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Moral Lessons In Tim O Brien's The Twelve Brothers

1014 Words5 Pages

In “The Twelve Brothers” the story presents strong morals, and teaches a valuable lesson. Though the story may seem bizarre and unkind, according to moral criticism, the story contains all of the following good characteristics. These include teaching a good lesson, which in this case the story shows us that you may have been cheated out of your crown, or simply born without one, but whether you carry yourself as queen/king is up to you. On top of this the story contains good morals in general. We see this in the way the characters are presented because they reflect good morals. The story presents us with a negative antagonist such as the king/father, and the evil mother, and the princess you who is kind, and caring. Lastly the story has a positive …show more content…

Emphasis on character traits by the author makes it clear to the reader what kind of morals the story expresses. In particular we see the difference between the mother/daughter and father. The father expresses cruel and unethical behavior, causing conflict in the story. This makes the Father one of the most significant antagonists in the story, and encourages the reader to dislike him. In contrast to this the daughter/mother are painted positively by the author. Foremostly, the mother resists her husband daringly, and warns her twelve sons of their fathers evil plan. Because of this the boys were able to survive their cruel fathers torment. The mother expresses good morals with sympathy, cares for her children with rebellion, and liberates them with bravery. Furthermore, the daughter takes after her mother in a sort of passing of the baton fashion. We see this when she is informed of her brother's existence, she is prompt to find them. She even mentions, “I’m a princess, and I’m searching for my twelve brothers. I’m willing to go as far as the sky is blue to find them.” (Page 39). The princess shows no reluctance to deliver them from their shelter, and kindle a relationship with her brothers she was never meant to discover. She carries the good moral of her mother even further by saving them from their banishment, and though she accidentally …show more content…

The twelve brothers are cursed to ravens because of her, and she is forced to take a vow of silence, or her brothers will die. This is our problem within the story. The resolution includes the princess being put to death by her evil-stepmother via fire. The princess’s vow of silence is fulfilled the very moment the fire is ablaze, and her brothers return to human form and stomp the fires. In addition to this the king becomes declared and expresses a profound relief since the princess isn't truly evil and mute. It's clear at the end of the story that all is well. This relieving feel-good ending is one of the biggest requirements for a good moral

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