Student Question
What is the relevance of the tale of the Bull and the Ass in today's society?
Quick answer:
The Tale of the Bull and the Ass contains several messages which one might apply to current society. The overall tone of the story is conservative. It warns against trying to upset the status quo, and the dangers of giving in to pressure. These messages can perhaps be applied to something like the protests and riots of 2020, but it is also important to recognize that they come from completely different periods in history and may not be entirely applicable.
The Tale of the Bull and the Ass from the Arabian Nights is, like any fable, intended to have universal relevance. The story contains several incidents. First, a merchant who can understand the language of animals hears a bull complaining that his life is harder than that of an ass, who does not have to do anything. The ass advises the bull to feign illness, after which the bull has an easy life. However, the merchant tells the owner of the animals that he should make the ass work in the bull's place. The owner does so, and the ass promptly advises the bull to return to work again, so that their owner does not decide to have him slaughtered.
The merchant, overhearing their conversation, laughs so hard that his wife demands to know the cause of his mirth. He refuses to tell her, but she nags him until...
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he is about to relent. He then overhears a rooster saying to a dog that he ought to beat his wife to stop her nagging. He does so, and she leaves him in peace.
There are several morals one might draw from this story: it is dangerous to give advice; pretense and lying are also dangerous; one should not give in to nagging. The story is inherently conservative. The implication throughout the narrative is that one should not attempt to change the status quo, but accept things as they are.
You might apply these morals, and the general principle of conservatism, to any number of events in current society. You could perhaps apply them to the 2020 protests by saying that when sensitivity to injustice leads to rioting and looting, society as a whole may well end up worse off than before. However, it is also important to note that this story is patently from another era, and its moral lessons may not be applicable to current events. For example, wife-beating at the end of the story is obviously sexist and abusive by all current standards.