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New historicism establishes that the historiographical discourse is essentially narrative, that historiography necessarily behaves like a story. The problem boils down to the relationship between fiction and faction, to the narrative functioning of historiographical material. Novelistic prose can solve this relationship by being loyal or by undermining the idea of logical coherence in the narration, formal plot, time sequence and psychological explanation. Reality is, therefore, a semantic landfill that requires selection and formulation, be it through history or history, and in that process narrative/discursiveness, mimeticity, and rhetoric cannot be avoided. In the novels Ugursuz and Karabeg Ibrišimović sees the content of the past as a landfill of floating stories that write history as a story. At the same time, the story is freed from the unequivocal context of historiographical understanding and interpretation, and gives itself to endless interpretability, multiplied possibilities of interpretation offered by the literary context. With this, the meaning of the facts is checked by moving them from the historiographical context to the literary one, and also to the parabolic form, which is characterized by narrative disguise and complexity, paradoxicality, ambiguity and absurdity. In Ugursuz, the state of complete value emptiness opens the way for the heroes to transfer reality into the illusion of their own power, which is encouraging, and thus appropriated paves the way for an alienated self-image. With alienated emotional states, their sick needs and their sick actions are also alienated. In Karabeg, the angel inhabits the thoughts and hearts of the heroes and witnesses their danger in the conflicts of their own reason and emotions, thus revealing their slavish relationship towards higher goals or, on the other hand, towards the determination to follow their own destiny/nature.

This paper aims at analyzing utopias and dystopias in Last and First Men (1930) by William Olaf Stapledon. Taking into consideration that this narrative was already defined as a scientific romance and an anatomy with allegorical status, as well as McCarthy's observation that Stapledon’s writing resists simple categorization and that its classification as science fiction or utopian literature is inadequate, this paper suggests several definitions for Stapledon’s work. The author also takes into account the ongoing dispute between utopian studies and science fiction scholars about the strong interaction between utopia and science fiction in the twentieth century. The possibilities of applying the conceptual integration theory to such a complex work of fiction as Last and First Men is explored.

Copyright of Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnography of the Serbian Academy of Sciences & Arts / Glasnik Etnografskog Instituta SANU is the property of Institute of Ethnography, SASA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper conducts an anthropological study of Jesus’ metaphorical call to his disciples to emulate enslaved individuals who reliably carry out the business interests of their master, as conveyed in his Parable of the Talents (Mt 25, 14- 30). In the first part of the paper, the research is methodologically positioned concerning the relationship between anthropology and the Bible/biblical studies. In the second part, ethnographically collected data on the parable’s meaning is interpreted through the historical context of Matthew’s Christianity. The paper then demonstrates that the metaphor of profit-oriented slavery in the Parable of the Talents served to warn Matthew’s Christians not to falter in the face of adversities during Jesus’ absence and the inherent (Jewish) understanding of messianism. Matthew’s Christians are called by the parable to, like good and faithful slaves, overcome possible fears and urgently participate in bringing all nations into the status of their/Jesus’ disciples (28, 18-20). By showing that anthropological analysis may overcome methodological errors in the scholarly interpretation of the parable/Bible, the paper also aims to promote the contribution of anthropology to biblical studies and the collaboration between the two fields.

This paper aims at analyzing utopias and dystopias in Last and First Men (1930) by William Olaf Stapledon. Taking into consideration that this narrative was already defined as a scientific romance and an anatomy with allegorical status, as well as McCarthy's observation that Stapledon's writing resists simple categorization and that its classification as science fiction or utopian literature is inadequate, this paper suggests several definitions for Stapledon's work. The author also takes into account the ongoing dispute between utopian studies and science fiction scholars about the strong interaction between utopia and science fiction in the twentieth century. The possibilities of applying the conceptual integration theory to such a complex work of fiction as Last and First Men is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) is one of the most illustrious stories on human relations among the teachings of Jesus Christ. One of the critical questions among scholars is whether the parable should be understood as a mere story of loving a neighbour offering empathy and kindness to people in need, or as an allegory. This study interrogates the parable of the Good Samaritan as an allegory about the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa. On that basis, the Priest and Levite may refer to the government; Jericho may represent the world; thieves represent the hostile forces of the world in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic; the Samaritan represents Jesus Christ, and the Inn represents the Church. The study argues that while the moral aspect of good neighborliness is emphasized in the parable, the parable may also be viewed as an allegory considered related to the experiences of people under the coronavirus disease. The study also utilized the narrative perspective as a theoretical framework to cross-examine the parable of the Good Samaritan in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study concluded that the discourses on the parable of the Good Samaritan remind people to love everyone, including their enemies, even in the context of health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic where for the most part, others were shunned in an egocentric manner.

The paper deals with the first decades in the work of Dr. Seuss (the pseudonym of Theodor Geisel, 1904–1991), one of the most prominent children’s authors of the 20th century. Seuss was not only the author of children’s tales, but also a talented artist who illustrated his own books and whose manner was deeply influenced by his 15-year experience as a cartoonist. In 1920–1940s he worked for different print media, from humor magazines to a political newspaper, drew cartoons and commercial advertisements. Our aim is to study the mutual influence of Seuss-thecartoonist and Seuss-the-writer and illustrator. Our main focus is the “bestiary” of Dr. Seuss, the animal characters of his cartoons and tales. Seuss created his first eccentric animals in the series of cartoons and anecdotes for a weekly satirical magazine Judge in 1927; he blended the Victorian tradition of nonsense and the features of newspaper cartoons and comic strips of the first decades of the 20th century. The motif of eccentricity is developed in the first children’s tales that Seuss published at the turn of the 1930–40s. The same motif is significantly transformed in his political cartoons for a daily newspaper PM in 1941–1942. Seuss puts the familiar animal images into the context of World War II and gives them different political meaning, from the totalitarian insanity of the Axis leaders to the carelessness and blindness of the “America First” supporters. Interestingly enough, Dr. Seuss used in his political cartoons some plot elements of his tales for children, as well as his old sketches and drawings. In its turn, his post-war tales are peculiar parables that absorb the political issues of the previous historical period. Creating his images of tyrants, Seuss makes use of the techniques of political cartoons. He puts his human and animal characters into the situations of tyranny or isolationism, that can be overcome with the help of common sense.

