Georg Lukas was a Marxist theorist who developed the literary theory of reflection. His main idea was that literature should be a reflection of reality. I believe this theory relates very well with the morals in the book Squids Will be Squids. Lukas said, "To "reflect" is to "frame a mental structure" transposed into words. People ordinarily posses a reflection of reality, a consciousness not merely of objects but of human nature and social relationships." Lukas could have understood the morals in Squids Will be Squids as reflections of reality. They are mental frameworks that we live our lives by.
Alberto Eco was a reader-orientated theorist and his idea of open and closed text could be a useful tool in describing the morals of Squids Will be Squids. In an open text piece of literature there are many gaps for the reader to fill in. Closed text literature left no information for the reader to fill in. I believe that these morals are better suited to be viewed as open text. The last moral in Squids Will be Squids says "If you are planning to write fables, don't forget to change the people into animals and avoid places with high cliffs." This moral may mean exactly what it says (what the picture in the book depicts) or many other elaborations of meaning could be found. Don't be mean to others, they may become upset or if you are planning on being mean watch your back. .
Wolfgang Iser was another reader-orientated theorist whose theory of concretization could be used to describe the morals of Squids Will be Squids. Iser said that concretization was the reader's way of giving the text meaning. He states that the text doesn't matter. What matters is the effect of the text on the reader. This theory could be used to see how the morals related to your own personal experiences. The moral "squids will be squids" had a major effect on me and I could directly relate it to my child hood experiences.