Essay: Tricksters and Fools

(arctic fox, photo by Will Brown)

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Pâtussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle has a very interesting trickster in the story. The man, whose name is the first word of this paragraph, killed his uncle because he wanted his wife. This man who killed him though already had a wife. So, he thought all was fine and he would just keep living his life. In the following days though, something happened. He was attacked by a fox. The fox was his amulet. He survived the fox. That didn't last long though. The next day he was attacked by a bear and was killed. All of this happened because of his actions against his uncle. The trickster in the story was the man himself who thought he could get away with murdering his uncle. It turns out, he ended up being the fool as well getting himself killed. 

The Wife Who Lied had a similar outline. A woman is not satisfied with her life so she goes from her husband's tribe and back to her native tribe. She tells her native tribe a lie and they go to kill every woman in her husband's camp. They do this and when the husband's cap follows them for revenge, they kill them too. In the process though, the woman's native tribe discovers she lied. So, two men that laugh crazily drag her off while all the fighting is going on. The killed her without hesitation. This ending is similar to the story above. The woman is the trickster when she tells her tribe a lie and they believe her. The lie got her killed though, which makes her the fool in the story also. 

This is the first time I have seen that the trickster and fool are one character in two stories this semester. They are ind of sad, but very interesting stories! 

Week 10 Storytelling: Regret

(The Wife Who Lied)

One day a woman was in her village, but she was not satisfied with how her husband was treating her. He was gone for long hours hunting and she would get lonely. So, she thought of a way to fix her situation. She could not see things getting any better, so she went to her original tribe. 

She told them, "My husband has abused me physically and verbally." 

The men of the tribe then went to go find her husband's tribe. They traveled for a long time through the snow. Men were getting sick. They finally made it to the tribe though. They found only women there. The men killed every single woman to send a message to the woman's husband. When the husband's tribe got back and found all of the women slaughtered, they geared up to go find the perpetrators. 

The husband's tribe traveled back to his wife's native tribe. The lined the front of the wife's camp in the morning until the whole camp woke and saw the husband's tribe. 

The husband said, "Why did you kill all of our women?" 

The wife's tribe's leader responds, "Because this woman's husband abused her."

The husband replied, "I am her husband. This is not true. Do you see any physical marks on her that show I hurt her?" 

The wife's tribe checked her body and found no trace of abuse. 

Her tribe's leader says to her, "You lied!" 

The wife cowers in fear. 

The leader frustrated asks the husband what he wants. The husband responds, "I want her gone from both tribe's. She must fend for herself now in everything. "

Both tribe's send her into the wilderness. The woman was never seen again. 

Now, the tribe's stayed together that night and enjoyed one another's company at a huge bonfire. They danced and prayed to their spirits for healing. They started eating and the husband sees something. He looks in the woods and sees his ex-wife staring at the bonfire. The husband could not find forgiveness in his heart. The whole camp went to sleep. 

The next morning they woke they saw a totem pole that sends the message "I am sorry, and I know I deserve this sentence after what I've done. Please just never forget me. I am on my own now."

The camp knew this had to be a supernatural power because no one could lift, much less, make a totem pole in one night. So, they did remember the husband's ex-wife as a message to never act in the manner she did. 

Author's Note: The Wife Who Lied I wrote in third person narration to give more detail and description to the story. My main goal was to make the story's ending not so gruesome. 

In the original, the wife goes to her native tribe's camp and lies to them about how she is being treated. Her tribe then goes and kills all of her past tribe's women. Next, they kill everyone else at her old camp. Her native tribe finds out she lied though after all of that and kills her. 

In my story, the woman goes to her native tribe and she lies differently. She says her husband is treating poorly. So, her native tribe then goes and kills all of the women in her past tribe. Her husband's tribe then goes to attack his wife's native tribe where it is discovered that he did not abuse her in front of the whole tribe. The wife then is exiled from each tribe. Supernatural powers help her and she makes a totem pole that both tribes wake up to one morning. The message on the pole serves as a reminder of how not to act within the tribe. The story then ends. 

Bibliography: The Wife Who Lied, Eskimo Folk-Tales by Knad Rasmussen (1921)

Reading Diary B: Eskimo Folk Tales

(The Wife Who Lied)

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The Wife Who Lied is probably the most intense story I have read. There are Native Americans, way back when, that do eat people. This was a story about a whole tribe that did attacking one that didn't. The reason they attacked is because the main woman said her husband had done her wrong to he original tribe. So, her tribe went and killed all of her husband's tribe's wives. The main woman lied though so her tribe killed her. The thing that stood out to me the most in this story is the detail. It makes you think that this actually happened. Moving on, I believe this story was written as a message. This story is supposed to send a message to be careful of your actions because you never know what the repercussions might be. 

Pâtussorssuaq, Who Killed His Uncle is another very intense story. The most interesting thing I find about this story is how moral beliefs align with quite a few other beliefs in stories we've read already. Specifically, the belief I am talking about is karma. So, a man kills his uncle because he wants his wife. That man gets killed for his misdeed by his amulet which is a fox and bear. So, this reminds me of the stories from the Eastern part of the world that incorporated hinduistic ideals (karma). In a way, it's like they are all connected somehow. These stories, although intense, are great examples of how never to treat people. 