The parable of the works of N.V. Gogol as one of the most important elements of the writer's strategy is analyzed. Emphasis is placed both on its formal and content embodiment in the author's works. The formal part shows the important connection between the parable and the artistic detail of the literary work and the composition on the whole. The content part deals with the writer, who builds a complex system of conflicts and their role in the plot scheme. For the study, researchers consider it necessary to warn against a shallow analysis of Gogol's parable as a kind of vulgar form of reasonableness or teaching. Reading the author's texts shows that the parable departs from the classical model and resembles “die Parabel”, a form of parable in the literature of European modernism, which complicates and makes the edifying aspect less obvious. The parable element considered in this work should be studied not in general terms, but as an integral part of the poetics and artistic system of the author, which allows us to consider this phenomenon in more detail, as an individually mastered part of the composition of the work of a single author. Using this approach, it is possible to show Gogol as a phenomenon of world literature, and the reason for that is a complex system of parables, implemented in different ways in his literary works. This system absorbs particular elements of poetics using a variety of functions that form a single system of artistic originality of Gogol's texts. Moreover, it emphasizes the originality of texts and their dissimilarity from each other even within the author's collection.

In this article, a parable (which will be called as the Poet’s Parable from now on due to its subject) in the fourth volume of Mawlānā Muhammad Jalāl al-dīn Rūmī’s (d. 672/1273) Mathnawī, which consists of approximately twenty-five thousand seven hundred couplets will be discussed in terms of patronage. While reading and evaluating the story in terms of patronage, the commentary of Ahmed Avni Konuk (1868-1938), who annotated the entire Mathnawī will be used. The poet we encounter in the Poet’s Parable is a person who keeps his hopes for the world high, and therefore he faces with sadness and grief. However, Allah is the one who bestows freely. Narrowing hope down to worldly goods is not in accordance with Allah’s consent. Complying with the desires of not only the patrimonial ruler and but also the royal court and always being in expectation can harm the poet. It is a known fact that some poets yearn to achieve a worldly desire, such as obtaining better positions and make efforts to achieve this goal. When the desires do not come true, sadness will follow it. In this article, we will try to examine “the Story of the Poet” both in terms of patronage and Sufism. The proposition arisen during this study is as follows: “There is always a contradiction between our desires and the reality. This contradiction usually ends up with sadness. The one (“the poet” in this case) who cannot control his/her desires is doomed to blame his/her superior (“the vizier” according to the story) and be unhappy.” When the story is read, it will be seen that as long as the poet is willing to wait for blessings from man instead of God, he eventually will become disappointed.

Meseller, insan ve toplulukların yaşamlarında bazı önemli olayları vurgulayan, sonraki nesillerin bunlardan haberdar olmasını sağlayan kültür aktarımı vazifesi gören sözel unsurlardır. Kur’ân-ı Kerîm Arap dilinde indiğinden onun içinde de cahiliye dönemi Arap kültüründe yerleşmiş bazı meselleri görmek mümkündür. Kur’ân-ı Kerîm, tüm insanlığa rehber ve hidayet kaynağı olarak indirilmiş, Arapça bir kitap olduğu için onu anlamada bazı sorunlarla karşılaşılmış ve bu sorunları çözmek adına bazı çalışmalar yapılmıştır. Kimi çalışmalar onun dilsel yönüne yoğunlaşırken kimileri de anlam boyutunu, verdiği mesaj kısmını ön planda tutmuşlardır. Bazı ayetleri yorumlamada mesellerden yardım alan müfessirler olmuştur. Nitekim meseller hem dil hem de anlam boyutunun ortak olduğu kabul edilen ögelerdendir. Arapça konuşan toplumlar dışında Kur’ân-ı Kerîm’i anlama sorunu ortaya çıkınca tercüme tefsirler yazılmaya başlanmıştır. Bu çalışmada Şii-İmami çizgiye mensup bir müellif tarafından yazılan ilk Farsça tefsir olan Ravdu’l-Cinân esas alınarak bu tefsirdeki Arapça meseller ele alınmıştır. Tefsirde Farsça meseller olsa da Arapça mesellerin kullanımı ile belli bazı amaçlar gözetilmiştir. Bu meseller yoluyla kelimenin kökeni, etimoloji/sarf açısından kelimenin kalıbı ve nahiv ilmi açısından da kelimenin mahiyeti ve i‘râbı, cümlede işgal ettiği yer gibi hususlar açığa kavuşturulmuştur. Ayrıca bunların dışında da ayette geçen kelime ile doğrudan ilişkisi olmasa da ya içinde geçtiği için ya da anlam olarak karşılaması nedeniyle mesel kullanılmıştır. İşte tüm bu amaçlar örnekleriyle verilip değerlendirilecek, mesel kitaplarından asılları tahriç edilerek geçen diğer hususlar da ayrıca açıklanacak ve bir sonuçla çalışma sonlandırılacaktır.

Copyright of Burdur Theology Journal / Burdur İlahiyat Dergisi is the property of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy Universitesi lahiyat Fakultesi Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this article, I bring Terrence Malick's 2019 film, A Hidden Life, into conversation with two of philosopher Paul Ricoeur's concepts: (1) the "social imaginary" as the interplay of ideals, images, ideologies and utopias, and (2) Ricoeur's description of the genre of "parable" as a narrative-metaphor which provokes a "re-orientation by disorientation" within an audience's imagination. Drawing from Ricoeur's thought, I apply a theological film criticism I call "theocinematics" to A Hidden Life in order to call attention to the ways in which the cinematic form itself engenders sociopolitical and theological thought. Through emphasizing film aesthetics in my analysis, I am ultimately suggesting that A Hidden Life as a cinematic parable has the potential power to affect and inform our social imaginaries for the good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pericope Mt 25,1-13, of the ten virgins, is one of the most commented texts in the First Gospel. In general, its textual unity is not questioned and this is one of the few consensuses among researchers regarding this pericope. The discussion about its literary genre pits those who defend it as a parable against those who consider it an allegory. This definition is not merely a formality, as it directly influences the possible hermeneutical possibilities for this text. This article therefore looks at the history of the interpretation of Mt 25,1-13. To do this, we offer a segmentation and translation of the text, notes on textual criticism, form criticism and literary genre criticism. This is followed by an exegetical commentary based on the main words in the pericope of Mt 25,1- 13. Finally, the history of the interpretation of the proposed pericope is presented. The methodology used is the Historical-Critical Method and bibliographical research. In this sense, the article demonstrates that the definition of a literary genre does not necessarily imply that there are no elements of another literary genre in the same text. With this, the pericope of Mt 25,1-13, as an open work, is contemplated in its polysemy, obviously without arbitrariness, but within the interpretative limits imposed by the text itself.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Muiraquitã: Revista de Letras e Humanidades is the property of Muiraquita and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The author undertakes a study of the symbolic-religious conflict, a man and Viy, as a structural and content basis for the integrity of the novella Viy . In Gogol's “paradoxical negative realism”, the “squabbling of life” is depicted from an eschatological perspective. The heterogeneity of the conflict is predetermined by the heterogeneity of Gogol's vision of life: behind the vulgar relations of vulgar people, an existential world, invisible to the characters, shines through, in which an irreal enemy awaits a person in order not to allow this person to avoid meeting with himself. The basis of the conflict of the novella Viy is the subterranean phenomena of the universe, which are at different stages of accepting evil. The mutual negation of the vulgarity of evil (Khoma) and the fantasy of supernatural evil (Viy) does not seem to Gogol absolute, just as the scenario of their movement towards each other does not seem impossible. Analysis of the conflict allows us to assert that Gogol, as a “prophet and philosopher of Orthodox culture”, according to V. Zenkovsky's definition, declares himself already in the story of 1834, and Russian literature owes the “implantation of the religious theme” to this particular work.

