The Man in the Moon by Katherine Neville Fleeson
This might be one of my favorite stories that I've read this semester. It speaks a lot about humankind as a whole, and it really uses the theme of "grass is always greener" to its advantage. It starts out with a blacksmith, who was working really hard and complaining about the heat. He wished that he was a stone on the mountain because it would be cooler there. A wise man or a god of some sorts heard him and granted him his wish. So then, the blacksmith became a stone on the mountain. The blacksmith wasn't wrong, and he was most definitely cooler on the mountain. However, a stone-cutter came by and started cutting into him. The blacksmith began complaining again because he was being cut into and it hurt, so he wished to be a stone-cutter. The wish was granted, but the stone-cutter also had a very difficult life. As the blacksmith, now stone-cutter, began to work hard once again, he complained. He then wished to be the sun. His wish of course was granted by the wise man once again. The sun was very warm obviously, but the blacksmith didn't realize that until he became the sun. He then complained again and wished to be the moon because the sun was too hot. He then became the moon after the wise man granted his wish. However, being the moon was much hotter because the sun shines on the moon. How foolish! So, he tried to complain again and wish to be a blacksmith once more. However, the wise man didn't grant his wish because he was tired of the fickle blacksmith. So, the blacksmith remained a moon forever.
This story is really important in the modern day with social media. We're able to see other people's lives more now than ever, and we might think to ourselves, "I want this," or "This is what I need in life." If I were to retell this story I would probably make the main character Bojack who becomes all of the other characters in the store.
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| Full Moon (Wikimedia) |
This might be one of my favorite stories that I've read this semester. It speaks a lot about humankind as a whole, and it really uses the theme of "grass is always greener" to its advantage. It starts out with a blacksmith, who was working really hard and complaining about the heat. He wished that he was a stone on the mountain because it would be cooler there. A wise man or a god of some sorts heard him and granted him his wish. So then, the blacksmith became a stone on the mountain. The blacksmith wasn't wrong, and he was most definitely cooler on the mountain. However, a stone-cutter came by and started cutting into him. The blacksmith began complaining again because he was being cut into and it hurt, so he wished to be a stone-cutter. The wish was granted, but the stone-cutter also had a very difficult life. As the blacksmith, now stone-cutter, began to work hard once again, he complained. He then wished to be the sun. His wish of course was granted by the wise man once again. The sun was very warm obviously, but the blacksmith didn't realize that until he became the sun. He then complained again and wished to be the moon because the sun was too hot. He then became the moon after the wise man granted his wish. However, being the moon was much hotter because the sun shines on the moon. How foolish! So, he tried to complain again and wish to be a blacksmith once more. However, the wise man didn't grant his wish because he was tired of the fickle blacksmith. So, the blacksmith remained a moon forever.
This story is really important in the modern day with social media. We're able to see other people's lives more now than ever, and we might think to ourselves, "I want this," or "This is what I need in life." If I were to retell this story I would probably make the main character Bojack who becomes all of the other characters in the store.
Hi Darren,
ReplyDeleteI remember reading this story, and as you mentioned, it definitely does bring up the whole "grass is greener on the other side" idea. When I read through this story, I was surprised the main character was allowed to change so many times. If I was the one changing him, I probably would have changed him once and been done with it. I like how you incorporated this story with the idea of social media. The points you make are so true and relevant.