Do you love stories? Well if you love it I’m pretty sure that every story you read have virtues or values. Thus, every single story has a virtue in life that we can use to live. Virtue is a quality of moral goodness or excellence. When we speak of individual virtues, we are talking about qualities that we aspire to. A virtue must be cultivated for it to become a habitual way of living in the world around us.
I have picked a story about the virtue of love and wisdom. Because I believe to our Christian faith that “the supreme virtue is love” and also to the wisdom that was given by God that helps us decide correctly. So I have selected this story that will show you a mother’s absolute love that will touch your hearts, about a son’s care and sympathy for her mother and lastly the wisdom that was given by the mother to her son that helped her son a lot.
Story:
Hence, this very amusing and wholesome Japanese folktale is the “The Aged Mother” by Matsuo Basho. This is a story about is a story in which a son and his mother’s agony in their encounter in opposition to the law of placing aged people to death. The story started at the bottom of the mountain where a poor farmer lived with his aged mother. Their place was ruled by an absolute leader who directed the decree of killing elderly people in that place. That time, killing aged people was rare. When the poor farmer becomes aware of the decree he bore sadness in his heart, since then he organized an escape. Just as his job completed, he prepared food, enfolded it in a small piece of fabric and knotted it in his neck together with chill and sweet water. Then, he took his mother on his back and started walking towards the peak of Obatsayuma, the highland or mountain of the “abandoning of aged”. On their track to the summit, the weak mother observed the unsafe track and thought that her son doesn't know the tracks and could pass through danger so she grasped for branches of trees, broke them to parts and silently throw them down till they reached the summit. The poor farmer released his mother and made comfortable pillow and say his goodbye. Before he left her, she told him about the path she built, and then the farmer understood that they must face the law with each other so he carried his mother once more on his back and began walking back. When they reached back, he said the emperor his narrative and the emperor listened to his story and removed the law.
Story Blurb:
I love the sequencing of events in the story because you will be eager to find out what will happen next. Then also I love it’s elements of narrative because it gives me the lesson of the story who touches my heart. Did you know that an element of narrative helps us to deeply understand the story? So I have made here the elements of narrative of the Aged Mother story. First Let us go with the setting of the story the setting of the story happened at Shinano a province in Japan at the foot of the mountain where the mother and his son live. I really love to go to Japan because there’s nothing else like the Japanese tea ceremony, or the skill of placing on a kimono. Then there’s Japanese lettering, floral preparation, martial arts, haiku. Japan has so many nice rituals and art forms that really help you to unwind and value the loveliness of the simple things in life. Anyway, let us go with the characters. The characters in the story are the emperor who is a despotic leader. He is a round character and may be the antagonist in the story. He stated the law of killing the elderly people because he was a fighter he realized that elderly people were inefficient and can’t be accommodating to individuals who are however robust as him but in the end, he realized that those elderly citizens are useful in their individual ways and he also learned their significance to the empire. Another character in the story is the farmer who is the protagonist. He was the always affectionate son of the aged mother in the story, he did not consider of own but rather, he thinks of his mother who was in big risk of being killed innocently. He valued his mother greatly that he did not care that it will be a great risk if he will go back downwards. And the aged mother who is the flat character in the story. She is one of the head characters in the story. She was the one who caused the emperor switch his mind and assist her own son in going back without danger. She is the good example in the story who has the wisdom that causes to save her own self and others life from the law that was created. I believe that “A mother’s affection is somewhat that nobody can describe. It is composed of profound support and of sacrifice and pain, it is eternal and unconditional” and “Mother knows best. Do you agree of that? I’m sure you’re agree because every one of us experience how a mother loves and that the theme of the story. “A mother’s love is invaluable and can never be equated to further belongings that a child might own. Through happenings she got wisdom and from it she will forever help her loved ones and give them the best of her soft heart. The story of the Aged Mother is folklore from Japan, it tells a story about the care and wisdom of a mother to his son, their situation and the son’s love and gentle respect. Then let’s go with its conflict. The conflict of the story was Man vs. Man because the only antagonist in the story was the emperor of Shinano who give a decree to kill all the elderly people. The ruler or the emperor was the one who desires the elderly citizens to be killed because he ponders that elderly people are now weak and can’t