Reading Notes: The Man in the Moon

I really enjoyed the theme of longing for something other in "The Man in the Moon." 

The story begins with a blacksmith who is discontent with his current life. He does not wish for something better necessarily, just different. He says “I am not well, and my work is too warm. I want to be a stone on the mountain. There it must be cool, for the wind blows and the trees give a shade.” After this declaration, a man with the ability to do so made him a stone.

Being a stone wouldn't necessarily be better than being a blacksmith, it's just the option that solves his least favorite thing about his current condition. He hates how warm his work environment is and wants to escape it, thus wishing to be a stone.

However, being a stone presents its own challenges. A stonecutter comes to cut the stone that used to be the man and brings the stone great pain. He cries out that he no longer wants to be a stone due to the pain, and that being a stonecutter would be much better for him. The wise man humored him and made him a stonecutter.

He soon grew tired of the manual labor in his new form and wished to be the sun, he then became the sun. Bur being the sun presented the same issue that being a blacksmith presented, it was much too warm. He then wished to be the moon, because, compared to the sun, it looked cool. 

The wise man made him the moon and he complained once more, saying the moon was even warmer than the sun because the sun was shining directly on it. He yearned for his original life as a blacksmith, wishing to go back. However, the wise man was done changing him, concluding that he wished to be the moon and he will remain the moon. 

(moon by ravensong75)

The man in this story goes through each life longing for something else. He was never content in his present situation, always trying to solve each problem by running away from it, going to a new life. However, each life presented its own problems, many worse than those in his previous forms. He wished away his problems too many times, instead of confronting them, and ended up in a position worse than he started in. The wise man was tired of granting him wishes and eventually stopped, leaving him stuck with his own choices.

The main point of this story is to make peace with your present situation and face your problems directly instead of running away from them. It is only then that you will find true happiness.

Bibliography. "The Man in the Moon" from Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson. Web Source.