Parables in Short Fiction
Parables in short fiction are concise narratives primarily designed to convey moral lessons and spiritual insights through relatable human experiences. This literary form utilizes commonplace events as metaphors to express deeper themes that can encompass personal, social, moral, or religious ideas. The word "parable," originating from ancient Greek, implies a comparison that connects the literal story to abstract meanings, making it accessible and engaging for a wide audience.
While some parables present straightforward messages, others may require additional context to uncover their themes, which can range from clear moral guidance to complex spiritual mysteries. Notable examples across various cultures, such as "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" and biblical tales like "The Prodigal Son," illustrate the effectiveness of parables in teaching lessons through emotional and intellectual engagement. Contemporary authors continue to adapt this ancient genre, ensuring that parables remain relevant by contextualizing them for modern audiences. Through their enduring nature, parables invite introspection and moral reflection, revealing both human behavior and spiritual truths.
Parables in Short Fiction
Introduction
The parable is a short fiction genre whose primary purpose is to illustrate moral views and reveal spiritual visions. The parable uses ordinary human events as a vehicle to represent or suggest a theme. The parable resembles the symbol, metaphor, and simile because the story stands for something beyond itself. Concrete images in the parable refer to an abstract theme. The theme of the parable is more important than the story. The theme may be personal, social, moral, religious, mystical, or some combination. Thus, the parable may range from a lesson in etiquette to a mystical vision. Though a parable is a simple analogy, it can express many philosophical ideas and religious beliefs.
The term “parable” derives from the ancient Greek word parabolē, which means comparison or equivalence. In Technē rhetorikē (n.d.; Rhetoric, 1686), Aristotle defines the parable as an argument by example, which employs an invented comparison. Aristotle provides an example of a parable that one might use to argue against selecting public officials by lot: It is like choosing the helmsman from a crew by tossing a coin, disregarding whether the sailor even knows how to steer. The rhetorical parable presents the argument, then the invented analogy to support the argument, or vice versa. Though the argument and the story go hand in hand, the argument is more important than the invented analogy. From Aristotle’s perspective, the theme of a parable is equivalent to an argument. Aristotle understands the parable as a simple analogy rather than a complete story. However, the parable is expandable. It can extend from comparing a public official and a helmsman to an intricate story like the Prodigal Son.
The parable is accessible to a broad audience because it appeals to common sense rather than erudition. Because the literal story of a parable is drawn from real and ordinary human experience, it lends credibility to the theme. The effectiveness of a parable depends on a listener or a reader thinking that because the story is real, then the idea it represents must be true. The equivalence between the story and the theme of a parable is even more compelling if one believes that the visible world reflects the spiritual realm, as in Platonic or Christian thought. If an ordinary manifestation or event in this world is actually a sign of spiritual truth or circumstance, then the parable assumes metaphysical dimensions.
Some parables are self-contained because their themes are obvious. Most parables require explanatory context because, without a frame of reference, they could be read literally without any theme. For example, a landlord in Palestine could plant a fig tree in a vineyard but order it removed after three years because it failed to produce fruit. A savvy gardener might recommend postponing removal until he has fertilized the tree to get it to produce fruit. Without a frame of reference, this story is about a fig tree with one last chance to bear fruit. When Jesus presents this story as a parable in Luke (13:6-9) to illustrate “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,” the listener or reader must look for a central theme about repentance and salvation, not gardening.
Because parables are often open to interpretation, they can serve as catalysts for moral and spiritual speculation. The parable requires a person to discern an abstract meaning from an ordinary human experience and to think in figurative rather than literal terms. Therefore, the parable is potentially a transcendent story because its meaning is at a level beyond worldly affairs. Though the themes of some parables may be obvious, the themes of other parables may be ambiguous or even ineffable. The ineffable parable becomes a riddle or a mystery.
Below are examples of parables from various cultures and times. These excerpts and explanations illustrate the tradition, variety, and power of the parable.