In The Prince with the Sad Eyes, the short story that we will here interpret as a parable in the context of Jung's theory of archetypes, Andrić shows a woman torn between her real and idealized partner, and her suffering as a consequence of a lack of discernment in the matters of the heart, a lack of self-knowledge, and most of all, the influences of the archetypes of the collective unconscious - the animus and the shadow. Andrić thematizes projection as a psychological mechanism of falling in love, which rules interpersonal relationships in other contexts, too. Through this woman's infatuation with the prince, Andrić sheds light on phenomena that take place between men and women every day: projecting, expecting, and disappointment experienced as betrayal. One cannot live with the animus, the archetypal figure responsible for falling in love: once a relationship becomes reality (sexuality is here a metonymic replacement for the whole of their real life, the reality of a relationship) all projections start disappearing and in most cases, are replaced with their negative counterpart, as archetypes are essentially dual in meaning. In a parable about the permanent misunderstanding between sexes in the process of falling in love, Andrić uses biblical signals (the tree of knowledge, miraculous healing, the genre of the parable) to point to the wrongness of the depicted world, that is the imaginary heaven, pursued in the wrong way and in the wrong place.

Parables are considered to be an effective tool in a psychologist’s work with parents of children with abnormal development. As a kind of metaphor, parables actuate neurodynamic mechanisms of the personality’s reflection of actual life issues. The use of parables is specific, depending on the psychodynamic stage of the family with a child who has some developmental problems. The requests of parents of children with abnormal development were classified and the parables were matched to each underlying request type. The use of various options of work with stories by psychologist in the therapeutic process is possible. The authors give some examples of parables at the end.

Ebû Nuaym önde gelen İslâm âlimleri arasında yer almaktadır. Kaynaklar kendisinden Tâcu’l-Muhaddisîn, el-İmâmu’l-Celîl, el-Hâfızu’l-Kebîr, eş-Şeyh, Müverrih ve Muhaddisu’l-Asr şeklinde bahsetmiştir. Konumuzun ana mihverini oluşturan ve 800 kadar zâhid ve sûfînin hayatlarına yer verilen Hilyetü’l-Evliyâ’sı alanının en güzel örneklerinden birisidir. Bu eserinde kitabının hacmini genişletmemek amacıyla sadece meşhur zâhidleri ele almıştır. Ebû Nuaym, Ḥilyetü’l-Evliyâʾdaki malumatın çoğunu üstadlarından ve muasırı diğer ulemadan derlemiş, az bir kısmını da Buhârî ve Müslim’in başını çektiği hadis kaynaklarından aktarmıştır. Müellifimizin eserinde karşımıza çıkan meseller günlük hayatımızda hemen her alanda muhatap olunan bir konudur. Hz. Peygamber, Arap dilinin en üst düzeyde konuşulduğu bir toplumda dünyaya gelmiş ve yetişmiştir. Bu sebeple Arapça’nın inceliklerine vakıf olup konuşmalarında zaman zaman mesellere yer verirdi. Bu noktada da ihtiyaçtan fazla konuşmaz ve göstermelik hareketlere asla başvurmazdı. Resûlullah’ın konunun daha iyi anlaşılması ve kavranması amacıyla meselleri kullandığı malumdur. Burada Ebû Nuaym’ın Hilyetü’l-Evliyâ adlı eserinde yer alan mesellere dair bazı örnekler verilmiştir. Makale yazılırken Ebû Nuaym’ın hayatı ile ilgili olarak hazırlanmış olan klasik kaynaklar taranmakla birlikte interaktif ortamdaki programlar da çalışma konumuz olan mesellere ulaşmamız konusunda büyük katkı sağlamıştır. Mesellerin daha iyi ve doğru anlaşılması bağlamında gerekli görülen hususlarda kısa izahlara da makalede yer verilmeye çalışılmıştır.

The article attempts to reveal some probable biographical aspects of two artistic and philosophical dialogues of Hryhoriy Skovoroda, written in 1783: Archstrategist Michael’s Struggle with Satan and The Devil’s Controversy with Varsava. The dedication of the first work to Mykhaylo Kovalyns’kyy and the later preface to this dialogue could have been inspired by the family tragedy of the Kovalyns’kyy couple – the death of their young son. It is probably not by chance that H. Skovoroda addressed the theme of the Resurrection three times in the preface, persistently reminding that the death of the body is not the end of human life, but only a rough appearance of the end. Everyone who crosses the threshold of apparent death actually passes to a new life, so the father of the dead son had to believe that in time he would meet his beloved child again, and already forever. The second dialogue is perhaps the most autobiographical in H. Skovoroda’s writings. The lines of both protagonists of this work (Daimon and Varsava) sound like the inner voices of the author of the dialogue. At the same time, according to one of the hypotheses, the prototype of Daimon can be considered not just some abstract force of doubt that was either outside the soul and consciousness of H. Skovoroda, or within his rational understanding of the metaphysics of the universe, but a specific person – Samuyil Myslavs’kyy, a younger friend of H. Skovoroda during the years of study at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, and later the bishop and head of the Kharkiv College, because of whom, perhaps, the “official” pedagogical career of our philosopher ended forever. In general, the issue of the biographical “fullness” of certain prose works of H. Skovoroda is extremely complex and debatable in Ukrainian literary studies. Perhaps the versions highlighted in the article will somewhat bring the two “heavenly” dialogues of 1783 closer to their “earthly” reader’s perception.

