Do you remember the unusual word "parabola"? What does it mean and where did you last encounter it?
If someone forgot, this term is found in mathematics, and in the literature parabola also exists. True, the meaning in two different subjects is significantly different.
For those who first encountered this term or forgot its meaning, the article proposed further will help to recognize it or to remember. It will focus more on the use of the term “parabola” in the literature.
What does the word “parabola” mean?
The explanatory dictionary compiled by the famous Russian linguist Dmitry Nikolayevich Ushakov represents the following two definitions:
- This definition is used in mathematics. This is the name of an infinite canonical curve having an axis passing through its center. It is formed from points remote from the axis by the same distance. And such a curve is built on the basis of a mathematical function.
- Literature (both Russian and foreign) also uses the concept of “parabola” very often. And in this case it denotes a story (small volume) of allegorical or figurative meaning. The narrative in it begins with unimportant details and gradually moves to the main thing, after which it returns to the original theme. Such stories are distinguished by a similar design, the structure of the text that moves, as if in a parabola. In addition, a parabolic story must certainly be instructive.
Parabola Feature
Parabola is a fascinating literature, because parabola stories are rather unusual both in structure and content. The most amazing thing is that you can read them both between the lines - in a figurative value, or in direct.
And the thread of the narrative is not lost, regardless of whether you delve into the hidden meaning or not. After all, parabolas are arranged in such a way that the reading is twofold. This is facilitated by the special attraction of such stories to symbolism, which allows for various reading options.
How parabola developed
Literature containing the first mention of the parabola came from the pen of Aristotle. Later, the Stoics will also talk about this term, then parabolas are widely used in the New Testament and many other sources.
In Russian literature, this term comes under Peter I. When he “cut a window into Europe,” overseas culture quickly encompassed all branches of Russian culture. And, of course, literature was no exception. She also succumbed to the active influence of new trends.
The Russian language also adopted a lot from overseas countries. Earlier in it, the word “parable” was similar in its meaning to a parabola, and after the invasion of European culture it also changed to the one that was widespread in Europe.
What is a parable?
A parable, like a parabola, is a genre in literature. A parable is a short story in which a teaching is certainly contained. However, the parable does not have a detailed description of the characters and the place in which the events take place, and the plot itself in it is quite crumpled.
This feature of the story is necessary in order to carry out the important task of the parable - to convey the main idea. That is why events, heroes are just the background, they do not play a leading role in the work. And they serve to better remember the moral of the story.
The difference between the Russian parable and the European parabola
Of course, in Russian you rarely see the word "parabola" when it comes to literature. Most often, this term is used in mathematics. Therefore, if a given word appears in a conversation, the first association that comes to mind is a function depicted in the graph as a canonical curve.
The Russian people are accustomed to replacing the compound word analyzed in this article with a synonymous word - a parable. And, in general, there is no fundamental difference between the two terms. But still parabola (literature) is somewhat different from the parable.
This difference is elementary, and once you understand it, you will remember it forever. So, in the parable, the leading role is played by the symbolic plan, and in the parabola both direct meaning and figurative are extremely important.
Parabola: examples
Literature (Russian and foreign) contains a large number of fascinating and unusual stories constructed in this way. If you want to not only learn what a parabola is, but also to see its structure, to delve into the secret and “lying on the surface” meaning, you will be interested in the following authors:
- Ernest Hemingway.
- Franz Kafka.
- Vasil Bykov.
- Abe Kobo.
- Chingiz Aitmatov.
Recommended reading: Ernest Hemingway’s parabola “The Old Man and the Sea”
In this story, the narration is from a third party, the main character is an old man. He spends his days fishing on his own boat.
The story begins with a lonely old man meeting a boy and teaching him how to handle gear. But the parents of the child claim that the old man is unlucky, and therefore do not allow his child to communicate with him.
As a result, the old man again goes fishing all alone. And one day he comes across an excellent catch - a huge fish. The old man does not have enough strength to pull her out, but he does not give up, continuing to fight for a future dinner.
Time passes, the old man’s hands are worn out in blood, and a tired fish stops rushing from side to side, and a person can stick a harpoon into it to drag him into the boat. But he is very exhausted, and therefore only manages to hit the fish. She begins to bleed, which one by one shark is sailing for, biting off a piece of the fisherman’s prey.
The old man fights bravely, however, predators retreat only when only the skeleton remains from the fish. And he returns home with nothing.
But this is only the direct meaning of the story. If you want to know its hidden meaning - read “The Old Man and the Sea”!