上海交通大学：《20世纪英美短篇小说选读》教学资源_allegory（2）

【8.2】 Fable,Parable,and Myth The allegory,in short,is as old as the capacity of human beings to tell stories.As long as the parallel interpretation is kept close and consistent,as in My Kinsman,Major Molineux,an extended allegorical interpretation will have validity.There are three alternative forms that are special types of allegory:fable,parable and myth. Fable A fable is a short story,often featuring animals with human traits,to which writers and editors attach "morals"or explanations.Such stories are often called beast fables. Fables are a very old literary form and have found a place in the literature of most societies.Aesop (sixth century B.C.)was supposedly a slave who composed beast fables in ancient Greece.His fable of "The Fox and the Grapes",for example, signifies the tendency to belittle those things we cannot have.Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908)was a black American writer whose Uncle Remus stories are also beast fables. Parable A parable is really a short,simply allegory.In Christian cultures,parables are usually associated with Jesus,who used them in his teaching to embody religious insights and truth.The biblical parables like those of the Good Samaritan (LukeX,30-37)and the prodigal son (Luke XV,11-32)are interpreted to show god's active love,concern, understanding,and forgiveness for human beings. Myth A myth is a story,like that of Sisyphus in Greek Mythology,which is associated with the religion,philosophy,and collective psychology of various groups of cultures. Myths sometimes embody scientific truths for pre-scientific societies;they codify the social and cultural values of the civilization in which they were composed.For example,there are numerous myths explaining why summer and winter exist,why the sun rises and sets,how man came to have language,etc.Sometimes,unfortunately

【8.2】 Fable, Parable, and Myth The allegory, in short, is as old as the capacity of human beings to tell stories. As long as the parallel interpretation is kept close and consistent, as in My Kinsman, Major Molineux, an extended allegorical interpretation will have validity. There are three alternative forms that are special types of allegory: fable, parable and myth. Fable A fable is a short story, often featuring animals with human traits, to which writers and editors attach “morals” or explanations. Such stories are often called beast fables. Fables are a very old literary form and have found a place in the literature of most societies. Aesop (sixth century B.C.) was supposedly a slave who composed beast fables in ancient Greece. His fable of “The Fox and the Grapes”, for example, signifies the tendency to belittle those things we cannot have. Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908) was a black American writer whose Uncle Remus stories are also beast fables. Parable A parable is really a short, simply allegory. In Christian cultures, parables are usually associated with Jesus, who used them in his teaching to embody religious insights and truth. The biblical parables like those of the Good Samaritan (LukeX, 30-37) and the prodigal son (Luke XV, 11-32) are interpreted to show god’s active love, concern, understanding, and forgiveness for human beings. Myth A myth is a story, like that of Sisyphus in Greek Mythology, which is associated with the religion, philosophy, and collective psychology of various groups of cultures. Myths sometimes embody scientific truths for pre-scientific societies; they codify the social and cultural values of the civilization in which they were composed. For example, there are numerous myths explaining why summer and winter exist, why the sun rises and sets, how man came to have language, etc. Sometimes, unfortunately

the term "mythical"is used to suggest that something is untrue.This minimizing of the word reflects a limited appreciation of the psychological and social truths embedded in myths.The truths in mythology are not found literally in the stories themselves,but rather in our symbolic or allegorical interpretation of them. Allegory,as a fictional mode of presentation,however,is unquestionably out of favor among modern and contemporary authors and critics,for reasons that have to do with the nature of allegory itself.First of all,the didacticism of allegory and its tendency toward a simplified,if not simplistic,view of life is suspect in a world where there is very little common agreement about truth and the validity of certain once universally respected ideas and ideals.Second,the way allegory presents character is simply not in keeping with the modern conception of fictional characterization.In allegory the characters,and the ideas and ideals those characters embody,are presented as a given.The modern author,on the other hand,prefers to build characters and to develop and reveal their personalities gradually,in stages, throughout the course of the work

the term “mythical” is used to suggest that something is untrue. This minimizing of the word reflects a limited appreciation of the psychological and social truths embedded in myths. The truths in mythology are not found literally in the stories themselves, but rather in our symbolic or allegorical interpretation of them. Allegory, as a fictional mode of presentation, however, is unquestionably out of favor among modern and contemporary authors and critics, for reasons that have to do with the nature of allegory itself. First of all, the didacticism of allegory and its tendency toward a simplified, if not simplistic, view of life is suspect in a world where there is very little common agreement about truth and the validity of certain once universally respected ideas and ideals. Second, the way allegory presents character is simply not in keeping with the modern conception of fictional characterization. In allegory the characters, and the ideas and ideals those characters embody, are presented as a given. The modern author, on the other hand, prefers to build characters and to develop and reveal their personalities gradually, in stages, throughout the course of the work