Reading Notes: Tales of the North American Indians, Part A
For this week's reading, I chose to take notes on the Native American Marriage Tales unit by Stith Thompson.
One of the most prevalent themes throughout these stories are the uses of metamorphosis and personification. The characters are animals a majority of the time. There are also humans that transform into animals. And, there are other plants and animals that have been brought to life through dialogue. It is interesting to me that these stories give their characters these innate abilities to communicate with each other, no matter what species you are. A good example of this was in the story, Splinter-Foot-Girl, which was my favorite. I thought it was interesting how the Splinter-Foot-Girl came about through the leg of her father because he ran through the thorns.
Something else that I find common amongst stories is how the tree is like a protector, this reminded me of the grandmother-willow tree in Pocahontas. In this story, the tree was also wise, which I believe is a common theme throughout stories because of their age.
I liked the 'villain' in the story, the bull and the rock. I can understand why the bull would be so powerful and feared by others. Bulls are viewed to have a temper and when enraged, they attempt to destroy everything in their path. I was confused about the rock. I would have liked to know more about his reasons for treating his wives so badly. Another thing I did not understand was the ending. It seemed to end abruptly. The girl returned to her fathers, but then she threw a ball in the air and her fathers appeared. I feel like maybe I missed a bit of detail somewhere, but how did she get the ball? It was a creative use to get away from the rock, but I can grasp the concept of how throwing the ball in the air and then kicking it rose her and her fathers up.
One of the most prevalent themes throughout these stories are the uses of metamorphosis and personification. The characters are animals a majority of the time. There are also humans that transform into animals. And, there are other plants and animals that have been brought to life through dialogue. It is interesting to me that these stories give their characters these innate abilities to communicate with each other, no matter what species you are. A good example of this was in the story, Splinter-Foot-Girl, which was my favorite. I thought it was interesting how the Splinter-Foot-Girl came about through the leg of her father because he ran through the thorns.
Something else that I find common amongst stories is how the tree is like a protector, this reminded me of the grandmother-willow tree in Pocahontas. In this story, the tree was also wise, which I believe is a common theme throughout stories because of their age.
I liked the 'villain' in the story, the bull and the rock. I can understand why the bull would be so powerful and feared by others. Bulls are viewed to have a temper and when enraged, they attempt to destroy everything in their path. I was confused about the rock. I would have liked to know more about his reasons for treating his wives so badly. Another thing I did not understand was the ending. It seemed to end abruptly. The girl returned to her fathers, but then she threw a ball in the air and her fathers appeared. I feel like maybe I missed a bit of detail somewhere, but how did she get the ball? It was a creative use to get away from the rock, but I can grasp the concept of how throwing the ball in the air and then kicking it rose her and her fathers up.
Comments
Post a Comment