Reading Diary A: Eskimo Folk Tales

(makite)

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Makite 

Makite was very interesting. A Native American, Makite, decides to go live on his own, but encounters another man. This man wanted to kill Makite. Makite escaped though. Finally, Makite went and fought with some dwarfs. The thing I found the most interesting about this story is how much detail it held. You could tell that this story has been passed down from generation to generation. People I am sure say, "How could one believe in this?" I'm also sure that's what people say about me and my beliefs. Who really knows? My professor is Cherokee and he speaks of "little people" like the dwarfs in this story. He says they roam around and he is one-hundred percent serious. So, I find the content and detail extremely fascinating. 

The Giant Dog

This story was interesting. There is a giant dog given an amulet that protects it from death. The dog terrorized inland-dwellers and killed many of them. The dog also killed the mightiest dogs that the story says were "big as bears." I would be really afraid myself if I saw that! so, the most interesting part to me is that inland dwellers, from what I have learned in other classes, really are still afraid to this day of dogs. You want to know why this is so? It is because of these tales like The Giant Dog that have been passed down through generations. So, as crazy as some of these stories sound, they have a real impact on many. 

You see, I love dogs! 

Battle Inferno

(dragon illustrated by Henry Pitz)

Beowulf, Eve, Adam, Alice, and Mr. Rabbit walk to find the dragon. 

Beowulf speaks, "Be on your guard. I have seen this beast kill more than I wish. We must use caution."

The whole company walks for three hours. They pass through forests, an abandoned home, and finally come to a stony, desolate land. The air smells like dead bodies and the heat keeps rising. Everyone looks around with sweat drenching their bodies. They hear something. It is a loud bang every couple of seconds. 

Adam points, "Behind that huge boulder. That's where the sound comes from." 

Beowulf signals for them to stay put. He walks and sneaks up behind the massive stone Adam directs him towards. With his back against the boulder, Beowulf peeks around the corner to see what the commotion is about. He sees the dragon's tail making the sound. As the dragon dreams, it moves its tail. Beowulf signals for everyone to quietly come to him. They all tip toe to him. 

Alice says, "What do we do?"

Mr. Rabbit speaks, "Yeah, what now?"

Beowulf tells them, "In order for me to kill the beast, I'll have to get close enough to where I can pierce its heart. This means I am going to need a lot of distractions." 

Everyone gulps. They all stare at each other and hear another slam of the dragon's tail. 

Beowulf continues, "Mr. Rabbit and Alice, can you go to the dragon's tail? Pull it only once I've gotten close enough. When it stands with its belly off the ground, I will go for the heart." 

They both look back and nod their heads. 

Beowulf speaks his last words, "Adam and Eve, you are to watch my back. If anything is going wrong, signal me immediately."

Adam and Eve look back nodding their heads grudgingly also. 

They all move into position. Alice and Mr. Rabbit go to the dragon's tail, dodging it as it swings about. Beowulf starts walking towards the dragon, feeling its hot breath. Beowulf slowly walks step by step to not wake the beast. The dragon breathes extremely hard blowing Beowulf back. Everyone else watches in terror. The dragon shudders in a dream and Beowulf falls to the ground like he's dead, thinking it was awake. It's still asleep and Beowulf keeps walking. He signals to Alice and Mr. Rabbit to pull its tail. They do so and when the dragon stands, it disappears. It was a spell that the dragon used. All of a sudden, Adam and Eve feel hot breath on their necks. They turn around and see the dragon. It lets out a huge roar. Everyone runs for their lives. 

Beowulf yells, "I'm coming, Adam and Eve! Run!"

They run towards Beowulf and get behind him. The dragon sees his old foe. 

The dragon says, "Hello, Beowulf, any last words?"

Beowulf responds, "My last words will be the ones I say at your funeral." 

The dragon grimaces and becomes angry yelling, "Lets see about that!"

The dragon breathes fire at him left and right. Beowulf rolls and dodges with all of his might. 

Beowulf says, "You've gotten slow, old friend." 

The dragon keeps breathing fire. Beowulf keeps taunting him. 

The dragon yells, "Fine. If you won't come out, I'll go after your friends!"

Beowulf yells, "Wait!"

There is so much smoke the dragon cannot see Beowulf. 

Beowulf speaks, "You know how you killed my family?"

The dragon smiles. 

Beowulf continues, "You know how you're destined to burn in hell?"

The dragon responds, "No man will kill me." 

There is dead silence. The dragon looks through the smoke to locate Beowulf. 

Beowulf runs and jumps off a rock while yelling, "That day is today!"

Beowulf flies through the air with his sword in one hand. He loses his balance and his hands tire. He finally gets to the dragon and stabs it in the heart, hanging in mid-air. The dragon yells out a moan that rattles the gates of hell. 

The dragon dies yelling, "No!"