One of the most debated problems in the history of philosophy is the problem of evil. Since classical times, philosophers have started to think about evil, a phenomenon that exists in the world and that almost everyone encounters. With questions such as why there is evil in the world we live in or how we can deal with evil, the problem of evil began to be examined philosophically. However, this is not only unique to the history of philosophy, it is also a topic of discussion that religions with a tradition of revelation have dealt with. Religions such as Judaism, especially Christianity and Islām have to some extent dealt with this problem. The means by which these religions respond to this problem is different from that of philosophical explanation, in which the process of reasoning and each philosopher's own logical process is heavily involved. Philosophers have tried to explain evil within the framework of neo-platonism and argued that it is actually the absence of goodness. While matter takes its most concrete form at the lowest levels, it moves far away from the good. Therefore, distancing from the perfect brings evil. Scholastics and Islāmic theologians, on the other hand, have tried to show that the evil in the world is not incompatible and contradictory with the existence of God by providing explanations that are partially in line with the doctrine of their religion. These theologians sometimes went beyond the framework of the doctrine and carried their reasoning tools quite far. Philosophers and theologians have tried to act according to the religious tradition to which they belonged in offering some solutions to this problem. Nevertheless, they did not always take the religious tradition into consideration when providing these answers and often tried to produce philosophical answers. In the modern period, the problem of evil has been seen as the soft belly of the Abrahamic religions. Since the seventeenth century, it has become one of the strongest atheistic arguments and has been used intensively today. Academically, this issue has generally been dealt with within the framework of philosophy of religion. It seems possible to say that a Qur'an-oriented study is relatively rare compared to the philosophical one. Therefore, in this study, the researcher has tried to focus on some Qur'anic verses that can be associated with the problem of evil and to show the relationship between the concepts used in the Qur'an in this context. He then discusses whether some of the Qur'anic parables can be evaluated within the framework of theodicy. In addition, the researcher has tried to reveal the differences between the arguments and style in the Qur'an and philosophical theodicy, also called systematic theodicy, throughout this study.

In spite of being mentioned just once in the Qur'an, the parable of Dhu al-Qarnain is one of the most commented on stories. The story is interpreted many times since it has full of scenery that forces human willpower. The multiplicity and variety of narrations in exegesis is another effect that increases interpretations. In this article, a general ordering of controversies based on comments and variety of narrations about the parable is presented not to deal with the reasons, but no opinion is given about them. Certain words in related verses are examined in terms of the context so that the parable is understood and ensured more reasonably. Thus, it is seen that a real portrait section is presented with the parable. Henceforth, the methods of Dhu al-Qarnain on dawah, invitation, contract law, management, and constructional activities is examined. Besides, the results of the message, which is the main purpose of the parable, is analyzed. It is seen that his method can always be used due to the universality of the message. On the other hand, it is understood that human knowledge is limited as God is allknowing, thus our comments are subjective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Van Journal of Divinity / Van Ilahiyat Dergisi is the property of Ilahiyat Fakultesi, Yuzuncu Yil University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the Qur’an, many subjects are covered in the stories. One of the subjects in these stories is worldly goods. The test of man with world property is as old as the history of humanity. The test of man with worldly goods is as old as human history. The common point of these verses is that the worldly goods created for humans turn out not as means but as an end for some people. In Surah al-Kahf 18/32-44, the parable covers all the related verses of worldly property. In this group of verses, the destruction of the property of a person with a fertile, large land after he claims superiority over his friend is narrated. Since the people, place, and time in the parable are ambiguous, it is possible that the same parable may happen again in any place at any time. In this study, we found it appropriate to examine the parable in the relevant verses separately. While doing our study, we first defined the parable. Afterwards, we tried to analyze the verses in accordance with both the order of the Mushaf and the time course of the event. During this research, we benefited from explanatory verses and hadiths, applied consulted tafsir sources and used of dictionaries for word explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parables are rhetorical devices that highlight significant occurrences in peoplecs and communities' lives and act as a mechanism of cultural transmission, making them known to succeeding generations. The Qur'ān contains parables that were ingrained in the Arab culture of the Jahiliyyah period because it was revealed in the Arabic language. Because the Qur'ān was revealed as a source of guidance and direction for all humanity, and because it is an Arabic book, various challenges in comprehending it have arisen, and some efforts have been made to resolve these difficulties in understanding the meaning. While some research have concentrated on its linguistic aspects, others have prioritized its meaning and message. Some interpreters have used parables to help them comprehend certain verses. In reality, parables are among the elements that are considered to share both language and meaning dimensions. When it became difficult to read the Qur'ān outside of Arabic-speaking countries, prominent commentaries began to be translated or commentators began to write in foreign languages. This study is based on Rawd al-Jinān, which is not the first tafsīr written in Persian but the first Persian tafsîr written by a member of the Shi'ite-Imami line and deals with the Arabic parables in this tafsīr. Although the tafsîr is in Persian, the use of Arabic parables serves certain purposes. Through these parables, issues such as the origin of the word, the morphology of the word in terms of etymology/orthography, and the nature and irāb of the word in terms of the science of grammar and the place it occupies in the sentence have been explained. Apart from these, even though it is not directly related to the word mentioned in the verse, it is used either because it is mentioned in it or because it fulfills its meaning. All these purposes will be given and evaluated with examples, analyzed from the books of parables, other issues will be explained separately and the study will be concluded with a conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bu çalışmada İsrâiliyat’ın çerçevesine dâhil edilebileceğini düşündüğümüz rivayetler hakkında Mâtürîdî’nin ne düşündüğü, söz konusu rivayetlere karşı tefsirinde nasıl bir yaklaşım sergilediği ele alınmaya çalışılmıştır. Son asırda Mâtürîdî hakkında birçok çalışma yapılmış olmasına rağmen yaptığımız araştırmalara göre onun İsrâiliyat hakkındaki yaklaşımını kuşatıcı şekilde ele alan, kategorize eden ve örneklendiren bir çalışma bulunmamaktadır. Bazı çalışmalarda Mâtürîdî’nin tefsirinde İsrâilî olduğu düşünülerek yer verilen rivayetler birkaç başlık altında tasnif edilmeye çalışılmışsa da bu tasnifin yeterli olduğunu söylemek kanaatimizce mümkün değildir. Bu çalışmalarda İsrâiliyat olarak aktarılan örnekler, görebildiğimiz kadarıyla Mâtürîdî’nin ya eleştirdiği ya sükût ettiği ya da doğru olup olmadığı bilinemez dediği rivayetlerden oluşmaktadır. Dolayısıyla İsrâiliyat çerçevesine dâhil edilebilecek bir rivayeti Mâtürîdî’nin ayetlerin anlaşılmasında yardımcı unsur olarak kullandığına dair bir örneğe söz konusu çalışmalarda yer verilmemiştir. Mâtürîdî hakkında yapılan bazı çalışmalarda onun İsrâiliyat hakkındaki düşüncesine kısmen değinilmiş olsa da özel olarak İsrâiliyat’ın konu edildiği, hassaten İsrâiliyat’ın tarihçesinin belirlenmeye çalışıldığı araştırmalarda Mâtürîdî’nin sürece dâhil edilmediği görülmektedir. Mâtürîdî geçmiş toplumlar, peygamberler hakkında sadece Kur’an’da yer alan bilgilere veya Hz. Peygamber’e aidiyeti kesin olan rivayetlere itibar edilmesi gerektiğini belirtir. Ona göre geçmiş ümmetlerle ilgili bu iki kaynaktan gelen bilgiler Hz. Peygamber’in peygamberliğini ispat etmektedir. Bu iki kaynak dışında nakledilen bilgilerin önceki ümmetlerin kitaplarında yer alan bilgilerle çelişmesi ise o dinlere mensup insanların Hz. Peygamber’in peygamberliğini kabul etmemesine neden olur. Dolayısıyla böyle olumsuz bir durumun ortaya çıkmaması için ayetlerin izahında bu tarz rivayetlerden kaçınmak gerekir. İsrâiliyat kavramını kullanmasa da bu tarz ifadelerinden dolayı Mâtürîdî’nin İsrâiliyat hakkında değerlendirmeler yaptığı, teorik olarak İsrâiliyat’a karşı çıktığı söylenebilir. Mâtürîdî’nin bu konuda Mu‘tezilî âlim Ebu Bekir el-Esam’a yapmış olduğu bazı atıflar da, onun İsrâiliyat hakkındaki yaklaşımının oluşmasında Esam’ın etkisinin olabileceğini akla getirmektedir. Bu çalışma, Mâtürîdî’nin Te’vîlâtü’l-Kur’ân adlı eserinde yukarıda teorik olarak çerçevesi anlatılmaya çalışılan yaklaşım tarzı ile kıssaların anlatıldığı ayetlerin izahında yer verdiği, İsrâiliyat kaynaklı olabileceğini düşündüğümüz rivayetler üzerinden gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışmada Mâtürîdî’nin İsrâiliyat’a yer verip vermemesi hakkında doğru-yanlış, iyi-kötü şeklinde bir yargıya varmaktan ziyade, Te’vîlât özelinde iç tutarlılığın olup olmadığı üzerinde değerlendirmelerde bulunulmuştur. Mâtürîdî’nin tefsirinde yer verdiği İsrâilî olabileceğini düşündüğümüz rivayetler beş başlık altında kategorize edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Böylelikle de onun pratik anlamda İsrâiliyat’a yaklaşımı tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. İlk başlık altında Mâtürîdî’nin ayetin izahında istifade ettiği düşünülen örnekler yer verilmiştir. Söz konusu örnekler kanaatimizce çok fazla olmasa da Mâtürîdî’nin, tefsirinde ayetlerin izahında istifade etmek amacıyla İsrâiliyat’a yer verdiğini göstermektedir. Dolayısıyla bu örnekler Mâtürîdî’nin İsrâiliyat’ı tamamen reddetmediğini göstermektedir. Aynı zamanda bu örneklerin varlığı İsrâiliyat konusunda Te’vîlât’ta teorinin pratiğe tam manasıyla mutabık olmadığını göstermektedir. Te’vilât’taki bu durumu kanaatimizce Mâtürîdî’nin tefsir-te’vil teorisiyle izah etmekte de mümkün gözükmemektedir. İkinci başlık altında ise Mâtürîdî’nin naklettikten sonra hiçbir değerlendirmede bulunmadığı rivayetlere yer verilmiştir. Bu örnekler onun söz konusu rivayetleri tamamen benimsediği anlamına gelmese de sükût etmesi zımnen de olsa ayetlerin bu rivayetler çerçevesinde anlaşılmasının mahzurlu olmayacağını ima ettiği anlamına gelmektedir. Nakletmeden bilmeye gerek yok dediği ve eleştirdiği rivayetlere yer verilen üçüncü ve dördüncü başlıklar altında ele alınan örnekler onun bu rivayetleri tasvib etmediğini göstermektedir.

