Turtle Diary: What is the way to personal growth and happyness?

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: Glenda Jackson and Ben Kingsley star in a Harold Pinter story about two shy and lonely 5's who conspire to steal some sea turtles from a city zoo in London. : The story is really a parable about 5's 'breaking their trances'; the turtles are symbols for reclusive 5-characters; the setting free of them in the sea symbolizes their own need to leave their riskfree environments (Neaera writes childrens books, William is a clerk at a bookstore) and enter 'reality'. The lesson is that you grow when you develop charactistics of other types (5's becoming more 7-ish for example). I think this point of view (pov) is the point of view of 2's; they see your personal identity as something that is a problem, which you have to work on. However every enneatype has a tendency to see or change reality in a way that favors application its talents. We create our own demand; 8's stir up things so that crisismanagement is needed, which is their core competence. I's see many faults and bad quality, so they can apply their relentless improvement drive. 5's drift to places where some obscure technical expertise is needed (computers, science etc.) And 2's see people as needy, OR CAN MAKE PEOPLE FEEL THEY HAVE A PROBLEM so that they can apply their help-and-advice talent. 2's must have been the inventors of the Emotional Intelligence (EQ).-'problem'!. So we have 9 different pov's on reality; and 9 ways to become happy. In my opinion many people are not unhappy but become so when interacting with others. I see many 5's that are proud to be nerdy and talk with disdain about 'those smooth talking 3'. However in our society the extroverts 3-7-8 dominate interactions and define 5-behaviour as something that needs to be 'fixed'. I think that finding yourself, being authentic is THE way to become happy; not doing what 'society' expects you to do. Fake or adopted behaviour costs a lot of energy and often looks silly (like William (Kingsley) fighting with his Turkish 8-neighbour). VIVE LA DIFFERANCE! : Even the distinction between 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' is a relative concept. Very insensitive 'unhealty' 8's can be of great use to society; for example as bomb disposal experts or as interim managers. : Here is the enneatyping of the Turtle Diary-characters: : a. Neaera's publisher:3 : - egoistical; 'what about ME'? thinks only of his own needs : - hypocritical, fakes interest: 'what little animal have you got up your sleeves now?...A waterbeatle, how lovely... : He is shocked when she commits writers block. A mechanical publishing robot who only cares about his next sales targets and not at all about his customers: the children (in a sense business is built on lying to customers; 'we care' is a 2 emulation, just like 3's emulate 7-behaviour because they know it sells well) : See the British tv-series Yes Minister in which he plays the same kind of 3 role. : b. Shopclerk William: 5 : - shy, quiet, passive thinker; difficulty for coming into action (my research shows 9's and 5's are closely related) looks down a lot, doesn't look Neaera in the eyes when talking; no contact/romance between the 5's! : - Not assertive toward 8-neighbours insensitivity, passive on-looker; observer (zoo) and thinker/processer. : - thick glasses; bad eyes syndrome (this is also present with the orthodox Jewish religious people with black hats and long beards; super 5's!). This gives some trouble when William drives his car: 'will you tell me if I am too close to parket cars or the sidewalk...' : c. the boss of the boarding house Mrs. Inchcliff: 1 : Stern: asks William a question that is really a reproach; 'You made things for your (ex) wife too?'. Moralistic: 'You SHOULD go to the theater too...'. : d. Williams Turkish Neighbour (dutch actor Jeroen Krabbe); 8 : Insensitive about others needs: too loud music in the boarding house, leaves the kitchen without cleaning up; he doesn't give a damn about what others want him to do. When William confronts him at last ('clean up the cooker') he is not intimidated at all, just pulls the big gun:' I'll break your bones!'. Also: he doesn't go out of the way in the hallway. : e. Neaera's sleek/smooth talking neighbour:3 : market driven talker: he knows that talking about her water beatle could bring him closer to her. Boasts about his experience with snails as cleaners of the fish bowl (3's allways know what is the trick to solve a problem and are often pleased if they can tell you; they are the writers of the How To-books). Also he shows nonchalance in dropping the names of the countries to which he travels across the world, and he makes himself even more important by mentioning he works at some secret project. 