Parable


 * __//Parable//__

**Definition::** A parable is a short story that teaches a moral point.

It describes a //setting//, explains the //action// that occurs there, and highlights the //results//. Typically somebody faces a decision, makes a poor choice and suffers the consequences.

The underlying lesson may be included in the story, for example with a father lecturing a son after an escapade, or it may be left for the storyteller to discuss.

Random examples of __parables__:

[] (this is one is pretty funny!)

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There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, give me my share of the estate." So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men." So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." So they began to celebrate. Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. "Your brother has come," he replied, "and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound." The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, "Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!" "My son," the father said, "you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." (//Luke// 15:11-32)


 * Parables are common in religious texts that were designed to persuade common people to follow the moral codes of the religion in question. This has led to debates as to how literally true the stories actually are.
 * Many traditional folk stories can be viewed as extended parables as they include teaching elements. Parables tend to be realistic and believable, making them easy for the listener to put themselves in the position of the main subject.
 * Parables are different to [|fables], which use animals and plants in the story (and which often talk). They may also be longer than fables.
 * The word 'parable' comes from the Greek for a 'fictitious narrative'.

(Definition and bullet items are taken from changingminds.org)


 * Examples** from text:

1) Red Hot Riding Hood Tex Avery, MGM animation studios (1943) Red Riding Hood has also been seen as a parable of sexual maturity. In this interpretation, the red cloak symbolizes the blood of menstruation, facing the "unknown" of womanhood. 2) Pride of Baghdad Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon. DC Comics, 2006 This comic represents a parable, a lesson to be learned from the Iraq war. Our country invaded Iraq to give the Iraqi people freedom. This comic book explores this theme through the eyes of animals in a zoo. By the end of the story, the question to be asked was: Did they really want freedom? Or were we going to war for a different reason? What is the price we put upon our own and other's freedom? The moral of this parable lies within our own belief systems of war and politics, so at the risk of offending, I will let you read this amazing comic book and figure it out for yourself!

Kelli Holland ||