Throughout Thus Spoke Zarathustra Nietzsche explains a very nuanced philosophical position on truth (pp. 102-103), and morality (pp. 212-213). Nietzsche does this through a character called Zarathustra, who is a pseudo-prophet who endeavors to teach others about his worldview. Zarathustra’s core philosophy is one of meritocracy and transience (pp 119-121). Zarathustra is generally trying to convince people that they need to think for themselves, and challenge their existing worldviews, even those espoused by “authorities” (p. 52, pp. 101-102), or that have been held for a long time (p. 198). Nietzsche employs a heavy use of the format of parable. The entire narrative itself is a parable, but also there are many smaller parables the character Zarathustra employs in his teachings. Unlike the typical format of a religious parable however, Nietzsche consistently uses Zarathustra to tell almost sacrilegious, or satirical religious parables to express his views. For example, early on Zarathustra talks about becoming a “lion in the loneliest dessert” who stands up to the “dragon of thou shalt” (pp. 26-27). In this passage Zarathustra is using very tongue and cheek language as a way of saying that allowing your ideas to flourish on their own will force you to have the courage (pp. 158-160) to “battle” with the mores and ideas you previously held. This extends even to religious beliefs that are held and will necessarily be challenged during this metamorphosis (p. 205). The rejection, or even rebellion to the appeal of the numinous within religious doctrine often collides directly with much of the philosophy that Zarathustra teaches (p. 33). Zarathustra likens the leaders of religious movements to “shepherds” who claim they are “good and just” (p. 23). Zarathustra immediately distances his own teachings from those of a typical religion, and outright states that “Zarathustra shall not become the shepherd or dog of a herd.” (p. 23). Instead of being a progenitor of moral dogmas, Zarathustra wants his followers to think for themselves and not simply be “sheep”.
Implied in Zarathustra’s teachings is a transience to knowledge (pp. 102-103), and even morality (pp. 212-213) that needs to constantly be addressed and updated. In fact, Zarathustra outright seems to condemn religion in some of his teachings, such as “God is a conjecture; but I desire that your conjectures should be limited by what is thinkable. Could you think a god?” (p. 86). Zarathustra is suggesting in the previous quotation that religion is not an end in and of itself. Instead what Zarathustra calls the “will to truth” (p. 86) which is the meritocratic notion that “You should think through your own senses to their consequences.” (p. 86) or in other words justify your ideas yourself, and not simply rely on religious authoritative justification. This transience is further elucidated in several references throughout that Zarathustra makes to tablets (p. 24, p. 196-215). In these cases, this again is a somewhat satirical reference to the bible and Moses. The metaphor is employed several times including when he talks about himself waiting “… surrounded by broken old tablets, and new tablets half covered with writing” (p. 198). The idea being that we take even what we hold so tantamount that we etched it into stone and rebuild it constantly when we know we should. Tying the ideas Zarathustra presents in these cases to semi-religious parable directly reenforces these philosophies to those who would be likely to ignore his teachings in plain prose.
The depth of philosophy born out of these short parables is aided by their propensity to employ relatable analogies and metaphors (pp. 208-209). Maintaining references to things that we know and see everyday can help ground and create an intuitive sense of what is presented as opposed to what would otherwise be a long, dull, and vapid philosophical treatise. A good example of this would be Zarathustra’s parables having constant references to nature, such as his parable of people who espouse equality being tarantulas that prey on others (pp. 99-102). Another great example of this naturalistic metaphor being employed in parable is Zarathustra’s metaphor of bark and a river (p. 112). In this metaphor the “river” of creativity helps to “carry you” from where you have been previously rooted. This metaphor evokes an immediate intuition to what is being suggested. People who are too attached to themselves can never grow and move, they stay exactly where they are, like bark on a tree. People who are willing to let their creativity “flow” like a river, can travel much farther and improve themselves.
Another method employed by Zarathustra is the redefinition, or reinterpretation of terminology to help maintain the intuitive nature of his stories. For example, his equivocation of creativity with meritocracy, piety with dubiousness (p. 205), and in a very clear example in the book Zarathustra talks about the notion of pity or compassion (p. 57). Zarathustra clarifies that although compassion is typically considered a virtue, in his mind it is a vice “Compassion for the friend should conceal itself under a hard shell, and you should break a tooth on it.” (p. 57). The reason he does not like the notion of pity is that it is often self-serving. Zarathustra demonstrates his belief that relationships need to be about mutual challenge, respect, and growth (p. 56), whereas pity is often simply a way of propping yourself up and feeling self-righteous (p. 57). Zarathustra also on several occasions takes terminology that has a typically negative connotation and builds it up as a virtue. One such example would be that Zarathustra considers loneliness to be a virtue “Hungry, violent, lonely, godless: thus, the lion-will wants itself. Free from the happiness of slaves, redeemed from gods and adorations, fearless and fear-inspiring, great and lonely: such is the will of the truthful.” (p. 103). Additionally, Zarathustra also opts to create his own terminology for a “state of ascension” (p. 75) to an almost purely individualistic mindset. The term Zarathustra uses is translated as overman, implying that it is someone who has risen above others (p. 12). This theme of rising is also employed several times when Zarathustra talks about “going down” to the masses to teach them (p. 10).
Although there are many positive aspects of the parable format employed by Nietzsche through Zarathustra, there are still some issues, and hypocrisy present. Zarathustra himself notes this when he talks about himself poetizing “To speak in parables and to limp and stammer like poets; and verily, I am ashamed that I must be a poet.” (p. 197). Ironically even his use of the imagery of ascending is a subtle hypocrisy in his teachings, as he literally considers himself “above” others in the way he so heavily criticizes religious (p. 10), and academic leaders (p. 102). Additionally, even though he has spent much time criticizing religiosity, he expresses his admiration of Jesus’ attempts to “break old tablets” even if it ended in his crucifixion (p. 212). All in all, the use of parable throughout Thus Spoke Zarathustra seems to exceptionally deepen the philosophical explanation presented by Nietzsche through Zarathustra.