3's often boost in an indirect way; they make themselves look cool and make you feel someone of a lesser species (i.e. not so good, efficient, good looking, not such a large network etc.) : f. George Fairbairn, the keeper of the turtle acquarium: 8 : A man that uses few (power) words, no nonsense attitude, doesn't beat around the bush: 'I would go with you all the way'. He is not afraid of being caught with the turtle sham; he likes it so much to confront his manager that he goes to them afterwards and tells wat he has done. An 8 allways gets his way (revenge) sooner of later. He is not a reckless counterfobic 6: he knows he has power over his manager, because of the long period of captivity of the turtles; this would give the zoo negative and harmfull pr if he told the animal protection agency. He is protective of both his turtles and Neaera and William. But: HE determines what and how things go. He shows no emotions (my research with the Big Five questionnaire shows 8's to be insensitive). He also talks in a macho : , in-your-face (humiliating) way: 'I hope it will succeed with the crates, OTHERWISE they will sit in your lap (it are giant and heavy turtles!). A little sadistic... : g. Neaera: 5 : The lonely writer; stressed when in social situations; can't eat at the restaurant, has her only social contact with the 3 neighbour; lives in a shell, just like her water beetle and the turtles. 5's are bookish (but they can observe and collect everything; from antiques to sugar bags); she meets William because she wants to have a book that answers her many questions about the life of turtles (5's have a tendency to become a specialist in things; allways trying to unravel complex things; inquisitive about special 'technical' subjects; airplane-spotters, dinosaurs-experts etc).A very symbolic sentence she speaks to her neighbour about the water beatle she bought: 'It is a female beetle; there were no males available'; 5's often are very relectant to come into contact with their feelings; they are easily overwhelmed by social contacts; this causes difficulty in relations. : h. Harriet, the collegue of William at the bookshop: 2 : 2's always remind me of miss Piggy; she tries to seduce William and is jealous about his (turtle-project) relationship with Neaera; proud: 'I thought you (William) would never ask...(ask what?)...me out...(Did I?)...yes you did (I thought you asked me)...well perhaps I did...many naughty/seductive looks in the bar. Very relation hungry: 'C'est ci simple l'amour' lets 5-William make the chill out-remark: 'Funny lot those French'.Typical 2-questions: 'Have you been married...Were you a good father...What about women (poker faced William: 'no I have been sabattical for years'). 2's operate on the MCO-principe (Mutual Comfort Operation); Don't you think I am intelligent and capable...' (compare with Miss Piggy's pride; MOI,MOI...!) 5's and 2's seem to fit like water and fire: she wants to take control of his life ('WE have been invited'; William: WE?) and want's to limit Williams contacts with Neaera; 'What does that woman wants; that Mrs. Duncan?'. And the ultimate 2 sentence: 'Don't you want to come to my place...' (I suppose this is why a plant has been called the Venus Fly Trap) : i. Gass station employee: 6 : suspicious; 6's have radar-eyes, want to see and know everything that happens. He is afraid that William won't return the bucket needed for keeping the turtles wet. (doom scenario-thinking: the bucket is of my boss's wife and when lost she would...and I would be blamed for that and..and..) : : j. Miss Neap: 4 : Word game? Pean >> Pain? She is melancholic; has a strange look in her face; depressed and talks in a strange surreal way; 'the sea...that seems so far away...even though it's so near (the Thames)...When she commited suicide she was reading a book about 'the burial of their dead at sea...' 4's are often called 'crazy' in our society because we cannot often follow their fantastic lines of thought...Also she had an old photo of herself as a girl nearby; ideal stuff for bittersweet memories; you can be sure that you are longing for something that will never happen! Poor me-type. : k. Bookshop manager: 1 : stiff upper lip, formal Englishman. A bit like Higgins in Magnum.

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