The purpose of the article is to define the genre features of Patrick Süskind’s novel as a postmodern work. The task is to determine the artistic components, which will serve as a basis for establishing the genre affiliation of the analyzed work. The study employs the elements of formal and cultural-historical methods of analysis. It is emphasized that the peculiarity of this novel is its genre eclecticism. It is noted that the work actualizes the Faustian image of the human/superhuman, who is marginal and disadvantaged, rejected by society, extremely talented, but has no moral values. The work consists of four parts referring to different periods of life and the work of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (childhood and learning the craft; self-reflection in the cave and return to people; the culmination of activities as a perfumer and criminal in Grasse; his death). Each part falls into the canons of several genres; while intertwined quite chaotically, the elements of genres form a holistic picture nonetheless. It is established that the events of the novel are tied to the events of the 18th century; the historical background is outlined both through specific dates of the protagonist’s life, important milestones in his life and career, tied to individual historical events and processes, and also through artistic descriptions of guild manufacturing, the social hierarchy of the society, urban life in Europe. However, Süskind’s work cannot be considered a historical novel in the classical sense of the genre (the plot is not centered around a historical event or a historical figure), thus literary critics rightfully interpret the work as a pseudo-historical novel. Detailed descriptions of the specifics of the social and domestic life of a child, adolescent, and apprentice signify the social and domestic novel, however, the protagonist’s life and his actions can hardly be considered typical. The plot of Süskind’s work develops conforming to the genre canon of the crime novel. We draw your attention to the fact that, according to the marketing definition, the analyzed work is defined as “a romantic detective”. Yet in accordance with the detective genre canon, the protagonist must be a detective, who unravels the crime and finds the killer. In Süskind’s novel, the main character is a criminal, and the detective is not even formally represented, which gives us a reason to classify the analyzed work as a crime / noir novel. Gothic elements (the topos of the cemetery, the pervasive motif of death, the protagonist living in gloomy places, one way or another connected with death, etc.) also point to the genre of a crime novel. The novel describes in detail the features of the craftsmanship, and the life of the apprentice, and thus the text acquires a distinct quality of the occupational novel. Despite the fact that a significant part of the text is devoted to the description of the profession of a perfumer, the analyzed work is still difficult to label as an occupational novel, because it lacks the motif of work for the benefit of society, and the image of the main character being a genius perfumer-killer is far from the positive image of a worker, which is determining for a genre of occupational novel. Philosophical motives are an integral part of Süskind’s novel. The worldview and system of moral and ethical values are implicated and in a rather ironic context presented through references to famous scientists and philosophers of the Enlightenment, which in one way or another refer to the scientific picture of the world, criticism of the church, atheism, freethinking. The canon of the parable used in the second chapter enables the artistic presentation of the spiritual transformations of the main character and the formation of his axiology. As the hero stays in a cave, dreaming in the position of the embryo, it is perceived as his death and rebirth, the time spent in there (“seven years”) is similar to the time of the Divine creation of the world and, respectively, implicitly marks the protagonist’s Faustian claims to the role of Creator. In Süskind’s novel, there are also elements of an educational novel, the conventions of the picaresque genre. The transformation of Grenouille’s execution into a collective orgy is presented in the manner of the parable genre with elements of the absurd. The fourth part of the novel, in which Grenouille returns to Paris, corresponds to canons of the genres of horror and parable. Written in accordance with various genre canons, the parts are implicitly enraged by the motif of Faustianism as a desire to know the mysteries of the world, messianism, and apostasy.

