Reading Notes:The Jatakas-Part A

 I loved reading the Jatakas this week because they reminded me of tales that I read as a child. I also am very fond of stories that contain animals due to the way they are whimsical and fun to read. My favorite story in this Part A was How the Turtle Saved His Own Life. This story contains all the elements of a classic children's story. It starts out with excited children who turn out to be quite naive and think that the turtle is a demon. Then, the adults must be naive as well because they do not know what a turtle is either and begin to plot ways to destroy the "demon". And, lastly, after the men plot many horrid deaths, one idea is given to throw the turtle into the lake. When the turtle hears this he acts as if it is the worst idea of all while he knows that this is his perfect plan of escape and they will take him right back to his home in the river. 

Turtle from Wikimedia Commons

My second favorite story was The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking. I don't know what it was about the turtle stories but they just captured my attention greater than the others. I also enjoyed how this story had a really good underlying message to it. I think this story is one that is quite simple and intended for children but carries a message that even adults would be wise to learn from.

I think I can definitely use any one of these stories in Jatakas Part A to pull ideas from and use in my future stories. I definitely want to keep using animal characters due to the way they offer the ability to create a whole new persona for the individual character and draw of their animal characteristics. Using an underlying message is also an element that I think would be fun to try and incorporate in my own writing.

Bibliography: Ellen C. Babbitt, 1912, The Jataka Tales

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