Reading Notes: The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking

Water Color Painting, La Tortue Et Les Deux Canards, Gustave Moreau, Source

Below are my reading notes for a Jataka story:

Plot: Geese, who are looking for food, befriend a turtle. The geese resolve to offer the turtle passage to their beautiful home on the condition that the turtle doesn't talk on the journey.

Plot Twist 1: The condition that the turtle not talk isn't necessarily a desire by the geese to keep their unlikely friend quiet so they might enjoy their "pleasant" journey. The no talking condition is a function of necessity because the only way that the geese, who can only carry with their mouths, must rely on the turtle to do the same. The three must work together for all to complete the journey. 

Plot Twist 2: The turtle, unable to ignore criticizing comments of children below, decides to verbally respond, thus breaking the condition of travel and falling to his death.

Turtle Character: The turtle is the central character. The turtle is a tragic figure who is unable to maintain a necessary discipline to achieve finding a better place for himself. Why is a turtle chosen as the figure type? Perhaps the turtle's hard shell is a metaphor for the a well protected, but fragile ego? Strengths include a hard protective shell. Weaknesses include the inability to hold anything with any part of their body other then their mouth as well as being unable to fly.

Turtle Hollywood Casting: David Cross Cross' comic ability to accurately, but crassly critique the world around him makes him an adept turtle within this plot line. His looks are a bit turtle-like as well.

Geese Character: The geese appear to be benevolent characters who are able to freely move to a better destination. The geese show no ill will toward the turtle. The function of their conditional offer is not a moral one. Strengths include the ability to fly. Weaknesses include the inability to hold anything with any part of their body other then their mouth.

Geese Hollywood Casting: David Bowie Bowie's enigmatic character and fantastical aesthetic allows him to bring an ethereal quality to the geese characters. Both geese should be performed by Bowie as doppelgangers complete with Ziggy Stardust lightning bolt face paint in contrasting colors.

The Children: The Children act as the antagonists by which the turtle finds his demise. The children do not appear to be driven by evil intent. Rather they are remarking at the exceptional event that is completely out of the norm from what they may have witnessed before. This seems ridiculous to them as it is completely our of character by virtue of the strengths and weaknesses of the geese and the turtle.

The Children Hollywood Casting: Toy Story's Little Green Men (Voiced by Jeff Pidgeon and Debi Derryberry) These figures, as they are portrayed in Pixar's Toy Story movies, are vocal and assumptive in their observations while maintaining a strong expression of innocence and nativity.



Bibliography:

Ellen C. Babbitt, Jataka Tales: IV, The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking, http://sacred-texts.com/bud/jt/jt06.htm