“Little Ewe Lamb”
The parable “Little Ewe Lamb” is from 2 Samuel 12:1-14 in the Hebrew Bible. Out of lust, David impregnates Bathsheba, the wife of the devout and loyal general Uriah. To conceal his sin and procure Bathsheba for himself, David sends Uriah off to certain death in a hopeless battle. David has no remorse for his misdeeds. Nevertheless, the Lord is displeased and sends Nathan as his messenger and scourge. As a competent prophet, Nathan could have delivered the Lord’s complaints, reprimands, and curses. However, Nathan is a teacher as well as a prophet. Therefore, he employs a parable about a rich man mistreating a poor man. “The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb.” The antithesis between rich and poor serves Nathan’s narrative purpose of fashioning a villain and a victim. The poor man is a kind and loving family man who nourished the little ewe lamb. Without need or good reason, the rich man takes away the poor man’s lamb and dresses it as a meal for a wayfaring stranger. Who would not feel pity for a good man deprived of his pet lamb in such a cruel fashion? “And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man.” Nathan tricks David into indicting himself, for David is the wicked rich man in the parable. The Lord has made David the king of Israel, but he steals the only wife of his underling, Uriah. Nathan’s primary purpose is to incite wrath in David toward sin and injustice so that David sees his own sin, repents, and accepts the Lord’s wrath and punishment. The parable can teach a theme through emotions as well as reason.
“The Boy Who Cried Wolf”
Aesop is known for his fables, not parables. However, the distinction between the two is subtle and debatable. Both the fable and the parable use an ordinary short story to convey a moral theme. The beast fable uses animals rather than human beings as its characters. Hence, the quality of realism is diminished in a beast fable. Aesop has several moralistic stories without personified animals, hence parables even by a strict definition. One is “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” in which a bored shepherd boy amuses himself by tricking the villagers with a false alarm about a wolf among the sheep. He pays for his jest when a wolf actually appears, and no one believes his cry for help. This story illustrates an improper way of behaving toward others and its consequences. A person should not fool others maliciously for entertainment because he will lose credibility. This lesson pertains to both individuals and groups. Furthermore, it is a universal theme relevant to any culture and time. Thus, the parable may express a moral archetype of decent or indecent human behavior.
“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” provides a good example of how a parable is constructed. In a story about learning the ways of the world, a boy is a perfect main character because he lacks experience and wisdom. In short, he is a character who can and should learn something. Combining the shepherd and sheep is a common motif with rich implications in folktales, fables, and mythology. In this context, the shepherd and sheep represent the responsibility of an intelligent being for innocent creatures. The boy’s foolishness results in the death of the sheep under his protection. As is typical of ancient parables, the setting is agrarian and on the boundary of untamed nature, represented by the wolf.
“The Man from Sung”
As Jesus uses parables to explain the fundamental concepts of his spiritual vision, so does Mencius, a fourth-century Before the Common Era (BCE) Confucian philosopher, to explain chi, the substance and vital energy of the universe. An individual must cultivate his chi to lead a long and prosperous life. Mencius advises not to cultivate chi like a man from Sung, who pulled on his rice plants to make them grow. The man wore himself out with his efforts in the field, but when his son went out to see the results, he found the plants all shriveled up. Mencius extends the parable to categorize different approaches to cultivating chi:
There are some who leave the plants unattended, thinking that nothing they can do will be of any use. They are the people who do not even bother to weed. There are others who help the plants grow. They are the people who pull at them. Not only do they fail to help them but they do the plants positive harm (Book 2.A.2).
Mencius describes only improper methods of cultivating chi. He leaves it to the listener or reader to use common sense to figure out how to cultivate chi without bothering or neglecting it. Any farmer or hobby gardener knows that a plant will grow at nature’s pace. Nonetheless, a plant grows better when the plot is weeded and fertilized. A farmer is a perfect agrarian vehicle for a parable about developing one’s character or soul. Thus, a farmer and his crop are frequent motifs in ancient parables.
“The Sower”
The Gospel parables constitute much of the doctrine of Christianity. Because they are fictional stories, not literal laws from God, the interpretations are numerous, diverse, and even contradictory. The parable of the sower is a prime example. It is one of several parables about the kingdom of God in the Gospel. Because Jesus’ vision of the kingdom of God was new, the Gospel parables established a new religion notwithstanding its debt to the Hebraic tradition. In other words, the parable can create and represent concepts.
With “The Sower” from Mark 4:3-11, Jesus, like Mencius, employs an analogy of a farmer tending his field to convey a religious concept: “Behold, there went out a sower to sow.” This line is the extent of human activity in the parable. The remaining lines involve the fate of the seeds. Some seeds experience calamities through birds, hot sun, and choking thorns. Other seeds prosper on good soil and yield abundant fruits. Jesus tells his disciples that this parable is about the mystery of the kingdom of God. Without this frame of reference, the story could be a mere description of what Jesus may have observed on his way to preach to the multitudes. Because the referent of the seeds is so open and broad, Aesop could have used this Gospel parable to represent fortune and misfortunes in life. Mencius could have designated the seeds as chi. An investment broker could use the seeds to mean capital invested in stocks and bonds.
