Cautionary tale
Encyclopedia
A cautionary tale is a tale told in folklore
, to warn its hearer of a danger
. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo
or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the narrative itself is told: someone disregarded the warning and performed the forbidden act. Finally, the violator comes to an unpleasant fate, which is frequently related in expansive and grisly detail.
; many urban legend
s are framed as cautionary tales: from the lover's lane haunted by a hook-handed murder
er to the tale of a man who shot a cactus
for fun only to die when the plant toppled onto him. Like horror fiction
, generally the cautionary tale exhibits an ambivalent attitude towards social taboos. The narrator of a cautionary tale is momentarily excused from the ordinary demands of etiquette
that discourages the use of gruesome or disgusting imagery because the tale serves to reinforce some other social taboo.
Those whose job it is to enforce conformity therefore frequently resort to cautionary tales. The German language
anthology, Struwwelpeter
, contains tales such as "Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug" (The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches); it is fairly easy to deduce the ending from the title. Social guidance film
s such as Boys Beware
or Reefer Madness
are deliberately patterned after traditional cautionary tales, as were the notorious driver's education films (Red Asphalt
, Signal 30) of the 1960s, or military films about syphilis
and other sexually transmitted disease
s. The framework of the cautionary tale became a cliché
in the slasher film
s of the 1980s, in which adolescents who had sex
, drank alcoholic beverage
s, or smoked marijuana
inevitably ended up as the victims of the serial killer
villain
.
On the other hand, in the adolescent culture of the United States
, for more than a hundred years the traditional cautionary tale gave rise to the phenomenon of legend tripping
, in which a cautionary tale is turned into the basis of a dare that invites the hearer to test the taboo by breaking it.
in his Cautionary Tales for Children
, presented such moral examples as "Jim, Who ran away from his Nurse, and was eaten by a Lion", and "Matilda, Who told lies, and was Burned to Death". Lewis Carroll
, in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
, says that Alice
In The Complete Tribune Printer, Eugene Field
gave cautionary tales an ironic inversion, as in The Gun:
Some films, such as Gremlins
, satirized this framework by imposing very arbitrary rules whose violation results in horrendous consequences for the community.
Cautionary tales are sometimes heavily criticized for their ham-fisted approach to ethics. The Cold Equations
is a well known example. In the story, a man has to eject a young woman out of the airlock, otherwise his rocket will not have enough fuel to deliver some badly needed serum, without which everyone at a small outpost would perish. Her death is justified because she ignored a 'no entry' sign, "when the laws of physics say no, they don't mean maybe", and no other solution would reduce the weight of the ship enough to complete the trip safely.
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, to warn its hearer of a danger
Risk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the narrative itself is told: someone disregarded the warning and performed the forbidden act. Finally, the violator comes to an unpleasant fate, which is frequently related in expansive and grisly detail.
Cautionary tales and conformity
Cautionary tales are ubiquitous in popular culturePopular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
; many urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s are framed as cautionary tales: from the lover's lane haunted by a hook-handed murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
er to the tale of a man who shot a cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
for fun only to die when the plant toppled onto him. Like horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, generally the cautionary tale exhibits an ambivalent attitude towards social taboos. The narrator of a cautionary tale is momentarily excused from the ordinary demands of etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
that discourages the use of gruesome or disgusting imagery because the tale serves to reinforce some other social taboo.
Those whose job it is to enforce conformity therefore frequently resort to cautionary tales. The German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
anthology, Struwwelpeter
Struwwelpeter
Der Struwwelpeter is a popular German children's book by Heinrich Hoffmann. It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each has a clear moral that demonstrates the disastrous consequences of misbehavior in an exaggerated way. The title of the first story provides the...