give support to their place especially in those times of wars and dominations. The Point of View of the story was in the “Third person Point of View” because the author is the one who narrates the story, and she is not included in the characters of the story. It is written in the third person point of view because the author wrote freely. The Literary Technique used in the story of the aged mother is realism because the condition or tha state in the story was once happened in the history of Japan, not by putting to death the aged people but abandoning them. It views the once history of a certain country and the simplicity of life. The story also contains lesson and the language used was simple and comprehensive. The story of the aged mother is a folktale from Japan. It tells about how great the love of a mother for her child. It was shown on their situation when the emperor proclaimed a law directing that all the aged people should be put to death. The law filled the heart of the poor farmer a great sorrow for he loves his mother that much. Instead of putting his mother to death in the hand of the cruel law he decided to give his mother a kind mode of death. He took his mother to the bare summit of Obatsayuma and planned to abandon her there. On their way to the summit of the mountain the heart of the loving mother grew concerned because she knew that her son will be in danger on his way back because he was not familiar to the paths. The aged mother broke the twigs and dropped it quietly on the road to serve as a guide on the way back of her son.The story shows us two important virtue-love and wisdom. Mother’s love is nothing can be compared; it is pure and unselfish. Most of all serves as our courage, weakness and strength that guided us to walk through our journey called life. Did you know that Realism is used in this story because the situation in the story was once happened in the history of Japan, not by putting to death the aged people but abandoning them. It views the once history of a certain country and the simplicity of life. The story also contains lesson and the language used was simple and comprehensive. I really love history like this realism that was shown in the story. Hence, I like the literary movement because even though it was simple but it’s comprehensive and easily to be understood. For the whole story I really love it, it was awesome and I bet you also like it. Now what are you waiting for read this story now
Feedback Blog:
Our aged citizens have spent through a lot in their lifespan. I think it is imperative to esteem our elders because they have lived a proficient life and experienced have a lot more than us. I believe that history has shown us how we acquired independence from foreign dominance and became successful in this regard which gained recognition and respect from our neighboring countries in Asia. Looking on the same perspective, I don’t think we can have the freedom and the respect from other countries if it was not because of our elders and their sacrifices in order to enjoy what we have today.
In the same line of thought, I ought to respect my parents because they are the ones that brought me in this world and have taken care of me and have accorded all the necessary support up to the present stage of my life. They have given a lot of sacrifices from the moment I came to see the world, provided everything for my physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual growth. I know it is not that easy for them to give what I am enjoying at this present moment. Without them, I believe I could not be where I am at this present status. It is therefore fitting and appropriate to be grateful and in return manifest this appreciation by showing them respect.
The idea on the value and importance of respecting our elders raised many questions in my mind and perhaps to some teenagers like me. Do we really know what respect is? Wikipedia defines respect as “taking into consideration the views and desires of others and incorporating it into your decisions and being truthful to people.” Further question will be, why should we respect everyone? Straight answer can be taken from Article III of our Philippine Constitution summarizes all the reasons why respect should be accorded to everyone. Yes, we all have rights and in the exercise of freedom we always have to consider the rights of others. Thus, in order to exercise freedom properly, we need to exercise them in such a way that we don’t destroy the freedom of others. For every freedom ends when the right of others begins.
But beyond laws, cultural norms or even beyond rules and regulations is the aspect familial relationships in particular and harmonious relationships in general. Learning to live harmoniously with others is an interpersonal skill which this chaotic world needs today.
However, when it comes to respecting our parents I guess more than anything else should be greater weight because beyond laws and relationships, they have to be respected not because they are older than us but rather, they have sacrificed a lot for their children. If everyone has the right to be respected much more our mothers, who bore and delivered us to this world which is the noblest mission that mothers ought to fulfill which is actually putting one half of their bodies in the grave.
Respect therefore is given not because respect is due, but for mothers it is a different story. Mothers naturally deserves each and everyone’s respect. Much more, elderly mothers who triply deserves our respect, as an elder, as the other person and above all as a mother.