FABLE XIV
by John Gay · from Fables of John Gay (Somewhat Altered)
Adapted Version
Miko the monkey wanted to see the world. He lived in a very tall tree. He wanted to go on a big trip. He wanted to learn many new things. So he said goodbye to his monkey friends.
Miko walked for a long, long time. Soon he found a new home. A kind lady lived in the big house. The lady gave Miko yummy food to eat. He was a very happy monkey now. He felt safe.
Miko watched the lady all day long. The lady wore a pretty red hat. Miko found a little hat. He put it on. The lady used a shiny spoon to eat. Miko used a spoon too. He sat on a chair at the table. He copied everything.
But one day, Miko felt sad. He missed his home in the trees. He missed the other monkeys very much. He wanted to go back to them. He wanted to show his friends new tricks.
Miko went back home to the jungle. The other monkeys saw him coming. "Ooh-ooh!" they all said. They looked at his new clothes. They pointed at his funny white hat. They chattered and jumped all around him. They were so surprised.
Miko stood up very tall and proud. "I am back!" he said loudly. "I lived with people. I know their ways. I will teach you their ways. Just watch me and learn."
"First, talk with your mouth full," Miko said. He put a big banana in his mouth. "Mmmph wumpf," he said happily. "Then, make a loud burp!" Miko made a big burp. "Also, you must take your friend's banana. Never ask first." He snatched a banana.
The other monkeys clapped their hands with joy. "Ooh-ooh! Ah-ah!" they all cried. They thought this was very clever and fancy. So they all put bananas in their mouths. They all made loud, silly burps. They took each other's bananas. What a silly sight!
It is good to learn new things. It is not good to copy silly manners. The monkeys learned to be silly, not polite. The end.
Original Story
FABLE XIV.
The Monkey who had seen the World.
A monkey, to reform the times,
Resolved to visit foreign climes;
For therefore toilsomely we roam
To bring politer manners home.
Misfortunes serve to make us wise:
Poor pug was caught, and made a prize;
Sold was he, and by happy doom
Bought to cheer up a lady's gloom.
Proud as a lover of his chains
His way he wins, his post maintains—
He twirled her knots and cracked her fan,
Like any other gentleman.
When jests grew dull he showed his wit,
And many a lounger hit with it.
When he had fully stored his mind—
As Orpheus once for human kind,—
So he away would homewards steal,
To civilize the monkey weal.
The hirsute sylvans round him pressed,
Astonished to behold him dressed.
They praise his sleeve and coat, and hail
His dapper periwig and tail;
His powdered back, like snow, admired,
And all his shoulder-knot desired.
"Now mark and learn: from foreign skies
I come, to make a people wise.
Weigh your own worth, assert your place,—
The next in rank to human race.
In cities long I passed my days,
Conversed with man and learnt his ways;
Their dress and courtly manners see—
Reform your state and be like me.
"Ye who to thrive in flattery deal,
Must learn your passions to conceal;
And likewise to regard your friends
As creatures sent to serve your ends.
Be prompt to lie: there is no wit
In telling truth, to lose by it.
And knock down worth, bespatter merit:
Don't stint—all will your scandal credit.
Be bumptious, bully, swear, and fight—
And all will own the man polite."
He grinned and bowed. With muttering jaws
His pugnosed brothers grinned applause,
And, fond to copy human ways,
Practise new mischiefs all their days.
Thus the dull lad too big to rule,
With travel finishes his school;
Soars to the heights of foreign vices,
And copies—reckless what their price is.
Story DNA
Moral
Travel can expose one to foreign vices, which, if adopted uncritically, can corrupt rather than civilize.
Plot Summary
A monkey travels abroad to learn polite manners, hoping to civilize his own kind. He is captured and becomes a pet, observing human society and adopting their superficial customs and vices. Upon returning home, dressed in human clothes, he instructs his fellow monkeys that true politeness involves flattery, deceit, using friends, lying, slandering, and aggression. His impressionable kin eagerly embrace these corrupt teachings, leading to a cautionary moral about the dangers of uncritically adopting foreign vices.
Themes
Emotional Arc
naivety to corrupted pride
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
John Gay's fables often satirized contemporary English society, politics, and human follies, using animal characters as allegories. This fable critiques superficiality and the adoption of vices under the guise of sophistication.
Plot Beats (9)
- A monkey, seeking to reform his kind, travels to foreign lands to learn polite manners.
- He is captured, sold, and becomes a pet to a lady, observing human society.
- The monkey learns to imitate human 'gentlemanly' behaviors, such as twirling knots, cracking fans, and making witty, dull jests.
- Feeling he has learned enough, he decides to return home to civilize his fellow monkeys.
- His wild monkey kin are astonished and impressed by his human clothes and powdered wig.
- The monkey proudly declares he has come from foreign skies to make them wise.
- He instructs them to embrace human vices: concealing passions, using friends for personal gain, lying, slandering others, and being aggressive, claiming these make one 'polite'.
- His monkey brothers applaud his teachings and eagerly adopt these new, corrupt human ways.
- The fable concludes with a moral comparing the monkey to a dull lad who travels, learns foreign vices, and copies them without considering the cost.
