DragonOfTheAerie
Vala
I'm wholly confused by the way designation of good or evil is assigned to talking animal species in children's books and other media.
Mice: Good
Rats: Evil
Wolves: Usually Evil, but wherever they're portrayed as Good they're Lawful Good, a Noble Savage kind of thing.
Foxes: Chaotic Neutral
Cats: Usually evil or at least completely self-serving
Lions: Good
Bears: Good
Dogs: Good, except Dobermans, which are Evil
Frogs: Good
Snakes: Evil
Turtles: Good
(as reptiles go lizards are for the most part weirdly absent)
Insects: Almost all considered Good, which is weird considering that most people hate or at least are slightly uncomfortable with bugs. Worms and snails are also Good.
I guess herbivores are generally good and carnivores evil, which is kind of a simplistic way to see the natural world, but I don't understand why bears are almost universally portrayed as good, as are lions, when both have killed people and do eat meat. Maybe this has more to do with which animals are predators of typical animal protagonists. Idk.
I'm also confused about why certain animals are anthropomorphized more commonly than others. Why mice? Why so many anthropomorphized mice? And rabbits? Why rabbits?
They're also anthropomorphized to different degrees based on species. A rabbit or frog will wear clothes and walk on two legs like a human. A wolf, sheep, robin or horse won't walk on two legs. Maybe that's harder to rationalize.
Why am i thinking about this?
Mice: Good
Rats: Evil
Wolves: Usually Evil, but wherever they're portrayed as Good they're Lawful Good, a Noble Savage kind of thing.
Foxes: Chaotic Neutral
Cats: Usually evil or at least completely self-serving
Lions: Good
Bears: Good
Dogs: Good, except Dobermans, which are Evil
Frogs: Good
Snakes: Evil
Turtles: Good
(as reptiles go lizards are for the most part weirdly absent)
Insects: Almost all considered Good, which is weird considering that most people hate or at least are slightly uncomfortable with bugs. Worms and snails are also Good.
I guess herbivores are generally good and carnivores evil, which is kind of a simplistic way to see the natural world, but I don't understand why bears are almost universally portrayed as good, as are lions, when both have killed people and do eat meat. Maybe this has more to do with which animals are predators of typical animal protagonists. Idk.
I'm also confused about why certain animals are anthropomorphized more commonly than others. Why mice? Why so many anthropomorphized mice? And rabbits? Why rabbits?
They're also anthropomorphized to different degrees based on species. A rabbit or frog will wear clothes and walk on two legs like a human. A wolf, sheep, robin or horse won't walk on two legs. Maybe that's harder to rationalize.
Why am i thinking about this?