C.J. Desperately Negotiates to Save Troy the Turkey
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
C.J. encounters Morton, who insists on taking one of the turkeys back, leading to a heated debate about the turkeys' fate.
C.J. attempts to negotiate with Morton to keep both turkeys, revealing her protective stance over the less photogenic bird, Troy.
C.J. decides to take the matter to a higher authority, leading Morton away to resolve the turkey dispute.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Exasperated determination laced with impulsive tenderness for the underdog bird
Bursts into office post-flirtation, halts Morton's turkey grab, pitches petting zoo for both birds, grabs wallet to offer cash despite sticker shock at $275, defends Troy's quirks, and marches Morton toward higher authority with determined resolve.
- • Secure petting zoo sanctuary for both turkeys
- • Override Jasper Farms protocol via purchase or escalation
- • Protocol shouldn't doom touchy turkeys to slaughter
- • White House clout can improvise merciful outcomes
Teasing hopefulness edged with vulnerability at her feigned reluctance
Intercepts C.J. in hallway with teasing 'Toscanini' moniker and song lyric probe, extends dinner invite with Josh and Sam, accepts her playful acceptance before she pivots to office crisis.
- • Secure C.J.'s dinner commitment
- • Lighten her pre-briefing tension with banter
- • Shared staff camaraderie trumps work frenzy
- • Humor disarms even the busiest Press Secretary
Calmly focused amid brewing chaos
Encounters C.J. in hallway, receives crisp order to relocate press corps to Rose Garden in five minutes, nods affirmatively and parts ways to execute.
- • Promptly herd press to Rose Garden
- • Support C.J.'s briefing logistics seamlessly
- • Press Secretary's directives demand instant compliance
- • Routine efficiency anchors White House press operations
Resigned firmness under bureaucratic pressure
Attempts to reclaim Troy from desk in C.J.'s office, firmly cites $275 price, prior sales, and farm protocol despite her buyout and zoo pitches, sighs resignedly, grabs the flapping bird, and trails her out.
- • Reclaim and return sold turkey per farm orders
- • Uphold Jasper Farms' commercial commitments
- • Farm economics trump White House whims
- • Protocol protects rural livelihoods
informative
introduces Morton to C.J. and explains situation with turkeys, attempts to interject during negotiation
- • inform C.J. about Morton's purpose
Implied serene reprieve
Referenced by C.J. as the unflappable pardoned turkey chosen over Troy's touchiness, absent but pivotal in justifying her dual-rescue push.
- • Maintain composure for pardon
- • Secure ceremonial survival
- • Stillness wins White House favor
- • Photogenic calm spares the axe
Agitated panic from handling threats
Flaps wings defiantly behind C.J. on her office desk as focal point of dispute, ultimately snatched by Morton amid failed negotiations, symbolizing chaotic barnyard intrusion.
- • Evade capture and removal
- • Resist human interference
- • Flight equals survival
- • Desk is temporary perch
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
C.J. snatches her leather wallet from her side pocket in frantic bid to buy Troy outright, thrusting it forward with desperate $275 offer that underscores her impulsive resolve and clashes with Morton's protocol, heightening comedic haggling tension.
Invoked by C.J. as the victorious pardoned turkey whose docility edged out Troy, its offstage status fuels her argument against executing the runner-up, weaving ceremonial protocol into the negotiation's ironic mercy plea.
Serves as absurd perch for flapping Troy behind C.J., central to the standoff as Morton strides to snatch the bird mid-negotiation, transforming briefing-cluttered workspace into poultry battleground amplifying White House farce.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Bustling West Wing hallway frames prelude with C.J.'s terse press-relocation order to Carol and Toby's flirtatious intercept-invite, propelling her momentum into office chaos, its hectic pulse underscoring transition from banter to barnyard crisis.
C.J. pitches idyllic Delaware petting zoo as merciful haven for both turkeys, invoking its hay-scented, kid-friendly chaos to counter slaughter protocol, injecting pastoral fantasy into D.C. haggling.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Press Corps mobilized by C.J.'s hallway directive to Carol for Rose Garden shift, underscoring briefing urgency that amplifies her turkey distraction as comedic counterpoint to refugee diplomacy.
Jasper Farms manifests through Morton Horn's insistent reclamation of sold turkey Troy, enforcing donation-sale protocol that one bird pardons while the other returns for profit, clashing rural commerce against C.J.'s whimsy.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"C.J.'s private vulnerability about her musical incompetence is contrasted with her later playful exchange with Toby about singing."
"C.J.'s private vulnerability about her musical incompetence is contrasted with her later playful exchange with Toby about singing."
"C.J.'s private vulnerability about her musical incompetence is contrasted with her later playful exchange with Toby about singing."
Key Dialogue
"C.J.: "I'm gonna buy them from you. What's he, 30 bucks?""
"MORTON: "These turkeys are 275 dollars.""
"C.J.: "For a turkey!?""
"C.J.: "Yeah, and I chose Eric because Troy doesn't like to be touched, which, surely we're not gonna execute him for.""
"C.J.: "Come with me, please.""