Story. In an office setting, people are discussing about a new project. An employee sits there and listens to the discussion, but gives little input. The other employees noticed that she barely contributes in every meeting. While she is lost in writing and thought, they all turn towards her and ask, “So, do you have any ideas?” She agrees with someone’s idea without giving much details, and they decide not to pressure her further. However, they continue the meeting, suggesting bizarre ideas.
They all snickered inside. This was their plan all along. They wanted her to shoulder most of the work because of her little input in previous meetings. They did not care if this little meeting failed. They needed her to provide useful input. They needed her to pull her weight. Also, the meetings they had were unofficial, little meetings. In the real meetings, they would surely come up with sensible ideas.
The quiet employee was surprised by their bizarre ideas, but she continued on with writing. Little did they know what she was facing at home. Her child was severely sick. She discussed about her inability to focus on work with her boss, but her boss asked her to continue working. He knew her potential from her past work experience, and he believed in her abilities.
During the two next brainstorming meetings, the others have tried to pressure the quiet employee to talk. The timid employee’s son got better as well. She got more focused and grasped the project quickly. For the next meeting, the timid employee prepared her astounding idea. When the others questioned her, like the other meetings, she told them her idea. They were very surprised and happy. They finally warmed up to her. Later in the meeting, she apologized for her lack of input and told them that her son has been sick but was on the way of recovery. After the successful project, they all celebrated.
Author's Note. I used the Aesop Fable, The Belly and the Members. The fable focused on a person's body parts that could think and make decisions. In the fable, the belly did nothing while members worked. After figuring that out, the other body parts went on a strike. The strike resulted in the other body parts being weak after a while, and they soon found out that belly was useful after all. I decided to change my story to a real life setting. I thought of a similar story line to the original, and things changed from there.
Bibliography. "The Belly and the Members" from the Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs. Web source.
You did a good job preserving the writing style typical of fables like those of Aesop. I liked that you rewrote the story to be in a modern-day setting, because it makes it more relateable.
ReplyDeleteFor notes, the story could have been improved by giving the quiet employee a name. Names make characters more lifelike and give the reader something to grasp onto. Overall I enjoyed your story and thought you did a good job!
I also like how you updated the setting of the tale to an office setting, making it more plausible and less abstract than having various body parts. It was good that you told us which fable it was, though. I didn't recognize it! I like that you chose a lesser-known fable.
ReplyDeleteIt was also interesting that you started off the tale in present tense. It was fun that you chose to do something slightly stylistically different than the normal.