Twentieth-century philosopher Paul Ricoeur believes that parables should be understood "as metaphorical narratives." While they often refer to the commonplace and understandable aspects of life in first-century Judea, parables also contain "clues" that suggest we should attempt a metaphorical rather than literal reading. They are ordinary stories that lead to extraordinary conclusions: their very nature of the parable leads the reader (or hearer) to an epistemological shock that newly explains the world and leads to a new way of seeing. Or so he says.

The stories, simultaneously fictional and instructional, direct our way toward good action and proper behavior. They may do it through a positive or negative exemplar (modeling or its reverse) or through paradoxical revelation. They also bring to mind the prosaic  storytelling of the fable. In many ways, these brief readings touch upon almost every concept and theme of our class readings so far. Issues of piety, reason, faith, and good government are mentioned, if not always detailed, in interesting and vital ways. The RSV translation is also (comparatively) straightforward and understandable.

For this essay you will concentrate on one of these parables in the Gospel of Luke (some may be more familiar to you than others):

The Two Debtors (Luke 7:36-50)
The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37)
The Importunate Friend (Luke 11:5-13)
The Rich Fool (Luke 12:16-21)
The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
The Unrighteous Steward (Luke 16:1-13)
The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)
The Unrighteous Judge (Luke 18:1-8)
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14)

These passages document various kinds of Christian virtue, by the way. The latter parables are worth considering: you should take a look at their relatively short sections.

Your essay will be essentially a critique of the Biblical material. A critique does not necessarily "criticize" a text so much as engage with it, noting strengths and difficulties of another's arguments. As you know other, similar class texts, there may not be very much difficulty in determining what aspect of the Gospel's recounting that you wish to analyze.

The critique structure follows something like this:

1. An introductory paragraph or section that makes your topic, plan, and thesis apparent.

2. A summary of the vital important aspects of the parable's apparent argument or lessen (depending on which of the sections above you have chosen). This needs to be accurate. It should be in your own words for the most part (limited direct quotation is allowed).

3. Several body paragraphs analyzing specific points, aspects, or consequences suggested by the parable. For this section, you will also draw in other texts that you have read for this class. This is the most important part of the essay.

4. A concluding paragraph or section that established a sense of value and purpose for the essay.

Be sure to read the assigned New Testament material as a starting point for your essay. Think about the connections between this text and the others that we have read. Those connections may be what you wish to explore.

An obvious connection can be found in the work you have already done with Aristotle and the New Testament. Using this material is encouraged, but I also invite you to move beyond the Bible and the Nicomachean Ethics toward some of the other works we have read.

This essay does not require research, but you may choose to do some. You will have to document all sources, primary and secondary. I know that there is a lot of material on the Bible freely available; do not use material that you do not credit. Paraphrase is no excuse.

You should make sure that your work is not merely the summary of any source: this is not a report. You will use the class texts specifically, by means of citation and direct quotation. Please use some kind of parenthetic citation for this project, no matter what sources or texts you use; APA or MLA will do. Please provide the word count either at the beginning or end of your document.