them beaten and battered (The Vain Jackdaw). Unlike the spiders who recognize they cannot simply outrun the Coyote or Ananse who knows he cannot acquire Nana Nyamee’s tributes with sheer force, the jackdaw does not consider the natural order of the animal kingdom which dictates his abilities and characteristics. Instead of sticking to his fellow jackdaws in a society where he might thrive, he tries to become something he is not by impersonating the peacocks, and as a result he is rejected by both the peacocks and the jackdaws. By failing to reflect upon himself, the jackdaw renders himself incapable of utilizing cleverness, and he becomes a victim of the hierarchy rather than an animal who is able to navigate his/her way around it.
Surviving in the animal kingdom in the fable context requires that animals play to their strengths. Social mobility is not a possibility in the fable context; the hierarchy dictates that the traits one is born with are the traits one is stuck with –the trick is to make sure that you design the rules of a contest so that one has the opportunity to utilize one’s best abilities. In order to identify the best attributes one possesses as well as the skills of another, both reflection and analysis are demanded – especially by those who are generally weaker. The one who ultimately will prevail will be the one who can say “We’ll play, but we’ll play on my terms.”
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Works Cited
Lopez, Barry. North American Fables. Coyote and Spider. 10
West African Fables. Spider’s Bargain with God. 58-59
Aesop Fables. The Vain Jackdaw
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