Summary+of+the+Chapter

Summary of Cottleston Pie Philip Jeong

The chapter Cottleston Pie discusses about the Inner Nature and limitation of men’s Clevernese. The chapter began with Kanga and Roo moving in to the Forest as new inhabitants where Rabbit lived. Rabbit was symbolize men’s Cleverness, and Rabbit disliked the new inhabitants only because they were different. In spite of Rabbit's attempt to get rid of them by using his clever methods, he failed. The failure showed how being clever still has limits while Inner Nature is invincible against cleverness. Hoff explains how Inner Nature cannot be straightly defined but he uses the poem 'Cottleston Pie' to replace the difficult explanation. In the poem, 'Cottleston Pie' simply meant Inner Nature.

 Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie, A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly. Ask me a riddle and I reply "Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie."

Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie, A fish can't whistle and neither can I. Ask me a riddle and I reply "Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie."

Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie, Why does a chicken, I don't know why. Ask me a riddle and I reply "Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie."   There are many parts of the song that relate to Inner Nature. First of all, ‘A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly’ means that all people have their own roles and places in the society because they have their own unique Inner Natures. If there is a change or disturb in the society, it can ruin the society like how the phrase ‘a fly can’t bird’ does not make sense. Hoff expanded this view in ‘A fly can’t bird, but a bird can fly. Very simple. It’s obvious isn’t it? And yet you’d be surprised how many people violate this simple principle everyday of their lives and try to fit square pegs into round holes, ignoring the clear reality that Things Are Like They Are’(pg. 39). The quote reflected how people always try things that are not their roles in the society. ‘A fish can't whistle and neither can I’ goes further from the line that was previously explained stating that there are limitations to everyone, like how a fish can not whistle. The last important line ‘Why does a chicken, I don't know why’ just simply means that if there is something you cannot answer with your ability from Inner Nature, it is fine to just not know. Each person has special Inner Natures and different abilities, so not knowing something is not a problem. On the other hand, Tigger was an example of someone who did now know his place in the society. However, Hoff also reflected upon the idea of improvement in 'That doesn’t mean that we need to stop changing and improving. It just means that we need to recognize What’s There. If you face the fact that you have weak muscles, then you can do things to eventually become strong. But if you ignore What’s There and try to lift someone’s car out of a ditch, what sort of condition will you be in after a while? The wise know their limitations; the foolish do not’ (pg. 43). <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Hoff wanted to emphasis the fact that he did not mean people should only live in a set life, but to improve as well as long as it is in the limit. Anyhow using these various metaphors such as the ones from the song, Hoff explained how unique Inner Natures result in each person having his or her place in society, each person having various limitations, and each person not knowing some things.



Sources "Cottleston Pie:A poem from the original Pooh Bear book by A. A. Milne." //Lair2000//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://lair2000.net/Pooh_Poetry/poetry/Cottleston_Pie.html>.

"Winnie the Pooh." //Penguin Group (USA)//. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/yr/minisites/winniethepooh/characters.html>.

QUESTIONS

10. What is the difference between “cleverness” and “Inner Nature?” (38) Cleverness has limitations because it is made by human, but inner nature values the things as they are and the decisions are made mostly from experiences.

11. Why is it important to discern your own Inner Nature? (41) Discerning my own Inner Nature is important because we are often pushed away from inner nature by cleverness and make wrong choices. When you know and respect your own Inner Nature along with cleverness, you know what to do.

12. Explain Hoff’s interpretation of the Chinese quote: “One disease, long life; No disease, short life.” (48) This quote simply means that when one experiences diseases, he gets to learn what is wrong within his body from experience. From this experience, one can learn his limitations and live not exceeding them. On the other hand, people who are always healthy will often neglect their limitations. Therefore, they will often do things that are beyond their abilities that can be harmful and doing so will result in shorter lives. In conclusion, Hoff's interpretation of the quote was that of one knows his or her limitations through experience and know what to do in these difficult situations would to live longer than those who neglect their weakness.

13. What does Hoff mean when he states that we must learn to “work with Things As They Are?” (50) Hoff meant that we should try other ways other than science to find solutions and accept more questions. For more questions, one should find the answer naturally and "work with Things As They Are, " because it can benefit you since you are respecting and examining details of everything.

14. What happens to people who do not listen to their Inner Nature? (57) These who do not listen to their Inner Nature will never reach the level of Wu Wei and have difficulties when he or she faces an obstacle. Not understanding themselves naturally will result in getting heavily influenced by only what others say instead of freely thinking and doing.

15. What is the Way of Self-Reliance? (57-8) The Way of Self-Reliance is the way of recognizing who we are, what we have to work with, and believe in ourselves. It is important since one must use this to enhance oneself in various aspects and reach more goals in life.

16. How can we change ourselves effectively through the principles of Taoism? (58) We can change ourselves effectively through the principles of Taoism by opening Inner Nature and being adapted to things going naturally. Furthermore, The Way of Self-Reliance leads us to learn more about ourselves through the principles of Taoism. Knowing our Inner nature helps us by teaching our limitations and making us improve slowly as better people.