The article substantiates the definition of the genre of Dal’s stories and novellas as a story-parable that carries a lesson about the laws of human life. In Dal’s prose emphasis is not so much on the exact external “physiognomy” of human types, but on the deep moral and existential content that is revealed to the reader with their help. The genre specificity of Dal’s prose reflects his Christian worldview, which is similar to the popular one and enriched with reflection and a special artistic gift of the writer. The author of the article demonstrates the reason for the inadequate perception of Dal’s prose in N. Chernyshevsky’s critical assessments. In addition, he refutes the frequent statement that Dal’s “Pictures from Russian Life,” which were to allegedly cover the entire national life, were scattered into fragmented sketches and were not permeated with a single thought. In fact, these “pictures,” although extremely diverse in their subject matter due to the diversity of life itself, are internally clearly united in their general meaning. Dal selected bright stories, generally reflecting the general moral life of the Russian people from the most positive side. Each of these stories carries a deep Christian meaning: in each of them there is a person overcoming or paying his sin, as well as repentance and a general transfiguration and renewal of the soul. Sometimes he shows also the heroic features of the national character. In Dal’s stories-parables an indication of the inner complexity, the dialectic of life, always full of internal contradictions and incomprehensibility, often appears. Dal was the author who accepted the need for updating the genre of the parable. This need was due to the fact that the reader wanted to preserve the genres of traditional culture (fairy tales and parables), but in a new literary form.

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Nishitani and Neoplatonism both argue that overcoming the nihilism of non-being requires a confrontation with, and cultivation of, the experience of nothingness. This paper argues that the appreciation of nothingness is best realized in the practice of dialectic into dialogos, as adapted from the Socratic tradition. We argue that dialectic equips the self for the confrontation with nihilism, and is best suited to transforming the privative experience of nothingness into a superlative, collective experience of no-thingness. The practice of dialectic into dialogos exapts the nature of the self as a synthesis of being and non-being, and possibility and necessity, in and through its relationship to others, and to its own otherness within self-transcendence. Dialectic into dialogos can thereby become a central philosophical practice for responding to our contemporary meaning crisis by affording a generative process of meaning-making that can lead to personal and cultural transformation and communion within the culture – renewing communitas for new communities.

The paper focuses on various examples of Polish literary reportage which draw upon parable, that is, a didactic story aimed at conveying moral, religious, philosophical, or existential principles by means of allegory, symbolism, and metaphor. The main purpose of the research is to examine the way in which contemporary reporters make use of contrast and analogy as tools for transferring documented facts to a universal level. In the article, the mechanism of parabolization shaped by both these devices is considered first in terms of content of reportage publication, and then with reference to the structure of journalistic narrative. The initial study includes parabolic parallels and antithesis in non-fiction books by Wojciech Jagielski and Katarzyna Surmiak-Domańska. The latter part discusses selected works by Mariusz Szczygieł and Witold Szabłowski regarding transcending literal meanings through the specific segmentation of body text. This dual analysis conducted in the paper is preceded by an introduction, in which the authoress argues the symbiotic relation between the notion of parable, the poetics of contrast, and the principle of analogy. She also presents the origins and development of parabolic reportage in twentieth-century Poland. A special emphasis is placed here on the so-called Aesopian language, which enabled reporters to pass the Communist censorship thanks to hidden political allusions and other features typical of parable. In the conclusion, the parabolic tendency is recognized as still valid in today's Polish reportage, though different in significance and strictly associated with literary techniques of contrast and analogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the significant themes of the novel The Humiliated and the Insulted is the father’s curse, marked throughout the text by a high degree of emotionality. The novel describes two similar stories: the one of Nelly’s mother and Natasha’s. Both escaped from home, both were cursed by their fathers. However, there are also differences: while one father forgave, the other not. In the article, the theme of the father’s curse is revealed by comparing these two stories with the famous parable of the prodigal son, with which the novel presents visible parallels. The parable is presented as a standard for proper behavior, and in its comparison, we can say how the hero should have behaved and how he did in the novel. While the images of “prodigal children” recall each other, it is the behavior of parents that draws a significant difference between Dostoevsky’s plot and the parable. The presence or absence of the father’s curse is revealed as one of the main factors determining the fate of all the characters of the story.

The article examines narrative strategies in their historical dynamics. It singles out the so-called narrative worldview and the ethos of narrativity as basic parameters of a narrative strategy. Heroic legends and fairy tales inherited a precedent worldview and the ethos of peace from mythology. The post-mythological development of religious consciousness leads to a narrative strategy of the parable type that implies an imperative world model and prescriptive ethos, as implemented, for example, in the Old Testament. The narrative strategy of the New Testament stands out due to the constructive combination of the precedent worldview and a fundamentally new ethos of personal solidarity. The practice of telling jokes and ancient Greek adventure novels develop a circumstantial world model and the ethos of self-realization. Finally, the classic novel explores the probabilistic worldview and becomes a basis of several new narrative strategies that vary in their ethos.

