Myth-Folklore

For the second part of this weeks reading notes I will be finishing  Native American Marriage Tales unit by Stith Thompson . I wanted to look into the first story, The Dog-Husband , because there were a few interesting aspects to it. First, I thought it was weird that the young girl became pregnant by her dog. It was understood that no one knew the dog could transform into a human at night, but did that include the young girl? The story says that she became pregnant, so I immediately think (assuming she was not aware of his ability to morph) he took advantage of the girl in her sleep. There was also a story in Part A where a man takes advantage of a Buffalo-Woman. Other than this unit, I cannot recall stories where women are taken advantage of. I am sure there are some, I just have not come across it yet or I am forgetting. However, it seems to be a common theme throughout Native American Marriage tales.  Another fascinating feature to this story of The Dog-Husband, in...

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...