Greed Overreaches itself

Some of our most enduring, fundamental lessons are learned through stories.  They have been used for centuries to teach children, congregations, and even spur entire countries to act.  Some of the simplest, yet prolific, stories to date are those told through the fables of Aesop.  As children we learned about the virtues and pitfalls of humanity; these simple stories resonate with us and teach us simple lessons.  For my final analysis, I have chosen Aesop's tale of The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs. Through this analysis I will examine the lessons embedded in this short story, the mode in which these lessons are taught, and extrapolate on the rhetoric presented in the story.  I hope to find a deeper meaning that speaks clearly through the story.

The exact origin of Aesop’s fables may be nothing better than a guess.  Over the years the stories must have been told a million times; each time from a slightly different perspective and each time with a potential different motive.  The most basic context for the story would be one of a simpler time: when you lived on what you could grow yourself or barter with those around you.  A time not so long ago that riches, the opportunity of lavishness and a privileged life, did not exist.  One of the reason, or maybe consequences, of the story lasting centuries is it can be applied in many contexts.  The context in this story is not what makes the story valuable or useful.  It does not matter if the goose is the mans only thing of value to feed his family or if the goose is one of many, in a wealthy mans flock.  The story is worth considering because the principles in the story will relate to you.  The story teaches about greed, patience, and prudence.

The story takes places in the country.  By contrast to the ending of the story the beginning of the story is set in humble circumstances.  Regardless of the man’s initial standing, adding the amount of a golden egg to his estate seems to have an impact. 

The characters are the goose and the countryman.   The countryman provides the moral of the story by changing his expectation, wants and needs as the story progresses.   The goose says little but provides the catalyst for the change.  The events are simple, yet whimsical. The goose lays a golden egg a day and each day the country man gathers the eggs and sells them.  As the man does this he accumulates wealth.  This causes the man to became greedy and require more wealth.  Until, by design the goose meets his maker.  This not only yields the countryman no reward, but dispatches his opportunity to obtain more wealth.   The demographics’ may change, but the primary audience is those who receive a sudden and drastic increase in treasure (note-the treasure does not have to be monetary in value). 

The story has three messages. Greed is bad, the need for patience and perseverance, and that prudence is a virtue.

The story warns against greed and the yearning for more than is possessed or earned.  -In the story the man receives a great blessing of wealth, yet he becomes so gluttonous for more he kills the source of his blessings.  This teaches the audience that when given a free lunch, they should be thankful, not dependant.  By becoming accustomed to more we become dependent.  Until the more that we received is no longer enough.

It shows patience as a virtue.  Had the man continued each day to feed and water the goose, the goose may have continued to lay golden eggs each day as long as it lived.  The man would have to wait a short time between each lay, but over time would receive a much larger reward.  Similar to any goals we have, if we are willing to put in the time, energy and patience any goal is achievable.  The greater the patience we have the more likely we are to see a big result and more importantly to be content with our current situation.

And finally the story reminds us that mild mannered prudence will guide us to wise decisions.  The story describes the hastiness of the man to receive a large reward now, haste is what drove the man to kill his source of riches.  In his zeal and impatience he made a grave mistake that turned no reward.

The unfortunate ending to this story would define it as a tragedy.  The inability of the countryman to overcome is greed, haste and impatience made him incapable of continuing his success.  

 In reading and understanding this, as with many of Aesops fables, we learn the benefits of developing our own character.  More importantly the story points out the damage we can do to ourselves by letting these values erode and submitting to our natural tendencies.  These stories would be told not only to build one ’s self, but with the understanding the communities are built one person at a time.  As one member learns the pit falls of greed and the virtues of patience and prudence, the collective values of the community rise and the community as a whole is protected against the infectious tendencies of man.

 

One day a countryman going to the nest of his goose found there an egg all yellow and glittering. When he took it up it was as heavy as lead and he was going to throw it away, because he thought a trick had been played on him. But he took it home on second thoughts, and soon found that it was an egg of pure gold. Every morning the same thing occured, and he grew rich by selling his eggs. As he grew rich he grew greedy; and thinking to get at once all the gold the goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to find nothing. Greed often overreaches itself.