Talking animals in fiction

Fictional talking animals often are anthropomorphic, possessing human-like qualities (such as bipedal walking, wearing clothes, and living in houses).

Conversely, fantastical and more anthropomorphic animals are often found in the fairy tale, science fiction, toy story, and fantasy genres.

[1] Animals are used in a variety of ways in fictional works including to illustrate morality lessons for children, to instill wonder in young readers,[1] and as a tool for inserting social commentary.

[1] Finally, fictional works with talking animals challenge the human-animal divide and they identify children as the members of society who take on the responsibility of being ecological/environmental changemakers.

[4] More recent fables like Sarah Trimmer’s History of the Robins (1786) use talking animals to instruct children on how to behave in society as well as how to maintain the social order.

A notable example from the Judaeo-Christian tradition is the talking serpent from the Book of Genesis, which tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

[5] For example, it is a hoopoe (a bird native to Africa, Asia, and Europe) that tells King Solomon of Queen Sheba’s idolatrous ways.

[6] Other examples of Native American works with talking animal stories include How I Became a Ghost, Keepers of the Earth, and The Orphan and the Polar Bear, just to name a few.

Animal fictions with more conservation-oriented themes allow young readers to engage with challenging messages at a safe distance.

[4] For some authors talking animals, rather than human characters, allowed them to publish their satirical commentary by protecting them from censure.

[citation needed] Whether shape-shifted or merely having the magical ability to speak, the talking creature is perhaps the most common trait of fairy tales.

[10] A good example of the science fiction genre is the webcomic Anima: Age of the Robots which uses anthropomorphism to portray an alternate world as modern as ours, but inhabited by creature-lookalikes.

[citation needed] Animated toys in fictional works are popular for expressing human developmental and existential concerns.

[11] Another common motif is the religious allusion to divine creation when humans create toys that come alive.