Writing in Parables
“Concerning this a man once said: Why such reluctance? If you only followed the parables you yourselves would become parables and with that rid of all your daily cares.
Another said: I bet that is also a parable.
The first said: You have won.
The second said: But unfortunately only in parable.
The first said: No, in reality; in parable you have lost.”
― Franz Kafka, The Complete Stories
One short story, one snippet, or a proverb; that’s all it takes to get your point across — easier said than done, I know.
I have learnt many things from video games, story books and novels. I was introduced to objectivism with Bioshock, transhumanism and techno ethics with Deus Ex, and alternate realities from Terry Pratchett. Our mythological stories are rich with examples of courage, cunning and morality.
I have been fortunate enough to stay in lively neighbourhoods with children eager for a story. Thus began my fondness for story-telling — a trait I imbibed from my brother who is still a master story-teller. I have always tried to narrate stories from different perspectives to children, often leaving the endings open for them to draw their own conclusions. I find that it encourages ideation and at the same time opens up parallel interpretation.
Theoretical frameworks are effective — no denying that — but the information that I assimilated from stories have been just as effective and remain etched in my memory. Amidst different kinds of stories, I observed that short stories possess a unique ability of getting the point across very quickly — something children who lack patience usually enjoy. Short stories are usually straightforward and rarely meander. There are other forms too like poetry, haikus and songs.
But if you were to ask me for the fastest mode of getting your point across, I would say parables.
I have always found parables to be excellent storytelling instruments. From the parable of the camel’s satisfaction to the eternal battle between good and evil— the wolf you choose to feed — parables can convey complex moral messages in a single paragraph.
Parables also encourage healthy discourse using subjects that do not conform to any social, religious or moral standards. In fact, you can make up your own story and draw multiple conclusions.
Here‘s an old one that I found very interesting:
A group of blind men touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each one feels a different part, but only one part, such as the side or the tusk. They compare notes and learn that they are in complete disagreement. They stop talking, start listening and collaborate to “see” the full elephant.
When a sighted man walks by, sees the elephant all at once and describes it, the blind men also learn they are all blind.
Multiple truths and fallacies have been presented in this little story— subjective experiences are always different; subjective experiences are limited in their failure to account for the totality of truth.
The story also portrays the nature of uninformed opinions and the need for communication and respect for other perspectives. All it took was six lines and with some rewriting, it could be presented in as little as two.
Another interesting aspect of parables; I find the subtext very meaningful in that it is neither preachy nor does it expect the reader to conform. In essence, teaching through parables is one of the most unbiased method to teach morals and ethics.
“But all this is for children!!”, I can hear you say.
Is it now? Consider the parable of the broken window. Frédéric Bastiat’s story shows opportunity costs, the law of unintended consequences and the indeterminable methods in which economic activity is impacted. My personal favourite would be Unorthodox Economics. It presents society, economics and issues of security and the effect of lapses in the form of a simple story.
These parables present theoretical concepts without using values, logs and bell curves. Granted that they cannot be used as curriculum but it helps to get the core concepts right before diving into the details.
Parables are excellent mediums to portray writing expertise. It is a great activity for exercising your creative muscle and can provide a simplified perspective to a complex issue before adding structure, data points and additional components.
Finding a concept you can equate to as a story provides much needed narrative boost and can help structure the story really well.
I have personally found it a great exercise to find aspects of modern life and equating them to stories and quotes in the past. From stoicism to epicurean philosophies, I like breaking things down and drawing parallels with the actions of everymen.
Hopefully we will see this exercise being conducted in schools someday — a distant dream — but if I were to quote a line from parable of the shop for wishes: “If your wish hasn’t come true, then you haven’t earned it yet.”
