Final Project, Part 1

For my final project, I want to reinterpret Aesop’s fable “The Astronomer”. It is a short tale about a man, aka the astronomer, who goes out every evening to observe the stars. He does so because he is trying to read the future in the stars. However, on one night of his usual walks, he is so distracted looking up at the sky as he walks that he fails to notice his surroundings and falls into a well full with mud and water. His screams when falling alearted the villagers – neighbors – and they came running to help. They helped pull him out of the well as one of them said: “You pretend to read the future in the stars, and yet you fail to see what is at your feet! This may teach you to pay more attention to what is right in front of you, and let the future take care of itself.” 

The moral of the story is to focus on the now rather than waste the moment thinking about the future. And in the literal sense, if you don’t pay attention to your surroundings, accidents may occur. I chose this fable because I believe the message is valuable to everyone, in all ages, and in most situations. We live in a society that at times is too focused on the future, we miss living in the moment. For example, at a group hangout, one or more people can be too distracted and focused on photographing every minute of the day, from the food to activity, that they miss out on joining in the fun, etc. 

For my version of this fable, I’m giving it a more realistic outlook. The changes I will be making are regarding the setting and activity. Instead of being located in the suburbs, it will be located in the city. And instead of the man distracted by looking up at the stars that he falls down into a well, I want the man to be distracted by taking a photograph on his phone of the stars – more like the skyline because the stars can’t be seen in the city – that he fails to notice the open cellar door as he walks down the sidewalk and so he falls down. The last change will be for the villagers and especially the person that lectures the astronomer about paying attention, to make it fit the city vibe, I will add a character walking down the sidewalk as well, and this man shouts for the “astronomer” to be careful right as he’s falling into the cellar.

Link to fable : http://read.gov/aesop/100.html