Prodigal Son/Fatted Calf

Davis RaynorA.P. English IVWilkerson – 1

Parable of the Lost Son

Jesus taught many examples through short stories known as parables.

In The Parable of the Lost Son a wealthy land owner/farmer had two sons.

One day the younger son asked for his share of his father’s inheritance early, so he could use it to explore the world on his own.

The father agreed, and soon the son moved to a distant land where he wasted all of his money living in sin.

Around the same time all of his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land and he was left to starve.

Parable of the Lost Son

He persuaded a local farmer to hire him as a pig feeder, but soon became so hungry the pigs’ food began to look good, as he was given nothing to eat.

He soon realized the consequences of his greediness and returned home.

He repented his sins to his father and to God, even begging his father to hire him as a servant.

His father did not reject him, however, and welcomed him home with open arms.

Parable of the Lost Son

His father told the servants to bring the finest robe and the brightest jewelry to put on his son. He also told them to kill the calf they had been fattening to celebrate with a feast.

The older son was extremely upset, confused as to why his father would forgive his brother when he had been loyal and done everything his father had ever asked.

His father told him “Everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!”

Fatted Calf

Fatted calf is a most often a metaphor or symbol of festive celebration and rejoicing for someone's long-awaited return.

In biblical times, people would often keep at least one piece of livestock that was fed a special diet to fatten it up, thus making it more flavorful when prepared as a meal.

Slaughtering this livestock was to be done on rare and special occasions. Thus when the prodigal son returns, the father "kills the fatted calf" to show that the celebration is out of the ordinary.

It can also be a symbol of one’s reward after repenting for their sins and returning to a righteous path. Much like God will reward all those who follow him in Heaven.

Allusions

The Prodigal Son by Rudyard Kipling"...So back I go to my job again,

Not so easy to rob again,

Or quite so ready to sob again

On any neck that's around.

I'm leaving, Pater. Good-bye to you!

God bless you, Mater! I'll write to you!

I wouldn't be impolite to you,

But, Brother, you are a hound!"

Tom Joad returning home in The Grapes of Wrath

Pip leaving home and returning in Charles Dickens' Great Expectations.

In the Irish folk song "The Wild Rover" ("I'll go home to me parents, confess what I've done / and I'll ask them to pardon their prodigal son").

Iron Maiden recorded a song titled "Prodigal Son.”

The Irish rap group House of Pain references the parable in one of the verses of their song, "Jump Around".

Henri Nouwen's 1992 book, The Return of the Prodigal Son, A Story of Homecoming,

Themes/What to look for

Generally someone who leaves home to lead a dissolute life and regretfully returns home is considered a “ prodigal son. ”

Sibling jealousy

Forgiveness

Redemption

Fatherly/parental love

Celebration

Someone who is lost and then finds their way home

Wealth used for sin/debauchery

Works Cited

"Biblical Allusions." Infoplease. Infoplease, 2007. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

"Prodigal Love for the Prodigal Son." The Spurgeon Archive. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

"Story of the Prodigal Son." Heart - AllAboutHeart.org. 2002. Web. 25 Oct. 2010.

Andrew Keith Malcolm Adam, Postmodern Interpretations of the Bible: A reader,

Chalice Press, 2001, p. 202-203.

Rembrandt. The Prodigal Son. 1669. The Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

Rembrandt Painting. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

Van Honthorst, Gerard. Parable of the Prodigal Son. 1623. Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

Web. 25 Oct. 2014.