There are parables with the names of colours in Czech that compare the “colour of people - of the human face, human skin”, of the colour of anything else to the colour of anything in naturę, of natural scenery: to the colour of plants (fiuty jako pampeliśka — as yellow as a dandelion, źluty jako citron — as yellow as a lemon / lemon coloured), to the colours of animals or birds (fiuty jako kanarek - as yellow as a canary / canary coloured) or to the colours of anything else in natural scenery (śedy jako morę - as grey as a billów, śedy jako hvezdny vecer/hvezdne nebe - as grey as an evening sky with stars), or the parables can compare the colour of the human body (face) to the colour of some things fiuty jako vosk — as yellow as a wax /, źluty jako pergamen - as yellow as vellum, źluty jako pivo - as yellow as a beer, śedy jako ocel — as grey as steel/steel-grey, śedy jako popel - as grey as ashes / cinereous). Authors of belles-lettres or of poetry using parable-comparison aROVAwith the words źluty / yellow usually depict the human visage as a symptom of illness or caducity (jeho oblićej byl źluty jako vosk - his face was yellow as wax' byl źluty jako per- gamen - he wasyellow as vellum) or they etiolate the people (zuby mel źlutejako citron - his teeth were lemon yellowed, dostał źloutenku a byl źluty jako kanarek - he suffered from jaundice and was canary coloured). Using the word śedy / grey in parable-compari- son authors sometimes depict people of nasty appearance (oblićej śedy jako prach / jako popel - face as grey as dust // as ashes / cindereous), but sometimes they picture somet- hing nice in the human appearance (pći śede jako hvezdne nebe / jako morę / jako obld- zky - eyes as grey as an evening sky with stars / billowi pebbles).

The paper presents an analysis of the persuasive use of the narrative in the Lüshi Chunqiu using approaches of rhetoric narratology and rhetorical criticism. Twenty-one narratives are identified as vehicles of indirect persuasion and put on the mimetic and thematic scales to show how their relation to reality and history corresponds to their rhetorical use in discourse. Three of those narratives, exhibiting typical traits of historical anecdotes, are analysed in detail in their original context, to prove their parabolic function. The author argues that parabolic use of the narrative, including fables and parables, but also anecdotes and historical anecdotes, forms an important part of the Warring States period tradition of political and philosophical discourse. The author further proposes to use the term “parabolic narrative” to describe all such instances of using narratives in indirect persuasion. These can be found not only in the Lüshi Chunqiu, but also in other important works of the period, such as Zhuangzi, Zhanguoce, or Han Feizi.

On its surface, Jesus’ Parable of the Talents is a simple story with four key plot elements: (1) A master is leaving on a long trip and entrusts substantial assets to three servants to manage during his absence. (2) Two of the servants invested the assets profitably, earning substantial returns, but a third servant — frightened of his master’s reputation as a hard taskmaster — put the money away for safekeeping and failed even to earn interest on it. (3) The master returns and demands an accounting from the servants. (4) The two servants who invested wisely were rewarded, but the servant who failed to do so is punished. Neither the master nor any of the servants make any appeal to legal standards, but it seems improbable that there was no background set of rules against which the story plays out. To the legal mind, the Parable thus raises some interesting questions: What was the relationship between the master and the servant? What were the servants’ duties? How do the likely answers to those questions map to modern relations, such as those of principal and agent? Curiously, however, there are almost no detailed analyses of these questions in Anglo-American legal scholarship.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19–31) has attracted many interpretations from different cultural and theological contexts. But one thread that holds most of the works together is structural disparity in human society and the reality of judgement in the afterlife. This article re-reads the parable within the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This method of re-reading the parable in this particular context (of COVID-19) is to serve two major purposes within the Nigerian and global sphere. First, it demonstrates how humans in their (dis)ingenuity try to outwit the moral and theological, and even the eschatological, import it is meant to serve. Second, it elucidates that despite human efforts to manoeuvre theological truth, the faithful should be encouraged to abide in the truth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the parable as a genre. The attention to the parable is determined by the fact that the interest in the subject does not wane, and each author, using the traditions of the genre, brings something new, acting as an innovator. The first thing that attracts our attention is the differences of the modern parable as a genre. Today there is no edification and instruction in it. It does not give a ready answer, but forces to reflect on the proposed topic. The parable easily connects with other genres of literature, deepening their meaning. In modern fiction, the popularity of the parable as a genre makes those who turn to the parable reflect on its essence, boundaries, the possibilities of their expansion or, conversely, narrowing, on the ways of genre contamination and transformation. The breadth of the application of the nomination ”parable” and the variation of judgments about its possibilities are impressive. Not only the basic features of its poetics become important, but also its additional definitions and typology. This article is based on Russian fiction of the second half of the twentieth century. First of all, in these texts one can see striking attempts of young heroes to make a complete assessment about the world around them. All conflicts are based on demonstrative protest. Functionally, the parable continues to display situations with a proposal of possible ways of solving them and indicating the consequences, and also continues to be the bearer of traditions, and the mediator of cultural relations. Our research is focused on such basic features of the genre as the need for an all­-comprehending explanation, the evaluation of human behavior, the ambivalence of the moral situation and generalizing judgments.

Subjectivity, memory, and the invisible connections between individuals’ identities are all conspicuous themes within filmmaker Shane Carruth’s two award-winning indie sci-fi films, Primer (US 2004) and Upstream Color (US 2013). In this article, I contend that both Primer and Upstream Color are post-secular cinematic parables per philosopher Paul Ricoeur’s description of parable: the conjunction of a narrative form and a metaphorical process, addressing the religious via non-religious discourse. Interpreting these two films through a Ricoeurian parabolic hermeneutic addresses their mutual transcendence in and through time and narrative via their striking visual and auditory aesthetics, the use of montage in their nonlinear narratives, and the depiction of invisible relational connections between the films’ protagonists. I conclude that Carruth’s post-secular cinema resides in an in-between space: between the secular and the religious, realism and expressionism, immanence and transcendence.

The article deals with analysis of “cuento” and “relato” genres in the latest Spanish prose. The relevance of this study is due to the lack of research on this issue in the modern Russian literary criticism. The article provides an overview of the cuento and relato genres in the latest Spanish-language literature. The subject of the study is the composition of the genre complexes cuento and relato today in Spanish-language literature based on the analysis of Spanish-language authors flash fiction collections. The author of the article shows that today the cuento genre is a genre complex that combines such genres as “fairy tale” and “anecdote”. This judgment is also supported by the fact that the Spanish term “cuento” is traditionally translated into Russian as “fairy tale” and/or “novella/short story”. In this aspect, the Spanish theory of literature runs counter to the assertion of domestic literature, according to which the antecedent of a short story is an anecdote, but not a fairy tale, since an anecdote and a fairy tale have diametrically opposite reference, creative and receptive world views. Based on the analysis of texts, collections of short fiction, the author shows that the leading role in shaping the principles of worldview Hispanic authors played magic realism which defined the modern genre of short fiction. The second genre complex “relato” consists of parables and stories, since it puts the situation of moral choice at the forefront, moving the portraits and characters of the characters, their emotional experiences to the background.

