Mikaela+Imbriani+&+Miranda+Hadden

tories of morality can come in many forms.The same morals are retold over and over, through many different modes and perspectives. Disney movies and childrens stories are prime examples of this.Most of us experienced as children the joys of a disney movie or a childrens book before bed, little did we know that we were learning lifes most important lessons that we would learn again and again throughout our lives. When considering who's story gets told and how we shape our views of the world, it is clear that stories of morality have always been and will always be told frequently, and that people who's stories can teach us a lesson and prevent us from making mistakes will always have their stories told.The value of learning moral lessons has unquestionable value.

-As shown in the mind map below, one moral can be presented through a number of characters, settings and plots. Yet no matter the characters or plot, the lesson is told and clearly understood.



Each moral is told many times in different ways. In childrens books it may be told through a young turtle or family of bears, in television shows it may be told through a group of talking animals or a big purple dinosaur. The moral of stealing, accepting others, telling the truth, and loving your family are all life lessons that can be told in a few short pages,or even a thirty minute special. Because the tales of morality are presented in a simple way, even young children can learn important lessons from them and develop their character and understanding of the world. Although the characters have changed throughout generations, shows and books with the same lessons as these have been around all throughout recorded history.



As people age, the ways in which tales of morality are taught have to mature as well. Below are a few examples of slightly more mature modes of portraying morality. Others include more advanced books such as Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia, art, and even music. (The Brady Bunch, left) (Leave it to Beaver, right)

In Achebe's Things Fall Apart, tales of morality are told in two different ways; morals are told in the novel through Ibo proverbs, and the story of Okonkwo. In Things Fall Apart proverbs and parables are told and shared among the people with the intent of teaching the members of the tribe Ibo customs and ideals.The Ibo fable "The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said that he would praise himself if no one else did," taught the moral lesson of doing great things or acting with a great attitude whether others grant you praise or not. A parable that is taught today is, "do good works like no one is watching," both have similar if not the same lesson yet taught in a different time and a different place. Another told in Things Fall Apart is,"[because] men have learned to shoot without missing,[Eneke the bird] has learned to fly without perching," this parable means that because the hunter adapted the hunted adapted as well. Today we teach that as things change we must change and adapt ourselves as well so we may continue to thrive and grow. Ekwefi used stories to teach lessons to her daughter Ezinma all throughout the novel. One story was about the tortise who asked to borrow feathers from all the birds so he could go up to the meeting of birds in the sky. tortoise tricked the birds into allowing him to eat all their food first and thus lost his only way to earth, the feathers. He then fell to the earth landing on the sharpest of tools and objects breaking his shell and resulting in its cracked apperence. The moral Ekwefi was trying to teach her daughter was that honesty and kept promises are key to keeping her life (shell) whole. Throughout Things Fall Apart the story of Okonkwo emphasizes the concept "you can't live in the past." Okonkwo looks at the past and can not let it go, holding it tighter and tighter, soon leading to his suicide and ultimate demise. Due to his constant comparison of the tribe before the white man and after he can only see what has changed and not how it can end in the future. Having power and authority in the tribe before his exile he expected to return to it the same, and his life returning back to the way it hafd been. But he returned to find it changed and his power and presence be-littled by the white mans. This change made his life for the future small and insignificant so he made the ultimate choice with his life, which had started with one yam seed and ended with a rope hanging in a tree.

Below you will see a few more examples of tales of morality. media type="youtube" key="nwRvFW5S-no?fs=1" height="385" width="640"

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Tales of will continue to be told throughout history,as will the stories of those people whose stories have something to teach mankind.these stories

will always be heard because mankind will always know that there is a difference between right and wrong and will want to share moral lessons

to the younger generations. To conclude our easay and to prove yet again how easy it is to tell a story of morality, please enjoy this video entitled

Cheaters Never Prosper.

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Achebe, Chinua. //Things Fall Apart//. William Heineman Ltd., 1958. Print.

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