Would you put an Aesop that you don't agree with into a story?

Aesops, like tropes,are tools. My question is, would you be comfortable with having a character deliver an Aesop as their motivation or explanation for their actions, even if it's one that you don't agree with or believe in personally?

I don't use Aesops, period - I despise didactic works. If you mean an in-universe Aesop, on the other hand, maybe, though I'm not sure I understand what that would entail.

Do you mean the story as a whole totes a belief i don't agree with, or a character totes a belief I don't agree with?

Depends on the nature of disagreement. Monster, which is probably my favorite work of fiction, concludes in a way I fundamentally disagree with - though, on a certain level, I deeply admire it for its message of forgiveness - but I think the protagonist's choice is an interesting one and that it should be considered and evaluated before being dismissed as harmfully idealistic. The best works aren't the ones that feed you an ideology, but those that force you to think about all the available alternatives.

I have no problem with having a character cite an ideology I don't agree with as their own justification. Heck, that's most of my villains right there. I wouldn't have the story itself espouse an ideology that I don't agree with. I try not to have my stories espouse much of an ideology at all.

No.

edited 16th Nov '11 9:20:59 PM by Teraus

Prominent characters tend to have ideologies/ethics that correspond to something I've believed in/been tempted to believe in at some point in my life. I feel that I would not be able to portray other belief systems in a plausible way. I also tend to not be interested in writing about those.

I've had a story based on a set of beliefs I had at one time, then I grew out of those beliefs, and continued to work on it... and then changed my beliefs again. It is a strange and interesting experience.

I already have, and I'll probably continue to. It'll be fun if I ever get published, watching fans try and figure out my opinions.

I don't consciously put in Aesops in a story. Things happen, sometimes for reasons we cannot immediately comprehend. If it's ideology a character believes, there are many compelling reasons why you ought to believe in "X", and the other reasons not to that would kindly be ignored.

edited 16th Nov '11 10:19:42 PM by QQQQQ

"No."

Compelling! Very well, I've changed my mind.

I'm with nrjxll. I don't put Aesops in my work as a rule, ones I agree with or otherwise.

I'm sure there's someone out there who can pull this off, and for all I know, you might be that person, but I'm used to authors saying that because they're so accustomed to their own Aesops that they don't consciously realize they're using them.

I wouldn't write a story specifically promoting an Aesop I don't agree with, but if a character disagrees with me, I usually give them at least a bit of respect. I've also done one story (Dulling the Pain) that subtly points out why my usual pro-tolerance Aesop can be completely irrelevant. (I know I talk too much about Dulling the Pain, given how flawed a piece it is, but I'm still quite proud of myself for having enough self-knowledge to be capable of writing it.)

edited 17th Nov '11 2:31:01 AM by feotakahari

^ This. We all live by internalized ideologies. There is no such thing as "no message, no moral."

I'm talking about conscious use. I have no way of knowing how many of my personal biases make it into my works - that's why they call it 'subconscious'. But I will never knowingly include An Aesop in my works.

edited 17th Nov '11 7:31:08 AM by nrjxll

I tend to go to the thematic end of aesops. "Growing up sucks" and "Change does happen" and all that stuff.

So...I'unno.

Aesops are extremely divisive elements to begin with. I do not enjoy having messages forced down my throat- whether if I agree with them or not -so I will never intentionally subject my readers to that.

edited 17th Nov '11 10:13:35 AM by CrystalGlacia

Personally, no, I couldn't. If I was writing for a television show or some other thing that was my actual job, then yeah, if it's harmless.

Personally I think one should be very careful about putting Aesops in stories, because a writer can make the Aesop takeover the story and that isn't good.

Now whether I'd be able to put in an Aesop that I don't agree with into story... I'd probably say no. If the Aesop is something I don't agree with, then why am I writing that story? It probably doesn't have a good reason.

However if it was a theme I wanted to convey in the work, then I might have something that disgusts me.

If you mean Aesop but not theme...

Only if my paycheck is on the line.

But I doubt I'll stoop that low.

Unless it's for a Friendship is Magic-like show.

I doubt that even the subconciously inserted aesops (if they're there) are all things I believe in.

edited 18th Dec '11 1:10:12 PM by BetsyandtheFiveAvengers

While I don't do aesops in intentionally, and would rather simply let the reader judge for themselves, certain characters tell stories in-universe with aesops. I can usually see the merit of these tales, otherwise I wouldn't be writing them, but that doesn't mean I necessarily agree with the conclusions. Merely that it's an interesting way of looking at the world.

Not really no. I don't really do Aesop stories. I just tell good stories. (Aesop optional and usually coincidental.)

If I wanted to intentionally write An Aesop, I would write one that I disagree with if and only if I knew I could make a good story out of it.

Only the villains in my work espouse philosophies I don't believe in. Sometimes, a vaguely protagonistic character — usually the Jerkass — will start out believing in something that I don't, but if they're going to continue being protagonists then the actual Aesop of their arc revolves around them becoming more tolerant, less prudish, etc. and that makes the story's actual Aesop something that I believe in.

So no.

"I just tell good stories. (Aesop optional and usually coincidental.)"

A good story without a message is like a breathing fish outside of water.