The article is dedicated to making sense of Leo Tolstoy’s work on images of the characters of the short story “Master and Man”, to analytical study of the conceptual changes made to the text by the writer. Characterising the short story’s style, the author of the article states that bright oppositions, presence of clear assessments of characters’ behavior, moral and ethical guidelines make Leo Tolstoy’s narrative somewhat parable-like, while artistic images in such a “parable” narrative are expressive. Main elements of the plot are already present in the first draft edition of the short story, but there is still lack of the heroes’ characters integrity in it. Leo Tolstoy’s work on the short story went in two directions. First, the writer paid much attention to the finale, carefully thinking through descriptions of the characters’ inner monologues and states of mind; to Vasily Brekhunov’s awareness of his former life’s falseness and illusory. Events of Vasily Andreyevich’s sudden clarification, and him saving Nikita are both presented psychologically accurately and convincing; the writer reveals the fundamental change that took place in the consciousness of Vasily Brekhunov, but the hero’s character, the way of his behaviour remain the same. Second, the writer carefully thought through all the slightest components of pictorial, seeking to create holistic and consistent images of the characters. Leo Tolstoy assessed the depth of their opposition, removed details that could distract the reader from the central idea of the short story, whereas some secondary motifs and descriptions were transformated into artistic details by him.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19–31) has attracted many interpretations from different cultural and theological contexts. But one thread that holds most of the works together is structural disparity in human society and the reality of judgement in the afterlife. This article re-reads the parable within the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This method of re-reading the parable in this particular context (of COVID-19) is to serve two major purposes within the Nigerian and global sphere. First, it demonstrates how humans in their (dis)ingenuity try to outwit the moral and theological, and even the eschatological, import it is meant to serve. Second, it elucidates that despite human efforts to manoeuvre theological truth, the faithful should be encouraged to abide in the truth.

Toponym is rich in cultural connotations, which can help human beings understand the economy, culture, geography, religion of a certain region and a certain stage. With the increasing intercultural communication, cultural exchange has been extended to people's work and life and the significance and influence of toponym in cross-cultural communication has been gradually highlighted. This paper compares the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western place name from three aspects. Due to the unity of human thought, there are similarities between Chinese and Western place names. But because of the great cultural differences between China and the West, there are also great differences in the place names. Chinese place name is more deliberate and rigorous while western people treat place name only as an accusative symbol and the naming of it is more casual and flexible. Therefore, the study of place name can provide insight into the characteristics of Chinese and Western cultures which is important for the promotion of cultural exchange. The article also considers the prospect of using information computer technologies for processing wide layers of toponymic material.

This research aimed to know the intercultural competency teaching model of Jesus (Teacher) using a parable technique based on Luke 10:25-37 to improve intercultural competence. The authors used a method of diacognitive analysis with three lenses that include dialogue, cognition and position. The results of the study have shown that the application of the parable technique can improve the competence of intercultural students (the expert in the law) towards people with different cultures (Samaritan), as well as increase the understanding and awareness that love is the basis of intercultural competence, compassion as an internal outcome and must act as an intercultural agent. The teacher's pyramid model of intercultural competence moves from love, attitude, knowledge, skill, internal outcome, external outcome and becomes an intercultural agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a reading of the parable of the Dishonest Steward from the perspective of Greco-Roman status concern. It observes that the parable has a long and complicated history of interpretation. The different approaches in the reading of the parable reveal the unresolved quest in scholarship to establish a reading of the parable that takes into account both the steward's act of generosity towards his master's debtors and the praise that follows this action. This article proposes the Greco-Roman status concern as a framework for understanding the meaning of the parable in its original context. Status concern was the spirit of tenacity in maintaining one's status and honour against all odds characteristic of Greco-Roman honour and shame culture. The article argues that when the parable is read within its literary context, it reveals that at the heart of Jesus' message in the parable is the theme of persistence as an attribute of authentic discipleship. This understanding of the parable resonates with the entrenched Greco-Roman spirit of status concern. The interpretation would also have been relevant to Luke's Greco-Roman auditors living on the periphery of the Greco-Roman culture with the constant pressures to conform to the ethos of the larger social context. The steward's resolve to maintain his status even in the most difficult circumstances provided a paradigm for those Christ-followers to remain steadfast in the faith against all odds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Struldbrugs episode occupies Chapter X at the end of Part III of Gulliver’s Travels. It features Immortals while Gulliver is in Luggnagg. It has often been read as an almost autonomous episode, and sometimes described as a fable. But it is nonetheless integrated into a narrative that has its own logic and structure. Its narrative construction leads to a reading that is different from that of Gulliver within the text. The philosophical reflection on death and immortality is inserted at a point that makes sense in the general economy of the work. Probably written last, the episode is set in a double time, in and out of a narrative sequence, within a travel narrative and outside a sequence of adventures. The Struldbrugs ultimately evoke the characters of literature, both mortal and immortal.

This research was inspired by the anniversaries of Algirdas Julius Greimas, Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas and Kęstutis Nastopka that encouraged rethinking the relationship with tradition, while viewing it from several perspectives: biographical-cultural links, reception of classical literature, and history of Lithuanian semiotics. The paper reviews the works of semioticians’, analysing Vaižgantas’ oeuvre, attempting to find the trajectory of the evolving Lithuanian semiotic tradition in the most representative examples. It also presents a new interpretation of Vaižgantas’ novella, “Dėdės ir Dėdienės” (“Uncles and aunts”, 1929), while searching for the mythological reasons behind the motivations for its characters’ choices and referring to the arch-plot of Perkūnas-Velnias-Laumė. The entanglement of the planes of the hierogamy (the holy marriage) isotopy and the biblical one allows for interpreting this novella as a variation of the Exodus Myth. The problematics of parable discourse is exposed in considering the question of Vaižgantas’ semiotic originality.

This research aimed to know the intercultural competency teaching model of Jesus (Teacher) using a parable technique based on Luke 10:25–37 to improve intercultural competence. The authors used a method of diacognitive analysis with three lenses that include dialogue, cognition and position. The results of the study have shown that the application of the parable technique can improve the competence of intercultural students (the expert in the law) towards people with different cultures (Samaritan), as well as increase the understanding and awareness that love is the basis of intercultural competence, compassion as an internal outcome and must act as an intercultural agent. The teacher’s pyramid model of intercultural competence moves from love, attitude, knowledge, skill, internal outcome, external outcome and becomes an intercultural agent. Contribution: Research on Luke 10:25–37 has shown that the parable technique can improve students’ intercultural competence based on love and compassion. Teachers can apply parable techniques to attract, encourage, and stimulate the student’s active involvement to think critically and perform interpretations to discover the real truth in the context of cultural differences.