Bibliography: Babbitt More Jataka Tales. Story: The Brave Little Bowman
Notes: I have to admit, I was a little bit worried when reading this story that it was going to take a different turn than it did. I thought that it might end with the small man turning on the big man after he insulted him and leaving him to fend for himself when the other army came. I was then pleasantly surprised when the small man then went out to help the big man anyways. I had just read a couple of other Jataka tales (like Prince Wicked) that I thought had a pretty harsh view of morality. While I understand that there are plenty of morally questionable characters that do questionable things, I just am of the view that there is no situation in which it is OK to take someone's life into your own hands and condemn them to death (I think this viewpoint might be a large motivating factor to becoming a doctor- the whole "do no harm" thing and all...).
The beginning of the story reminded me of Cyrano de Bergerac. It is one of my favorite plays, and I thought that this story shared some characteristics with it- someone that does not have the "look" acting through someone who does. I think it might be interesting to do a re-telling of this story in that storyline. Taking the story and transferring it to renaissance France would be quite the dramatic change, but I think it would work! Instead of doing battle and hunting as they do in the story, I think it would be possible to stay true to the Cyrano de Bergerac story and have poetry and letters substitute in for battle. As the climax of the story, Cyrano may have to act as an ambassador to the foreign king and write a treatise that appeases him.
(Cyrano de Bergerac. Source: Wikimedia)
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