Every story, whether fictional or real, has a moral lesson behind its words or even pictures. Different authors use various means to display the themes within their works. In the story The Tortoise and the Hare, written by Janet Stevens, it involves an overconfident hare and a slow tortoise who take part in a race. In the end, the tortoise ends up winning the race. In another study, The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds, it involves a young girl who did not believe she could draw. However, she was able to make her mark after a small dot on the price of paper laid down a foundation for her courage and confidence. From the two fictional stories, one can quickly point out that they share the same theme; however, each author has used different strategies to arrive at the theme.
In the Tortoise and the hare, the big race is the center stage for setting the core theme; in this case, how remaining encouraged and is patience is vital towards solving any problem that might appear difficult. Before the race, the tortoise had always made fun and bragged to the tortoise about how fast he could run. The tortoise later challenged the hare to a race, and all animals were invited. Once the race began, the hare ran fast, and looking behind, he could not see the tortoise and decided to sleep. The loud cheers of other animals awoke him as "Slow and steady” the tortoise won the race. This is an unbelievable outcome given that hares are supposed to be faster than the tortoise.
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On the other hand, in The Dot, it showcases a story about a girl (Vashti) and a teacher. The girls did not believe in herself, and the teacher had to encourage her to trusts her abilities. The girls decided to rise to the challenge, and after making a small dot on a piece of paper, she gained confidence and courage that ignited a journey towards sharing and belief in self.
From the two tales, the main themes are determining your strengths and using them as a foundation for doing good and better or attaining your goals. Everyone can say that the hare is better than the tortoise and will defeat the latter. However, the tortoise did not wallow in self-pity and believed that he could not beat the hare. He went ahead and challenged the hare for a race out, which he later came to win. On the other hand, in The Dot, it involves a girl who believed she could not draw in her art class. However, by making a dot on her paper, she was able to make something big. The girl used her strengths and did not have to look at her inabilities of not being able to draw.
However, from Steve's tale, the tortoise identified his strengths and motivations and ended up winning. He did not have anyone to encourage him. Even most of the animals did not believe that he could win the race. It is by only believing in himself that saw him become a winner. In the case of The Dot, Vashti overcame her weaknesses after being encouraged by the teacher. From the story, it shows that there is a need for support from friends, family and even teachers to believe in us which helps us overcome our weaknesses,
Ballon (2014) states that the characters are essential when writing a story as they a foundation for the plot. From the two tales, one can quickly point out the main characters who are the protagonists, the tortoise, and Vashti. The two authors have decided to use the only main character in their stories. This makes it easier for the authors to ensure the readers are riveted to the characters. One can easily note that the two want something to relay bad, and this makes them step out of their comfort zones.
Moreover, the two authors have made their main characters very motivated as they do not give up searching for what they want. However, from the two main characters, despite aiming to achieve a common goal, the authors have used different conflicts to drive the plot. In the story The Tortoise and the Hare, it is an external conflict as it involves a tortoise and hare. However, in The Dot, the conflict between the character is internal. Purcell & Leppien (2009) states this conflict arises within the main character, Vashti, as she does not believe in her artistic abilities.
Steven’s story is a fictional fable that aims at teaching a crucial moral lesson. In most cases, fables use animals as the main characters, where they have the ability of speaking and reasoning (Sawyer, 2011). From the story, the core topic is how one can overcome their weaknesses through perseverance. Therefore, determination can beat speed. In case the care had dashed straight to the finish line and won, perseverance would not have beaten speed, and in this case, the moral lesson would have been lost. However, Steve’s ensured that the hare did not win the race by making the character to take a long nap only to wake up when the tortoise was crossing the line. The hare was so consumed in his ability to run fast while the tortoise did not get distracted and focused on reaching the finish line.
Likewise, in the story by Reynolds, it also qualifies as a fable. The Dot marks the beginning of Vashti’s journey of self-discovery and belief. From the story, one can easily point out the effectiveness of the author is approaching the core topic, which is overcoming our weaknesses and leaving a mark. Once Vashti came back to class and found her picture framed and hanged by the teacher, she diced to improve her artistic abilities and even started using watercolors and larger paper sheets.
Nonetheless, in the case of the Tortoise and the Hare, it is more of an illustrated story, unlike The Dot, which qualifies more a picture story. In illustration stories, the images are used in enhancing the plot. However, picture books do not need words, and one can easily point out the theme from the pictures. In illustration stories, the images also help in capturing the attention of the readers. Moreover, the story in an illustrated book can still stand up without the pictures, unlike in picture books.
From the two stories, one can point out that they aimed at showcasing the theme of perseverance and how one can overcome their weaknesses and emerge a winner. In the Tortoise and the Hare, the protagonist a sable to overcome all odds and become the winner at the amusement of all animals inducing the hare. On the other hand, Vashti began believing in herself, and she started getting involved in art classes after making a dot in her first class. The two stories have also used only one character to showcase the central theme, and they qualify as fable stories. However, in The Dot, the main character is fighting off internal conflict, unlike the external conflict witnessed in the Tortoise and the Hare. Lastly, the Tortoise and hare is more of an illustrated story, unlike the Dot, which qualifies as a picture book.
References
Ballon, R. (2014). Blueprint for screenwriting: a complete writer's guide to story structure and character development . Routledge.
Purcell, J. H., & Leppien, J. H. (2009). Parallel curriculum units for language arts, grades 6-12 . Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin.
Reynolds, P. H. (2003). The dot . Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.
Sawyer, W. (2012). Growing up with literature . Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Stevens, J., Aesop & Holiday House. (1984). The tortoise and the hare: An Aesop fable . New York: Holiday House.
