Aesop among many other prominant authors wrote tales of animals taking on human characteristics, but none is so prevelant as the reputation of the mighty lion. Known as the king of animals, the lion appears as an object of strength and nobility in countless aspects of life including history, literature, art, astronomy, movies, and dance.
Who is this amazing creature? According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the lion
(Panthera Leo) is a flesh-eating animal that live cheifly in sandy plains and rocky places where there are thorn thickets and tall grass. Male lions can reach a length of 2.50m (8ft), and a weight of 250kg (550lb). They can live for 15 years, but in captivity some have reached an age of up to 30 years. They mainly eat larger herbivores such as buffalo, zebra, and in cultivated areas an occasionally human. There strength is amazing, and both parents take great care in tending to their young, often referred to as cubs (168-69).
Much is to be said about the mannerisms and personalities of lions, and no one has
summed this up as well as Aesop. There are four fables listed in our textbook dealing with the qualities humans believe to be true about lions. These assumptions may have begun with Aesop’s fables, but really knows.
In the first fable, The Lioness and the Vixen, the saucy personality of the lioness is shown.
When denounced for the birth of only one cub, the lioness quickly snaps back aat the vixen, “Only
one, she said, but a lion”(Aesop 607). This answers the question of quality over quanity; and for
most the lion is considered the best in quality the “cream of the crop” as some would say. Aesop
iterprets here that the lion knows he is the best, and doesn’t mind sharing it with the rest of the
animal kingdom.
Aesop again illustrates the lion as being king in The Lion, The Wolf, , and The Fox.
Aesop clearly writes “all the animals came to pay respect to their king,” (Aesop 607). Even in the title of the fable Aesop lists the lion first before the wolf and fox. This could just be by mishap, or as seen in other fables the animals could be listed in order of appearance in the text. Regardless of the title Aesop gives the lion dominating powers of the other animals. He writes “the lion demanded to know at once what cure he had found,”(Aesop 608).
The loin in the story has no courage and is seeking courage form the wizard in order for him to be the king of the jungle. He tries to scare people or even hurt them but he cant. The lion creates a direct comparison with William J. Bryant. This is because when William Bryant tried to solve the problem that was going on in the US Treasury by improving the treasury with free gold. Both the lion succeeds in protecting his forest and so does Bryant by receiving a higher rank in office, and becoming more popular.
The Lion, a symbol of royalty, served as a mentor to Yvain, helping him grow into not only a man but a king. Only through his experiences with the Lion could he learn how to properly conduct himself like a man. Had he not encountered the Lion, Yvain wouldn't know what respect is. Yvain always had strength and courage like a lion but fought selfishly. After seeing the Lion defenseless against the snake he fights to defend those who cannot defend themselves. By assuming that responsibility of returning to his wife and land transforms from a boy to a man.
For example, in “Brothers are the Same” Temas needs to go on a hunt with another group of soon to be men and kill a lion.
lion. Medoto was the most brave boy in the village and everyone knew the lion would charge at
No story is entirely original. Authors, playwrights, and songwriters all pick and choose elements from stories regardless of whether they intend to or not. Some stories mirror those of the past more similarly than others while adding a fresh, new twist. The Disney movie The Lion King contains many similarities to Shakespeare's play Hamlet, some of which are more obvious than others. Similarities in the character complexes of the three hyenas and Polonius's family, betrayal from Scar and Claudius, and the kingdoms deterioration and resolution are a few examples of the likenesses of the movie and play.
