Toad, and in that sense those places and characters are real and actual. We're not suggesting Narnia is a real place, or rabbits actually have detailed mythologies, at least not in the sense most people would use words like "real" and "actual." But there are books about Aslan, and there are books about Bigwig and Fiver, Matthias the Mouse, and Mr. Just because most animals don't talk doesn't mean none of them can. Granted, birds with the vocal capacity for imitative speech and supernaturally gifted pack animals aren't really in the same league, but you get the idea. There are real-life precedents for talking animals-parrots can speak, crows can acquire human vocabularies, and Balaam's donkey carried on a conversation with the reluctant prophet. Is it just because they're characters in books? or is it because animals actually have quite a bit to tell us about human nature and the realities of the world we occupy? While most characters in literature who encounter talking animals aren't that nonchalant about it, they seem a lot more accepting of bizarre phenomena than most real people would be. If your dog put on trousers and brought you the morning paper and a cup of coffee, you probably wouldn't accept them quietly and start reading the sports page.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |