Admitting that you have a broken aesop?

I forgot the name of the trope but are there writers who put a disclaimer not to trust the Aesops the work has? I know some Aesops are 'universal' and can be interpreted in many ways but sometimes I wonder if the message of a work get across to some people. Can I admit that I have a broken Aesop in my story?

Hmm, maybe. If you have a character saying something you disagree with, but whom people find very sympathetic, they might see it as an Aesop. I see a lot of stuff on the wiki saying that the Aesop of such-and-such a story is 'if you do X you will get away with it when Y happens because of Z, as long as you are (um...) A!' People tend to overinterpret the morals of stories. I don't remember having seen anything with a disclaimer saying not to trust the Aesop though, unless you count stuff like 'do not attempt to bring about Armageddon in your own home'.

Aesops appear because people interpret a story as the author reflecting on reality. Explicitly saying "This isn't what happens in reality" means people need to invoke Death of the Author to read any sort of Aesop into it.

I usually don't write (not that I write a lot...but I don't plan-) with aesops, morals, or intended symbolism in mind. I subscribe to the somewhat Lynchian opinion that an interpretation is a very personal thing and that you should let the audience take their own bit from it.

Whenever I include an aesop in any of my work, there's a veyr good chanse it is broken or nonsensical. Like on of the episode ideas I have for Forgotten Lore could easily be considered an aesop againt drugs or something like that, so I'm planning to put a little P Sa type thign in the end...warning about the dangers of black magic (which is what the episode is about). Just about every longer comic idea I have for Zaran il Legio feature a broken aesop (the shorter ones that I have drawn don't feature enough plot to have an aesop of any kind in them), some implied and others with the characters spelling it out in the end.

Personally, I avoid Aesops like I avoid Canadian whiskey. Any that are present in my works are a complete accident. That said, I love the idea of a purposefully broken Aesop and an unapologetic writer. Do it.

I'd say it's certainly possible, and would encourage it to make sure people don't confuse it for an ordinary one. My story, for instance, had a basic message of "the powerful determine what is right". When one of the proponents is called out on this, his justification is essentially "I can force you into obedience, and therefore your actions don't matter." A basic admission of the fact that while the fact is true, it's not a moral standard to be advised by.

Generally, it's best to admit it early before a broken Aesop becomes a problem, but I see no fundamental problem with saying that the Aesop is not one to be followed. It makes the story more interesting to see that sort of variety.

I can see Broken Aesops happening a lot in my books based on misinterpretation of certain characters' stances on things by the audience. For example, Kylie is at least the Designated Protagonist if not the Creator's Pet in the Mythology 101 Cycle, a decidedly anti-monogamy book series; however, Kylie is one of the few characters who embraces monogamy and calls others out when they "cheat". So, is the audience supposed to think that since the main character is against cheating, all the other anti-monogamy Aesops are invalid, or are they supposed to assume that since basically every single other character sleeps with Anything That Moves Kylie is being portrayed as wrong in this particular instance?

The answer is: Neither. I write Loads And Loads Of Characters, and they disagree on things. Sometimes very strongly. Neither side is really right, and it's basically wide open to audience interpretation. If you get called out on a Broken Aesop, that's all you really have to say... "I wanted the readers to draw their own conclusions, I wasn't trying to steer them in a particular direction."

I'll got a grim look and a habit of over thinking things, so this happens a lot to my characters. Most of them tend to end up DoomedMoralVictors.

In The Untouchables Fan Fiction I'm working on the straight edge by the book Good Catholic cop refuses to take a bribe from Al Capone and destroys a load of Canadian whiskey (something i'm sure you will aprove of drunkscriblerian).

When making a speak to his team about how the police have a duty to enforces unpopular laws (something which I believe in), He gets a bullet in the back from his corrupt partner and when at the pearly gates God calls him out for his unrealistic idealism and pointing out he could of done a much better job working with the syterm and even telling him that his daughters are going to have to turn to prostitution now to make ends meet.

edited 29th Dec '10 4:13:40 AM by joeyjojo

Do it

Already done it. Several times.

Oh yeah, tell us more

"It's okay to take vengeance against an entire species becase of what one member of that species did. As long as you say you're reeeeeaaaally sorry, you'll be forgiven."

Or, alternatively:

"Yes, you are perfectly justified in killing your best friend's long-term boyfriend because he killed your sister. It's okay- she might be pissed off about it for a while, but as long as you disappear for a week, not letting her know whether you're alive or dead, all will be forgiven."

Never read it~

Well, bear in mind that there are some people that are convinced that everything has an Aesop, and will conspire to see a complex hidden subtext to everything. In fact, I believe we have trope for that. So don't sweat it over little things that might be mis-interpreted, because you can't please everyone.

The only disclaimer statement that I can think of was the note Mark Twain put at the beginning of Huckleberry Finn (see the quote at the top). That probably doesn't count, though.