In Parables

[Otto]

IN PARABLES: TEACHING THROUGH PARABLES
JOHN J. BONSIGNORE
University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Legal Studies Forum
Volume 12, Number 1 (1988)

"Walter Lacklustre had not been the best student who has ever appeared on a
college quadrangle. He had continued, with less and less success, to use old
high school formulas - wide margins, blank pages at the front and back of
every paper beyond two pages, and the clear plastic
I-Love-You-Teacher-and-Find-This-Assignment-One-Of-The-Best-I-
Have-Ever-Had covers on all projects. His writing usually began, "There are
many possible interpretations that can be made ..."  but despite the
surfeit, he usually came up with none, claiming a lack of space. Suddenly
his papers had depth. Not only did myriad explanations follow his assurances
that there were many ways to look at a question, but also he added almost
lyrical imagery to enliven the usual soldierly slogging through evidence.
His teacher was heartened by the change while suspecting a ghost writer.
An explanation surfaced when a dog that had been trained to sniff out
marijuana became highly agitated in Walter's presence. Looking closely at
the pupils of Walter's eyes the teacher asked, "Have you been using
parables?" Later, when the police searched Walter's room, they found
parabolic paraphernalia - a lamp, a desk board, a pad and a pen. On the pad
was a short story that ended mid-sentence; Walter did not have time to flush
it down the toilet when the police came. Under Walter's bed they found
thirty copies of Kafka's Parables and Paradoxes and twenty Parables of
Kierkegaard that have a quadrangle value of $50,000. In the week following
the raid, the bookstore reported a run on clear plastic folders and yellow
felt highlighters. The president congratulated the police on the full
restoration of order to the campus. (...)"
http://www.law.utexas.edu/lpop/etext/lsf/bonsignore12.htm

Pynchon-mention at the end of the essay.

Otto