Difference between Tale and Fable
The narration is based on the description and the dialogues between the characters to tell the story, providing an aesthetic value that allows the reader or those who listen to imagine that world in which they want to immerse us.
There are different manifestations of this literary genre, however today we are going to scrutinize what stories and fables are to understand their similarities but above all, their differences.
What is the Story?
It is a short narrative about a story that has one or several characters facing a conflict and that contains a relatively simple plot. It can tell real or fictional events, and even a mixture of both, since its purpose is to entertain the audience, stimulate imagination and creativity. It makes use of the resources of literature, such as prose narration, description, dialogue, but mainly, the link of the facts through a narrator predominates. It consists of three phases: beginning, development and end.
Beginning: the bases of the story are established, introducing the characters, locating the listener or the reader in which time and place the story takes place, and proposes a main plot.
Development: focuses on the interaction between the characters in search of overcoming the conflict initially raised. You can insert child elements that lead to a glimpse of a possible solution.
Final: it is the conclusion of the story, with closures of the plot arcs of the characters that were raised at the beginning.
What is the Fable?
The fable is another manifestation of literature through the narration of a short story, in which its characters are animals, plants or inanimate objects with human characteristics and behavior patterns. They have a structure that establishes a sequence in the actions that take place until reaching a conclusion that is usually a lesson for some of the characters, so it is common to find a moral or explanation about the teaching that leaves us at the end of the fable. the reading.
The fable is intended to provide the reader or listener with a story that contains a message about morality, ethics or universal values, which is why it is commonly used in schools, given its didactic and normative intention.
Difference between Tale and Fable
- The tale is a story with the purpose of telling a fact that stimulates the reader’s creativity and thinking, while the fable is intended to convey a message
- The fable encourages reflection on the actions of the characters, but the story does not necessarily seek to achieve this, but rather its intention is to entertain by telling its story.
- The story can be real or fictional, but the fable poses real situations with fictional but humanized characters.
- The fable grants human characteristics to objects, plants or animals, while the story, although sometimes it usually incorporates inanimate characters, is not its main characteristic.
- Due to its moralistic character, the fable is aimed at children, as it contains lessons that they can learn. On the other hand, the story can be read and enjoyed by all ages.