The Frog and the Ox Joseph Jacobs
Characters: The young frog and the old frog
I've never seen a frog used as a character in a story, so I'm not quite sure what the frog may symbolize or represent. In this story, the young frog saw an ox, who was described as an extremely large monster. This is ironic because oxen are fairly peaceful creatures, but in the eyes of a small frog, they may appear to be threatening. Oxen are working creatures. They have been bred and trained by humans to assist in work such as farming. In this sense, an ox is a sort of role model for the frogs. The frogs may want to be as hard-working as the cow, especially the younger, more impressionable frog.
The old frog on the other hand, thought he was better than the ox. This is interesting because they are two completely different creatures, however, the old frog wanted to compare himself to an ox. Once the old frog began to blow himself up to look as big as the ox, the reader can see that he felt no regret. The old frog simply saw this as a matter of pride. Even though the ox is completely different than the frog, the old frog must be better than or as good as the ox.
I think that this theme is relevant in many of our lives. We often compare ourselves to others even though we're all completely different, especially with the popularization of social media. We work hard to look good and be the best to show off, but we will never be good enough if we compare ourselves to others. Just like the old frog, sometimes our pride backfires on us, though maybe not to the extent of death.
If I were to rewrite this story, I would make the old frog Bojack Horseman, a character whose excessive narcissism often causes him much trouble.
Characters: The young frog and the old frog
I've never seen a frog used as a character in a story, so I'm not quite sure what the frog may symbolize or represent. In this story, the young frog saw an ox, who was described as an extremely large monster. This is ironic because oxen are fairly peaceful creatures, but in the eyes of a small frog, they may appear to be threatening. Oxen are working creatures. They have been bred and trained by humans to assist in work such as farming. In this sense, an ox is a sort of role model for the frogs. The frogs may want to be as hard-working as the cow, especially the younger, more impressionable frog.
The old frog on the other hand, thought he was better than the ox. This is interesting because they are two completely different creatures, however, the old frog wanted to compare himself to an ox. Once the old frog began to blow himself up to look as big as the ox, the reader can see that he felt no regret. The old frog simply saw this as a matter of pride. Even though the ox is completely different than the frog, the old frog must be better than or as good as the ox.
I think that this theme is relevant in many of our lives. We often compare ourselves to others even though we're all completely different, especially with the popularization of social media. We work hard to look good and be the best to show off, but we will never be good enough if we compare ourselves to others. Just like the old frog, sometimes our pride backfires on us, though maybe not to the extent of death.
If I were to rewrite this story, I would make the old frog Bojack Horseman, a character whose excessive narcissism often causes him much trouble.
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| Green Tree Frog (Wikimedia) |
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