Fable
The story in this chap book can be described as a fable, as it anthropomorphizes animals and gives them not only human abilities but also arranges them in a human setting, a court. The individual animals also fall into their usual roles given to them in other fables, such as the lion as the leader or the dogs as thieves. While the story does not end with a succinct moral saying, the whole tale bears a strong moral for the audience, mostly consisting out of rural population. It is wrong to mistreat your animals. The freedom of the ox in the end shows that constant cruelty is considered enough to deserve death.
Animal Abuse
The main theme of the story is clearly animal abuse. The drover in the story shows inhumane cruelty towards his animal, which he considers below him. This behavior is then expanded on the whole of humanity and their cruel actions towards animals. The animal court decides in favor of the ox, who is judged for the murder, but respected for his resilience. The moral of the story is to avoid any form of animal cruelty.
Justice
As the story is set entirely in an animal court, the justice system is a strong theme of the story. The way the animals are arranged, with a judge at the head, witnesses giving their evidence and some sort of lawyer in the tiger is directly imitating a human court. The concept of justice itself is also questioned. While the animal court sees murder as a crime, the inhumane treatment of the ox lessens the verdict to manslaughter with some very light punishment. The mental health of the ox during his time with the drover is considered to be affected enough to not be accountable for his actions.
The effects of torture
The torture of the ox in the story is a minor theme that changes the verdict from murder to manslaughter. The ox had to endure intense physical punishment which broke his mind. It was in this state of insanity that he committed the murder, relieving him of direct responsibility. This effect of physical torture over a longer period of time on the mind is also something that has been seen with human victims in war camps.
