01.02 LA Assignment.l  Florida Virtual School LANGUAGE ARTS 4367

01.02 Perspectives and Themes Worksheet
Complete all activities using the Japanese folktale “The Aged Mother.” The full text is included below.
Part 1: Tracking Themes in “The Aged Mother”
Read “The Aged Mother.” Then, select two topics and track their development through the text using the chart
below. Answer in complete sentences and use examples from the story in your response.
Steps to Tracking Theme
Topic #1:
filial piety
Topic #2:
decrepitude
Character
● What are the views and
attitude of the character(s)
toward the topic?
● How do these views and
attitudes change from
beginning to end?
● How does the character
change from beginning to end?
At the beginning of the story the king,
in imposing his rule shows he does
not care much for the traditional
belief in filial piety.
The son believes deeply in filial piety
but is afraid for his own life.
The king's attitude changes 180
degrees from beginning to end.
The son increases in belief in filial
piety from the beginning to end.
The king hates decrepitude so much
that he enforces a law that all
elderly people should be killed.
The son sees decrepitude as a
weakness to be tolerated but not
appreciated.
The king is able to see the benefits
of old age and weakness instead of
the ugliness of old age.
The son’s attitude towards
decrepitud changes so much that he
is willing to risk his own life to save
his mother