, contains tales such as "Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug" (The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches); it is fairly easy to deduce the ending from the title. Social guidance film
Social guidance film
Social guidance films constitute a genre of films attempting to guide children and adults to behave in certain ways. Typically shown in school classrooms in the USA from the 1950s through the 1970s, the films covered topics including courtesy, responsibility, sexuality, drug use, and driver...
s such as Boys Beware
Boys Beware
Boys Beware is a drama short film released through Sid Davis Productions. It deals with a perceived danger to young boys: that of predatory homosexuals...
or Reefer Madness
Reefer Madness
Reefer Madness is a well-known 1936 American propaganda exploitation film revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try "marijuana" — from a hit and run accident, to manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape, and descent into madness...
are deliberately patterned after traditional cautionary tales, as were the notorious driver's education films (Red Asphalt
Red Asphalt
Red Asphalt is a series of instructional driver's education videos produced by the California Highway Patrol. The films are known for their graphic depictions of fatal car accidents. Horrendously injured and dismembered bodies are shown in the documentary, typically those of negligent drivers...
, Signal 30) of the 1960s, or military films about syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
and other sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
s. The framework of the cautionary tale became a cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
in the slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
s of the 1980s, in which adolescents who had sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
, drank alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s, or smoked marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
inevitably ended up as the victims of the serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
.
On the other hand, in the adolescent culture of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, for more than a hundred years the traditional cautionary tale gave rise to the phenomenon of legend tripping
Legend tripping
Legend tripping, also known as ostension, is a name recently bestowed by folklorists and anthropologists on an adolescent practice in which a usually furtive nocturnal pilgrimage is made to a site which is alleged to have been the scene of some tragic, horrific, and possibly supernatural event or...
, in which a cautionary tale is turned into the basis of a dare that invites the hearer to test the taboo by breaking it.
Reactions to cautionary tales
The genre of the cautionary tale has been satirized by several writers. Hilaire BellocHilaire Belloc
Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc was an Anglo-French writer and historian who became a naturalised British subject in 1902. He was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. He was known as a writer, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters and political activist...
in his Cautionary Tales for Children
Cautionary Tales for Children
Cautionary Tales for Children: Designed for the Admonition of Children between the ages of eight and fourteen years is a 1907 children's book written by Hilaire Belloc...
, presented such moral examples as "Jim, Who ran away from his Nurse, and was eaten by a Lion", and "Matilda, Who told lies, and was Burned to Death". Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
, in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
, says that Alice
- "had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they would not remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if you hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger very deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and she had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked "poison", it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later."
In The Complete Tribune Printer, Eugene Field
Eugene Field
Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays.-Biography:...
gave cautionary tales an ironic inversion, as in The Gun:
- This is a gun. Is the Gun loaded? Really, I do not know. Let us Find out. Put the Gun on the table, and you, Susie, blow down one barrel while you, Charlie, blow down the other. Bang! Yes, it was loaded. Run quick, Jennie, and pick up Susie's head and Charlies lower Jaw before the Nasty Blood gets over the New carpet.
Some films, such as Gremlins
Gremlins
Gremlins is a 1984 American horror comedy film directed by Joe Dante, released by Warner Bros. The film is about a young man who receives a strange creature—called a Mogwai—as a pet, which then spawns other creatures who transform into small, destructive, evil monsters. It was followed by a sequel,...
, satirized this framework by imposing very arbitrary rules whose violation results in horrendous consequences for the community.
Cautionary tales are sometimes heavily criticized for their ham-fisted approach to ethics. The Cold Equations
The Cold Equations
"The Cold Equations" is a science fiction short story by Tom Godwin, first published in Astounding Magazine in 1954. In 1970, the Science Fiction Writers of America selected it as one of the best science fiction short stories published before 1965, and it was therefore included in The Science...
is a well known example. In the story, a man has to eject a young woman out of the airlock, otherwise his rocket will not have enough fuel to deliver some badly needed serum, without which everyone at a small outpost would perish. Her death is justified because she ignored a 'no entry' sign, "when the laws of physics say no, they don't mean maybe", and no other solution would reduce the weight of the ship enough to complete the trip safely.