Reading Notes: Jataka Tales Part B

Jataka Tales Part B

An Elephant in the Wild
Source: Google Image

More Lessons and Animals

In my previous post, I mentioned how clear and concise the lesson in each tale is and how the reader does not have to do much thinking in order to determine what teaching the author is trying to convey. However, in the "The Elephant and the Girly-Face" story,  I was very confused as to what lesson was being taught. In this story a gentle, innocent looking elephant overheard robbers discussing how to be ruthless killers. The elephant thought their behavior was how he should behave and began to kill all of the humans that came near him. Wise men quickly realized what had happened and they told the elephant about how to behave kind and gentle again. From that moment on, the elephant behaved nicely. 

At first, I thought the lesson was be careful who you trust/listen to. However, I thought this may not be the case as the elephant listened to the second group of men just as easily. These men were names "wise men" though so that may have been the author's way of signaling to the reader to only listen to wise men. 

In general, I really enjoyed these tales because they were short and sweet and to the point. I also did not mind the lack of details in the story as it allowed me to create my own version of the settings in my head as well as the characters. In regards to characters, I really liked how many of the stories focused around animals. Most of my stories have been about humans, but focusing on animals added a humorous, light tough that is just not included in my version of stories. I still enjoy the gender-bending theme I currently have going on, but including more animals will allow me to explore other themes outside of my comfort zone. 

Lastly, I wanted to point out I did not like some of the underlying messages in the stories such as the one mentioned above. The author said the elephant is named Girly-Face because it is gentle and innocent. I think this really highlights the way this culture views women and only perpetuates the idea that women are soft and fragile. Although I understand the author was probably trying to be cute and exaggerate how kind this elephant normally is, I was too focused on the name in the beginning to really pay attention to the rest of the story. 

Bibliography: Ellen C. Babbitt's The Elephant and the Girly-Face