In the land of the Wicked Witch of the West, the inhabitants are referred to as “yellow Winkies,” and these people, who are “not a brave people,” are afraid to fight the witch and become enslaved. Like the Winkies, the Cowardly Lion believes he is not courageous. He has developed the strategy of roaring to scare his enemies like the Kalidahs, but the Lion runs away when he is challenged. For example, when the Lion meets the great Wizard of the Emerald City, he is prepared to scare the Wizard into complying with his desires; however, the Wizard appears as a Ball of Fire, singeing the Lion’s whiskers, causing the Lion to run away in fear. Yet, when the Lion’s friends are in danger, he demonstrates courage. As the Woodman, the Scarecrow, Dorothy, Toto and the Lion are traveling to the Emerald City, they encounter “a very wide ditch” that is “very deep” and has “many big, jagged rocks at the bottom.” With great risk to himself, the Lion offers to jump across the divide with his companions on his back to bring them to safety. The Lion’s golden mane and cowardly demeanor make him appear yellow, but inwardly he is not. He can not see that he is truly
Michael Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion is a text that is given new meaning when viewed from differing perspectives. Readers approach the text with their own unique past and experience, which influences their perception and interpretation of the novel. Two such interpretations are the Post-Modern and Post-Colonial readings of In the Skin of a Lion. These two readings give the text more dimension, and with the awareness that this novel can be interpreted in numerous ways, a reader's understanding is strengthened and deepened.
...lf-confidence. The Scarecrow was the one who believed that he had no brain even with him coming up with brilliant and clever solutions to the many problems that they faced on their journey. The tin man believed that he didn’t have a heart, but cries when bad things are brought upon the creatures they come to encounter. The lion believed that he had no courage even though he was the one brave enough to continue the journey, he always stated how brave he was and pushed forward even when the others did not want to. A famous quote from Carl L. Bankston III of Salem Press stated that "These three characters embody the classical human virtues of intelligence, caring, and courage, but their self-doubts keep them from being reduced to mere symbols of these qualities” (). This is an important quote because it highlights the self-confidence that Baum explored in his story.
... Seat” is a modern fable because the meaning of a fable suggests that this story is a fable. The moral of this fable was that “Brains Beat Brawn.” “The Catbird Seat” has shown many qualities of a fable that other fables have shown. There were two animals in which one was weaker and clever and the other was stronger and bigger. The bigger animal, Ms. Barrows was always bullying the weaker character, Mr. Martin. In the end, the weaker character defeated the bigger character not with strength but with cunningness, cleverness, and intelligence. This happened because the mightier character was an arrogant, self-centered, and cocky animal. The weaker character’s unexpected clever plan to trick the overconfident character taught the larger character a lesson. All of this criteria for a fable happens in “The Catbird Seat” which means the “The Catbird Seat is a modern fable.
And the answer was of course: It must have courage, cunning, and , above all, it must be able to reason. But no animal can reason, objected Rainsford. My dear fellow, said the general there is one that can. But you can’t mean--- gasped Rainsford.
In the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis portrays the archetype of the
Both Antigone and Oedipus, written by Sophocles, use character’s opinions and approach to leadership to show Sophocles’ ideal leadership style for a king.
Throughout the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe you can find different themes. Nature, faith, heroism, and justice are only some that are exhibited in the novel. C.S. Lewis “says he saw pictures, pictures which began to join up into patterns: “a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn’t even anything Christian about them, that element pushed itself in on its own accord.”” (Hannay).
The Lion King is Disney's most successful movie to date. Many believe that the Lion King is Disney's only original movie; the only movie not previously a fairy tale from one country or another. In fact, The Lion King is in on based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Disney writers conceal the basic character archetypes and simplified storyline in a children's tale of cute lions in Africa. On the other hand William Shakespeare’s Hamlet was based on the Epic of Son-Jara or Sundiata. This lead to the debate is the Lion King based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet or the West African story, the Epic of Son Jara. Simba, Hamlet, and Son-Jara are all heroes in their own story. All of them must take on a villain that knew very well, but who does Simba’s journey resemble the most Does Simba represent Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, or Son-Jara, the lion king.
So, to sum up, we have captured, examined, and tagged our various creatures of pride, and it is now time to set them free once more, to run wild over the four corners of the earth. The lions will devour all in their path with arrogant derision; the peacocks will peck and claw at one another as they jockey for position in their petty social circles, all the while pouting and preening, painting feathers on their feathers; and the lambs will go on being slaughtered in their docility, uttering never a scornful word, so that we may have lamb chops with mint jelly at Ruth's Chris with our beautiful, precisely made-up girl friends.