Characters
The Monkey ★ protagonist
A small, agile monkey, naturally covered in brown fur. After his travels, he is adorned in human clothing, which makes him appear somewhat comical and out of place among his wild kin.
Attire: A dapper periwig, a tailored coat with sleeves, and a shoulder-knot. These items are meant to mimic the fashionable attire of a gentleman in 18th-century Europe, likely made of fine fabrics like wool or silk, though the specific colors are not mentioned.
Wants: To 'reform the times' and 'civilize the monkey weal' by bringing back what he perceives as 'politer manners' from the human world, thereby elevating his own status and influence among his peers.
Flaw: His superficiality and inability to discern true virtue from vice. He mistakes outward appearances and manipulative behaviors for genuine politeness and wisdom, leading him to adopt and teach corrupt practices.
He begins as an ambitious monkey seeking to improve his society. He travels, observes human behavior, and returns believing he has gained wisdom. However, his 'wisdom' is a corrupted version of human vices, and his arc shows a negative transformation, becoming a purveyor of deceit and superficiality.
Ambitious, conceited, superficial, cynical, and a quick learner (though he learns the wrong lessons). He is a social climber, eager to impress and reform others based on his flawed understanding of 'polite' society.
Image Prompt & Upload
A small, agile brown monkey standing upright, facing forward, full body visible from head to toe. He wears a white powdered periwig, a dark blue tailored coat with sleeves, and a decorative gold shoulder-knot. His face has a pug nose and intelligent, slightly mischievous eyes. He has a self-important, grinning expression. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Lady ○ minor
Not explicitly described, but implied to be a woman of means in 18th-century European society, given her ownership of a pet monkey and the description of her 'gloom' and 'knots' and 'fan'.
Attire: Not explicitly described, but implied to be fashionable attire of an 18th-century lady, as the monkey 'twirled her knots and cracked her fan'.
Wants: To alleviate her 'gloom' and find amusement.
Flaw: Her susceptibility to gloom and reliance on external sources for cheer.
She remains static, serving as part of the Monkey's environment where he learns human ways.
Melancholic ('gloom'), but also someone who enjoys entertainment and companionship, as she keeps the monkey to cheer her up.
Image Prompt & Upload
A refined 18th-century European lady standing, facing forward, full body visible head to toe. She has fair skin, a delicate face, and her dark hair is styled in an elaborate coiffure with decorative 'knots'. She wears a flowing silk gown in a pastel color, with lace cuffs and a wide skirt. She holds a delicate, open fan in her right hand. Her expression is one of gentle melancholy. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
The Hirsute Sylvans ◆ supporting
Wild monkeys, naturally covered in fur ('hirsute'). They are described as 'pugnosed brothers', indicating typical monkey features.
Attire: None, they are in their natural state.
Wants: To learn from their well-traveled brother and improve their own 'state' by copying what they perceive as superior manners.
Flaw: Their gullibility and lack of critical judgment, making them susceptible to the protagonist's corrupt teachings.
They begin as simple, wild monkeys and end by adopting the 'new mischiefs' taught by the protagonist, becoming corrupted by his 'reforms'.
Impressionable, easily astonished, admiring, and prone to imitation. They are eager to adopt new behaviors, even if those behaviors are negative.
Image Prompt & Upload
A group of three wild brown monkeys with pug noses, standing and sitting around, facing forward, full bodies visible head to toe. Their fur is natural and unkempt. They have curious, grinning expressions, with their jaws slightly open as if chattering or applauding. Plain white background, full body visible head to toe, single figure, no watermark, no text, no signature.
Locations
A Lady's Boudoir/Drawing Room
An opulent room within a grand European manor, likely 18th century, furnished with fine objects. The monkey performs tricks for a lady, twirling knots and cracking her fan, suggesting a setting of leisure and refinement.
Mood: Refined, elegant, somewhat artificial, with an undercurrent of boredom that the monkey is meant to alleviate.
The monkey, having been caught and sold, entertains a lady, observing human 'polite' manners and storing his mind with their ways.
Image Prompt & Upload
An opulent 18th-century European boudoir, richly decorated with Rococo-style furniture, gilded mirrors, and damask wallpaper. Soft, diffused light filters through tall windows, illuminating polished wooden floors and velvet upholstery. A small, ornate table holds delicate porcelain figures and a closed fan. The air is still and refined. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
The Monkey Weal's Forest Clearing
A natural forest environment, likely a clearing or open space where a community of monkeys gathers. The 'hirsute sylvans' (hairy forest dwellers) press around the 'civilized' monkey, eager to observe his human-like attire.
Mood: Wild, natural, curious, and later, mischievous as the monkeys adopt new 'human' behaviors.
The monkey returns to his own kind, dressed in human clothes, to 'civilize' them by teaching them the 'polite' (but corrupt) manners he learned from humans.
Image Prompt & Upload
A sun-dappled forest clearing in a temperate woodland, with tall, ancient oak and beech trees forming a dense canopy overhead. Patches of sunlight filter through the leaves, illuminating a carpet of fallen leaves and mossy ground. Exposed tree roots crisscross the earth, and ferns grow in shaded areas. The air is fresh and earthy. no border, no frame, no watermark, no text, no signature, edge-to-edge illustration.
