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Literary Examples Of Didactic Literature

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Didactic literature is not always written alike, it has been and is written to teach children morals, politeness, how to be obedient and responsible and to teach children how they should conform to religious and cultural expectations. Authors use different didactic approaches to convey their desired lesson or persuasion. Examples of didactic readings from our class lectures are The Purple Jar by Maria Edgeworth which uses didacticism to teach that things are not always what they appear and the differences between need and want. In contrast, the story of The Good Little Boy by Mark Twain, uses poking fun at the didactic message of how a good boy is to behave to teach the lesson. Lastly, in the writings of James Janeaway’s A Token for …show more content…

Rosamond is very disappointed and her mother reminds her that her of her input on Rosamond’s purchase that she did tell her to examine the beautiful purple jar before making her decision. Rosamond’s mother tells her “But didn’t I tell you that you had not examined it, and that perhaps you would be disappointed?” With this the author is teaching the didactic lesson that things are not always as they seem and the reader should always closely examine their decisions. Rosamond ends up with stones in her shoes causing her pain and eventually not being able to attend an event with her father due to her appearance. In this the author is showing the poor decision Rosamond made and the consequences of that decision. Rosamond confides in her mother that she made a poor decision and she would like new shoes now. Rosamond’s mother responds to her request with “No, Rosamond, you must abide by your own choice; and now the best thing you can possibly do is bear your disappointment with good humor.” The Purple Jar teaches the difference of need and want, that evaluation of the decision should be thorough as things are not always as they appear and that there are consequences for every decision the readers make. In The Story of The Good Little Boy by Mark Twain, Twain takes a contrasting approach to didactic literature where he tells a story of Jacob Blivens who is

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