My nieces and I have developed several characters and stories through our dialogue. I would have them give me suggestions of what we should draw, and I would deliberately steer the material into absurdity by imposing reality on the make-believe. A common theme to all the stories has been animals, trying to live in the real world and failing (often with morbid implications). Tuba-Goose has been the subject of a lot of our conversations, and he has one of the most developed personalities. I do not remember the exact details of why he has a tuba, but I remember it was related to the way cartoon animals dress up to seem more human. He has the personality of a goose, so his choice of accessories was not very practical, and his insistence to continue to carry it around embodies a defiant obstinate that is important to our relationship. It was not a conscious decision, but in reflection, I think I was foreshadowing the bittersweet reality of growing up in a way that they will not understand until it has happened.
The goose does not achieve his dream,
and my nieces will have unrealistic goals that they will compromise as they
mature. I don't want to discourage their dreams, but when they inevitably find
their limitations, I want them to know that failure is not a flaw; it is a
consequence of trying.
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