The Fable of the Tortoise and the Hare: Lessons that Can Apply to All of our Lives!

The Fable of the Tortoise and the Hare 

Lessons that Can Apply to All of our Lives! 

 

 

Jackie Phillips 

English Department, Post University  

ENG130: Literature and Composition 

 Unit 1 Assignment: Plot Literary Response 

Dr. Rebecca Taverner-Coleman 

July 2, 2023

 

The Fable of the Tortoise and the Hare 

Lessons that Can Apply to All of our Lives! 

 

This assignment focuses on your ability to: learn how to identify the plot devices of a piece of literature. The purpose of completing this assignment is: as a student and a career professional, you will need to read and analyze many different forms of literature. Very often, you will need to report on those pieces of literature. This is good practice for developing those skills!  

After reading the stories in the unit, select one story to write an analysis of the plot on. Please answer the following questions about that short story or fairy tale in three paragraphs. 

Introduction:  

My choice is the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. As a child I have always been attracted to stories about animals of all types, so this was one of my favorites. As I got older, I was able to understand the adult morals and lessons in the story.  

Why I am picking this story? 

I am picking this story not only because it is about animals, but because I love stories about “underdogs” and about animals or people that are initially thought to not be the winner due to many things like size or intelligence.  

As a small person at 5 feet tall, I have always been looked at as the person who can’t compete in sports and can’t be smart enough to win a race against someone who appears to be more intelligent. Specifically as a child, I was always compared to my older sister who was always more athletic, smarter, and was popular with all the friends. She was a cheerleader, in the church band and participated in all the sports.  

What is the plot of the story and how clear is that plot?  

“The fable: Once there lived a tortoise and a hare. They were good friends and often played together with their other friends, the fox, the deer and other animals. However, one day the hare teased the tortoise that he was always so slow. He challenged the tortoise to run a race with him. The other animals were delighted. They marked out the starting and finishing lines and acted as referees, cheer leaders etc. And so the race started. The hare ran very fast and soon he was near the finishing line. He looked back and saw that the tortoise was a long way behind and decided to take a nap. When he woke up, he saw that the tortoise had overtaken him. He dashed to the finishing line but alas the tortoise crossed the line before him. #1 (Siew, Yuen Kit, December 20, 2021) 

 

What would you consider to be the main message of the story based on the plot? 

“1. Slow and Steady Wins the Race 

2. Overconfidence Can Lead to Failure 

3. Don’t Underestimate the Power of Perseverance 

4. Consistency and Discipline Can Lead to Success 

5. Winning Isn’t Everything, and Losing Doesn’t Mean You’re a Failure”  

#2 (Fahim, Ali Ekram, May 22, 2023) 

Conclusion: Why did I pick this story? 

I firmly believe in all of the above points in the main message. They are excellent and proven ways to run and manage your life, and all of them are obvious in the fable that on the outside just appears to be a friendly interaction between two friends, but deep down has a lot more going on underneath the surface.   

 

 

References  

#1, Siew, Yuen Kit, December 20, 2021, “Life Lessons From Aesop’s Fable ‘The Tortoise and the Hare,” BeyondBroadcast.com, https://www.beyondbroadcast.com/post/tortoise-and-the-hare/ 

 

#2, Fahim, Ali Ekram, May 22, 2023, “The Complete Tortoise and the Hare Story Summary and Moral,” Reptilehere.com, https://reptilehere.com/tortoises/story-of-the-tortoise-and-the-hare-summary/