The document discusses moral and ethical criticism in literature, emphasizing the importance of evaluating literary works based on the messages they convey and their impact on readers' lives. It analyzes the story 'The Aged Mother' by Matsuo Basho, highlighting themes of love, sacrifice, and the consequences of a cruel mandate imposed by a despotic leader. Readers are encouraged to reflect on ethical questions raised by the narrative and to express their thoughts through various tasks.

1. THE LESSON BEHIND
Prepared by: Erika S. Poloan

2. MORAL/
ETHICAL
CRITICISM

3. Moral/Ethical Criticism
—The moralist approach is concerned with
content and values. The approach is as old as
literature itself, for literature is a traditional
mode of imparting morality, philosophy, and
religion. The concern in moral/intellectual
criticism is not only to discover meaning but
also to determine whether works of literature
are both true and significant.

4. To study literature from the
moral/intellectual perspective is
therefore to determine whether a
work conveys a lesson or message
and whether it can help readers
lead better lives and improve their
understanding of the world:

5. What idea does the work contain? How
strongly does the work bring forth its ideas?
What application do the ideas have to the
work’s characters and situations?
How may the ideas be evaluated
intellectually?
Morally? Discussions based on such questions
do not imply that literature is primarily a
medium of moral and intellectual exhortation.

6.  Read each item carefully and tell whether you Agree or Disagree on the
given statements about Moralistic Approach.
 ______1. Moralistic Approach investigates the effects it has on readers as
moral beings.
 ______2. This approach is judging literary works by their ethical teachings
and by their effects on readers.
 ______3. Moralistic Approach is a literary criticism to judge literary works
based on moral rather that formal principles.
 ______4. Literature that is ethically sound and encourages virtue is praised.
 ______5. It states that moralist particular interest is the elements form-style,
structure, tone, imagery that are found in the text.

7. Read “The Story of the Aged
Mother” by Matsuo Basho. Then,
pause and write your answers on
a separate sheet of paper to the
questions that follow.

8. The Story of the Aged Mother
MATSUO BASHO
Long, long ago there lived at the foot of the mountain a poor farmer and his
aged, widowed mother. They owned a bit of land which supplied them with food, and
they were humble, peaceful, and happy.
Shining was governed by a despotic leader who though a warrior, had a great
and cowardly shrinking from anything suggestive of failing health and strength. This
caused him to send out a cruel proclamation. The entire province was given strict
orders to immediately put to death all aged people. Those were barbarous days, and
the custom of abandoning old people to die was not uncommon. The poor farmer
loved his aged mother with tender reverence, and the order filled his heart with
sorrow. But no one ever thought twice about obeying the mandate of the governor,
so with many deep and hopeless sighs, the youth prepared for what at that time was
considered the kindest mode of death.
 What disrupted the peaceful and happy life of the poor farmer and his aged mother?

9. Just at sundown, when his day’s work was ended, he took a
quantity of unwhitened rice which was the principal food for the poor,
and he cooked, dried it, and tied it in a square cloth, which he swung in
a bundle around his neck along with a gourd filled with cool, sweet
water. Then he lifted his helpless old mother to his back and started on
his painful journey up the mountain. The road was long and steep; the
narrow road was crossed and re-crossed by many paths made by the
hunters and woodcutters. In some place, they lost and confuse, but he
gave no heed. One path or another, it mattered not. On he went,
climbing blindly upward -- ever upward towards the high bare summit
of what is known as Obatsuyama, the mountain of the “abandoning of
the aged.”
How does the poor farmer feel about the proclamation?

10. The eyes of the old mother were not so dim but that they noted the
reckless hastening from one path to another, and her loving heart grew
anxious. Her son did not know the mountain’s many paths and his return might
be one of danger, so she stretched forth her hand and snapping the twigs from
brushes as they passed, she quietly dropped a handful every few steps of the
way so that as they climbed, the narrow path behind them was dotted at
frequent intervals with tiny piles of twigs. At last, the summit was reached.
Weary and heart sick, the youth gently released his burden and silently
prepared a place of comfort as his last duty to the loved one. Gathering fallen
pine needles, he made a soft cushion and tenderly lifted his old mother onto it.
He wrapped her padded coat more closely about the stooping shoulders and
with tearful eyes and an aching heart he said farewell.
If you were the son, would you bring your mother to the peak of the mountain to
die? Why or why not?

11. The trembling mother’s voice was full of unselfish love as she gave
her last injunction. “Let not thine eyes be blinded, my son.” She said.
“The mountain road is full of dangers. LOOK carefully and follow the path
which holds the piles of twigs. They will guide you to the familiar path
farther down.” The son’s surprised eyes looked back over the path, then
at the poor old, shriveled hands all scratched and soiled by their work of
love. His heart broke within and bowing to the ground, he cried aloud:
“oh, Honorable mother, your kindness breaks my heart! I will not leave
you. Together we will follow the path of twigs, and together we will die!
What did the old mother do so that her son would be able to find his
way back down from the mountain? What were the twigs for?

12. Once more he shouldered his burden (how light it seemed now) and
hastened down the path, through the shadows and the moonlight, to the
little hut in the valley. Beneath the kitchen floor was a walled closet for
food, which was covered and hidden from view. There the son hid his
mother, supplying her with everything she needed, continually watching
and fearing she would be discovered. Time passed, and he was beginning
to feel safe when again the governor sent forth heralds bearing an
unreasonable order, seemingly as a boast of his power. His demand was
that his subjects should present him with a rope of ashes.
Does the mother show unconditional love to her son even at the middle
of her death?

13. The entire province trembled with dread. The order must be obeyed
yet who in all Shining could make a rope of ashes? One night, in great
distress, the son whispered the news to his hidden mother. “Wait!” she
said. “I will think. I will think” On the second day she told him what to do.
“Make rope of twisted straw,” she said. “Then stretch it upon a row of flat
stones and burn it on a windless night.” He called the people together
and did as she said and when the blaze died down, there upon the
stones, with every twist and fiber showing perfectly, lay a rope of ashes.
Does the son care much about his mother or not at all? What does this
line mean “with the crown of snow cometh wisdom?”

14. The governor was pleased at the wit of the youth and praised
greatly, but he demanded to know where he had obtained his wisdom.
“Alas! Alas!” cried the farmer, “the truth must be told!” and with deep
bows he related his story. The governor listened and then meditated in
silence. Finally, he lifted his head. “Shining needs more than strength of
youth,” he said gravely. “Ah, that I should have forgotten the well-known
saying, “with the crown of snow, there cometh wisdom!” That very hour
the cruel law was abolished, and custom drifted into as far a past that
only legends remain.
What did the governor realize in the story? If you have given the power
to change the lives of the people, what would it be?

15. Practice Task 2.
On a separate sheet of paper, answer the comprehension questions below. Cite a line from the
story to support your answer.
 1. What can you say about the proclamation of the Governor? Are you in favor or against it?
Why or why not?
 2. Do you think the demand of the leader is JUST and FAIR for the old ones? Explain your
answer.
 3. Do the characters in the story show ethical values as a person? Describe
 the characters and mention their acts as proof to your answer.
a. MOTHER:
b. SON:
c. The LEADER:
 4. Do you think obeying the rules all the time is the best thing to do? Why or why not?

16. PERFORMANCE TASK #1.
Compose a poem showing gratitude for the sacrifices that your parents
made for you. Write your poem on a separate sheet of paper. Be guided
by the rubric provided.

17. ASSIGNMENT
Practice Task 3: Using your responses above as your guide,
write a Moralist criticism showing the ethical
teachings/values in the selection that you read.
Explain how the values help you in creating your own
decision.