The aged mother

The famous Japanese story, The Aged Mother is a story about a long time ago, where there was a  cruel, coldhearted leader that made all old people banished and exiled to a mountain. So in the story, The aged mother’s son brought her up to the mountain but when the mother shows him how much she loves him and cares for him, the son decides to bring her down from the mountain. As you can see, we can clearly identify that the theme is about mother’s Love. The big idea for this story is for the author to reflect on how a mother’s love is so powerful it can change an event.

In the story, The Aged Mother, by Matsuo Basho the author, believes that the mother’s love can be very impactful. For example in paragraph 5, the mother says: “The mountain road is full of dangers. Look carefully and follow the path which holds the piles of twigs. They will guide you to the familiar path farther down.” As you can see, the mother placed leaves during the hike, so the son can get down the mountain safely. This action caused the son to bring her back down to the house. Which is clear evidence about how a mother’s love can change an event. Another example of how the mother’s love can be very impactful is when the emperor orders the people to make a rope of ashes. The son faces this problem but then the mother said: “Make rope of twisted straw, then stretch it upon a row of flat stones and burn it on a windless night.” As you can see, the mother loves her son so she decides to help him.