Furthermore, Jesus says he intends his parable of the sower to baffle the multitudes. “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.” Jesus touches on the capacity of the parable to either illustrate or obfuscate. It can reveal or conceal. To make the parable revelatory, Jesus must explain the parable to his followers image by image.
Jesus’ reference to “the mystery of the kingdom of God” touches on another reason for using the parable. Like the metaphor, the parable provides a concrete glimpse of a mystery. Because a single image or story cannot capture a mystery, Jesus must use a series or cluster of parables to disclose, at least partially, the kingdom's mysteries. The parable cluster enhances the meaning of each parable. Parable clusters signal a complex or an ineffable theme.
“The Clown and the Fire”
In the tradition of the Gospel parable, Søren Kierkegaard, a Danish religious and existential philosopher, frequently used open-ended parables in his works to raise personal, ethical, and spiritual questions. For Kierkegaard, the parable presents a way of knowing through experience. Though Kierkegaard’s parables are personal and witty, their themes are universal and serious. “The Clown and the Fire” from Enten-Eller (1843; Either/Or, 1944) is an example: “It happened that a fire broke out backstage in a theater. The clown came out to inform the public. They thought it was a jest and applauded. He repeated his warning, they shouted even louder.” The narrator muses: “So I think the world will come to an end amid general applause from all the wits, who believe that it is a joke.” However, this parable suggests much more in its context of a twenty-page collage of contradictory aphorisms, impressions, and reflections entitled “Diapsalmata,” which appears in Either/Or. It is a reflection of a mood, a psychological state, and an emblem of cosmic irony.
“Couriers”
Franz Kafka was one of the twentieth century's most imaginative and visionary fiction writers. Like a prophet of doom, Kafka used his major works to express alienation and absurdity. He wrote numerous parables as elements in his short fiction and novels. In “On Parables,” Kafka mocks parables because they articulate the obvious: The incomprehensible is incomprehensible. Kafka’s own parables fit this description. One example is “Couriers”:
They were offered the choice between becoming kings or the couriers of kings. In the manner of children, they all wanted to be couriers. Therefore, there are only couriers, who chase about the world, shouting to each other messages that have become meaningless since there are no kings to receive them. They would like to put an end to this miserable life of theirs, but they dare not because of their oaths of service.
Without context, “Couriers” is a vision of absurdity and despair, a perverse paradox of messengers without a recipient and duty to insane service. However, this parable is originally from one of more than a hundred observations from Kafka about sin, suffering, hope, and the true way. Within this context, “Couriers” is not merely a statement about meaninglessness but a piece in the puzzle of Kafka’s vision involving conventional religious perspectives.
Summary
The parable is an ancient form of short fiction adapted through the ages and still prospers in secular and sacred literature. Though the parable originated as a form of short fiction, over time, it has extended into drama, poetry, novels, and autobiography. The parable can serve many purposes, from narrow and rigid didacticism to an ineffable epiphany. The great parables in world literature do not merely illustrate truisms and platitudes but suggest spiritual and psychic mysteries. In the twenty-first century, authors continue to publish parables in various literary forms. A modern retelling of the parables found throughout the Bible is presented in a contemporary context for a young adult audience in 21st Century Parables (2018). Placing biblical teachings in a modern frame of reference allows the lessons of the parables to be related to twenty-first-century youth. Parables continue to relay spiritual truths, engage readers, offer life lessons, and be important in imparting moral lessons.
Bibliography
Hunter, A. M. The Parables Then and Now. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1971.
Kafka, Franz. Parables and Paradoxes. Berlin: Schrocken, 1961.
Lockyer, Herbert. All the Parables of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1963.
Mencius. Mencius. Translated by D. C. Lau. New York: Penguin, 1983.
Oden, Thomas, editor. Parables of Kierkegaard. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1978.
Westall, R. “The Significance of Parables in the Bible.” FaithHub, faithhub.net/the-significance-of-parables-in-the-bible. Accessed 3 Aug. 2024.
Zlochistaya, Yana. "The Lost Key: Negotiating Meaning and Meaninglessness in Kafka's 'On Parables.'" The Comparative Literature Undergraduate Journal, 11 Oct. 2016, ucbcluj.org/2016/10/11/the-lost-key-negotiating-meaning-and-meaninglessness-in-kafkas-on-parables. Accessed 3 Aug. 2024.