Reading Diary A: Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)

The most interesting thing about my reading in this unit was the contrast between what I would consider somewhat similar creatures. It's very clear that the various animals have been given specific characteristics and personalities to describe them. For example, the Lion is proud and dangerous. The Fox is very cunning and sneaky, while the Wolf appears to be vicious and just downright bad. This was a especially interesting because these characteristics linked directly to the lesson that each fable was intended to teach. The vast majority of the Lion's stories involved him eating or killing something, and often referenced his place as 'King of the beasts', as with "only cowards insult dying majesty". This suggests to me that there is an extent to which the author was attempting to place personalities on these animals to serve a message, but they seem to make a lot of sense. I don't think many people would argue with the idea of a fox as devious and cunning, so the use of one for those lessons seems to make perfect sense.

References:
Aesop's Fables (Jacobs)
Lions Part 1
Lions Part 2
Foxes Part 1
Wolves

The Lion takes all of the hunt for himself