The+Pooh+Way+Thematic+Analysis+JinK

=Thematic Analysis =

Theme/Concept of Wu Wei
This section of the book deals with the concept of Wu Wei. Wu Wei in basic terms means carrying out actions without egotistical aims and effort. A good example lies in the book. The example deals with a river and the flow of its stream. The stream doesn’t avoid the rocks in its path but simply lets them be

and flows around them without any particular effort or movement, otherwise known as the natural order. Like the Taoist religion itself, the concepts of Wu Wei also deals with any if not at least minimal effort, and of course the idea that everything gets finished one way or another is also included in this section of The Tao of Pooh.

Natural Order
Another one of the major themes in Taoist belief; is leaving everything in their natural place, and everything will be directly decided by nature. Thus, another major theme is the disappearance of stress and struggle. This is because the concept of Wu Wei believes that everything will eventually occur naturally, so there is no point in trying to change the future. In the final story of this section, the story of Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore’s birthday is used in order to present this theme. The story unfolds as Pooh and Piglet get an empty honey jar and a balloon to give to Eeyore. But later, Piglet ends up popping the balloon. Despite this fact, Pooh arrives just in time and tells Eeyore that his jar can be used in order to keep the popped balloon inside. Although unexpected, everything worked out in this story, which is precisely one of the key ideas behind the concept of Wu Wei. The book simply metaphorically states that the pegs only fit in circular holes and square-shaped pegs only fit in square-shaped holes.



In "The Pooh Way," Pooh, Piglet, and Rabbit all attempt to help Eeyore out of the water. Pooh agrees on doing so by throwing rocks so that the ripples caused by the same rocks would be able to push Eeyore closer to land. The plan succeeds, but what is even more interesting is the pride that Rabbit takes in his intelligence. Cleverness has its limitations, and in this case, Rabbit uses success to feel pride. In addition, he thinks that his intelligence gives him authority and it is his actions that bring success. This idea is a complete deviation from the the idea of the natural order. The book uses this comparison in order to state that Wu Wei doesn’t explain why things are done a certain way but are simply done.

Trying Too Hard & Futile Attempts
Since Wu Wei places at least some partial focus on no stress and struggle. In this section of the book, the theme of trying too hard seems to present itself. This theme deals with people more specifically than anything else. The theme included tells the reader that trying too hard will get him/her nowhere, and his/her efforts will in the end, result to be futile. This is because since everything works out naturally, there is no need to feel the need to alter things and work extra hard, almost as if the future is already set. Since everything is bound to happen a certain way anyway, why should anyone attempt to put in any effort at all?