What Does The Black Turtles Symbolize In Over The Garden Wall

This is the third part of my Over The Garden Wall Analysis…

For Part 1 click the link Over The Garden Wall Analysis – Part 1

For Part 2 click the link Over The Garden Wall Analysis – Part 2

"Nice to horse your acquaintance."

In "Songs of the Dark Lantern" a talking horse named Fred joins the group, and Beatrice is very surprised when she learnt that Fred can talk. All animals in "Schooltown Follies" or Beatrice's dog cannot talk. Throughout the show only talking animals are Beatrice, which we know that she is cursed to become a bluebird, Enoch and Fred. So I think Enoch and Fred were used to be humans but they somehow turned into animals, so it is normal that they can talk.

In "Mad Love" Fred states his love towards stealing more than once.

Fred: I want to steal.

While I'm at it, I'll steal other stuff too.

I'll never steal again, I swear. I'll get an honest job.

In the light of these evidences I think that Fred was a thief or a highwayman, but he got cursed and turned into a horse. Maybe he was working with the Highwayman, and after he became a horse Fred continues to steal with his old friend as his horse.

"Two pennies"

In "Mad Love" Beatrice says "We need two pennies to take the ferry to Adelaide's pasture." and this is directly an allusion to Charon in Greek mythology. According to Greeks, Charon is the ferryman of the Underworld. He carries the dead spirits across the river of Styx which divides the world of the livings and death, in exchange of two golden drachma.

"Should I not know that sort of stuff?"

Wirt loves architecture. He has a book in his room titled "Interior Design" back at home. He immediately realizes the architectural style difference between Quincy Endicott's part and Margueritte Grey's part of the mansion in "Mad Love".

Wirt: Does this room look different to you?

Beatrice:  Uh, how so?

Wirt: It's like French-rococo style. That doesn't really seem in line with Endicott's Georgian sensibilities.

"Can't you see I'm sick and helpless?"

Adelaide and her home reminds me Arachne in Greek mythology. Arachne is a talented weaver, but she stupidly challenges Athena to weave the best quilt and turned into a spider in the end. Adelaide also loves weaving and sewing. Her home is covered with quilts and threads hanging all over like spider webs. Another indication is the hourglass shape in Adelaide's shawl's back.  Black widow spiders have a red hourglass shape on their underbellies. So Adelaide likened a black widow.

"We're turtle rich!"

The black turtles are everywhere in the Unknown. They freely go around in the woods. In "The Ringing of the Bell" there are baskets full of black turtles.

I think the black turtles are the souls of those who dead in the Unknown. So when Beatrice's dog swallow a turtle, the Beast can possess the dog because it has a human soul inside. The black turtles in Auntie Whispers' house are the souls who have been eaten there. Look at this conversation.

Auntie: Has anyone come here today?

Lorna: Nay, auntie … not a soul.

Also Lorna calls Wirt and Greg "turtles".

Come out, my turtles. She sleeps.

I'm sorry, my turtles… but I must feed!

Why did I say "the Beast can possess the dog" ? Look at the images. In the right there are the dog-creature's eyes and in the left there are the Beast's eyes.

Auntie Whispers

When I saw Auntie Whispers the first thing comes my mind was Yubaba from Spirited Away. I am not the only one who thinks so, alliterator also thinks that there is a resemblance between the two characters. He comments

On the left is Yubaba from Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away. On the right is Auntie Whispers. Both are witches that keep young girls as servants. They both have sisters who are also witches (Zeniba/Adelaide).

"Forward, Oneiroi!"

Cloud City in "Babes in the Wood" is inspired by Alice's Wonderland and I saw a post recently which draws parallels between two shows. Here is the link.

Cloud City's song called "Forward, Oneiroi" and in Greek mythology Oneiroi (Dreams) is Nyx's (Night) son. The North Wind of the Cloud City also reminds me violent natured Boreas, Greek God of North Wind.

For Sara

The episode named "Into the Unknown" is centred around the day Wirt, Greg and their frog fell into the river. It reveals too much. First of all we see Wirt's bedroom. He has a poster of a band or something called "Black Turtles" on his wall. Again his Interior Design book can be noticed easily. He also got another book on his chair possibly about architecture, because the book has a cathedral-like-building in its cover.

There is two cassettes on Wirt's desk labelled as "Summer Mist" and "Three Non-Blondes" according to You Tubber Virtual Jordan.

Wirt's cone is actually a Christmas hat. He takes it from a box  "Living room stuff from old house" written on it, but later Wirt turned it into a "X-mas stuff" box. That box must be used by Wirt's mother and his new step-dad during their moving to this house.

In the attic there is a photo of a man. Could it be Wirt's father?

"Maybe I'll start calling you candy pants."

In "Into the Unknown" we understand the reason of Wirt and Greg's clothing. It's Halloween! Wirt becomes a sort of gnome, and Greg wears a teapot, because he is an elephant. The source of Greg's candies and the Rock Fact rock also revealed.

"You've brought me the first two items… Now I want the sun!"

Since Greg used his wish to change place with Wirt, from the Queen of the Clouds, the Beast tries to make Greg lose his hope, so he can turn Greg into an edelwood. He demands impossible things from Greg in order to make him give up eventually, but Greg with his childhood innocence finds a way every time.  The Beast also takes the freezing winter weather's advantage on turning Greg into a  lost soul.

" ♪ The loveliest lies of all ♪ "

In the epilogue Jason Funderburker the frog sings "Into the Unknown".

The Woodsman returns his home, but he is too afraid of going inside and live a life without his beloved daughter in this house, so he just sits on the porch. Unexpectedly his little daughter opens the door. Father and daughter are reunited after all those time.

Fishing fish catches a black turtle.

Lorna and Auntie Whispers drink tea. By the way Lorna's book's name is "Tome of the Unknown" which is at the same time the short animated movie as a pilot of Over the Garden Wall series.

Frogs still hibernate.

Margueritte Grey looks at the portrait of Quincy Endicott and Fred the horse.

The Toymaker adds Beatrice's, Greg's, Wirt's and the frog's toys to his shelf.

Ms. Langtree, her father, her beloved Jimmy B., her students and the three squirrels  watch a performance at the circus that Jimmy worked.

Enoch's real identity which is the black cat is revealed. By the way did you see the lit lantern in the corner? O-oh!

Beatrice and her family are human again, and they return their home.

Finally Greg put the Rock Facts rock back to its place in Lady Daniel's garden.

And that's how Over The Garden Wall ends…

Thank you for reading my Over The Garden Wall Analysis, if you have commends or theories please let me know.

Alliterator. "Content to Be Slightly Forlorn": Myths and Menings of "Over the Garden Wall," Part Three. Observation Deck. 11 Dec. 2014. Web. 1 June 2016.

"Mad Love". by Patrick McHale. Over The Garden Wall. Cartoon Network. 5 Nov 2014. Television.

"The Ringing of the Bell" by Patrick McHale. Over The Garden Wall. Cartoon Network. 6 Nov 2014. Television.

The Secrets of Over The Garden Wall Revealed! – Virtual Jordan. YouTube. Youtube, 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 1 June 2016.

What Does The Black Turtles Symbolize In Over The Garden Wall

Source: https://ikuelldotcom.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/over-the-garden-wall-analysis-part-3/

Posted by: albatescomirce.blogspot.com

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