Author's note: Again, I chose third person narration because it offers many more options when writing. It lets you add so much more detail! My main goal for this story is to create tension and intensity from the time everyone meets the dragon until the time it dies. 

In the original story, Battle with the Dragon, Beowulf fights a dragon the entire time, but in the end it says Beowulf grows tired. It is initiated by a man disturbing the dragon. The man is in the wrong place at the wrong time and the dragon thinks he has come to steal his treasure. Beowulf goes to protect his people from the dragon. Beowulf actually dies during his fight with the beast. He wins the fight though, with the aid of his companion, Wiglaf. 

In my story, Beowulf does fight the whole time, but in order to save his friends. The dragon tricks them with a spell, which it couldn't do in the original, and surprises everyone. Beowulf then seeks to save Adam and Eve by having the dragon breathe fire at them so smoke will give them visual cover. Lastly, my story actually has a conclusion and it ends with Beowulf jumping into the air stabbing the dragon in the heart. 

Bibliography:Battle with the Dragon, The Story of Beowulf by Strafford Riggs (1933)

Essay: Tricksters and Fools

(flint arrowheads)

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Flint Visits the Rabbit has a trickster that will also show up in the second story I analyze. In this story, the animals in the forest ask a rabbit to take care of a hunter called Flint. The rabbit asks Flint to go back to his place for dinner. Flint then says he's got to do something, but rabbit tells him he can do that later. When they get close enough to rabbit's home, rabbit stabs Flint and sprints into his home. The rabbit is the trickster in the story and is extremely persuasive with Flint coming up with anything as an excuse for Flint to make his way to his home. The rabbit knew he had to be fast since Flint had a gun. So, he waited until he was close to his home to attack and sprint there. He was very smart and saved the forest! 

Why the Possum's Tail Is Bare had a similar trickster from the last story. The rabbit in this story is jealous of the possum and his tail. The possum is extremely prideful about his tail and the rabbit is sick of hearing about it. So, like in the last story, the rabbit gets clever. The possum asked him to brush his tail and make sure it looks great for the dance (since the rabbit set him up to purposely be the center of attention after he is done with his tail). The rabbit does so, but asks the cricket (the dresser) to take the hair off the possum's tail. This happens and at the dance the possum notices when everyone is laughing at him. The main difference for this rabbit trickster from the last story is that the protagonist gave the rabbit an excuse and chance to shave his tail. In the last story, the Rabbit had to go persuade Flint to go with him. Also, the main difference in general is that in one story a character died from the trickster while the other story just had embarrassment involved. 

Week 9 Storytelling: A Possum Tail

(possum)

One day a possum named John walks through town to show off his glorious tale. All of the animals stand and stare when the possum walked by. There was one possum though that did not like John very much. This possum's name was Tuck who happens to be John's brother. Tuck never had a full glorious full haired tail like John. John always gets the girls and all the attention. Tuck is not the most popular and feels he isn't noticed. So, Tuck comes up with a plan to take his jealousy out on John. 

Tuck told John to come over for dinner one night and to bring food. So, a week passes and the day has finally come for Tuck's plan to unfold. John shows up to Tuck's house and knocks on the door. Tuck has put a flammable grease on the mat outside his door. Tuck's goal is to have John's tail glide over the mat. John walks in, tail dragging in on the mat, and sits by the fire that Tuck has made that evening. They both share in conversation enjoying the evening. Tuck has placed John where his tail is directly in front of the fire. Tuck waits any moment now for John's tail to catch fire. 

All of a sudden, John smells something. Tuck sees smoke rising from behind him. John starts screaming realizing that his tail is on fire. Tuck acts like he is trying to help put out the fire, but does nothing. John runs outside rolling on the ground to put the fire out. Finally, after three minutes of rolling the fire and pain John was experiencing are over. John looks at his tail and starts to cry. Tuck talks to him letting him know everything will be okay (as he smiles on the inside).  Tuck takes John home to rest. 

Tuck finally got his brother back and now he will get all the attention. Tuck strolls into town one day and see John and his naked bare tail. Tuck is shocked though and fins he is surrounded by girls still that sympathize for the guy whose tale got burnt. Tuck then picks up the newspaper that day and sees a story about John surviving catching on fire. Tuck's plan did the opposite of what he hoped. Instead of getting his brother less attention, he managed to give him even more attention by setting his tail on fire. Tuck goes home and is defeated. John called to him though. John told him to come hang with he and the other girls. Tuck couldn't believe it. Both possum's became even better friends through this situation. 

Author's Note: I chose the third person narration style for this story because it helped me simplify my writing more. It didn't make things too complicated. My main goal for the story was to have the antagonist fail and for their to be a happy ending. 

Why the Possum's tail is Bare originally is a story about a possum that gets his tail burned because a friend doesn't like the main possum. The story ends after the possum's tail gets its hair torn off by a rat and explains that's why the possum's tail is bare to this day.

In my story, I made the animal that didn't like the main possum John another possum Tuck who is his brother. Instead of ripping hair off of his tail, Tuck burned John's tail. The last change is that John ends up getting more attention and Tuck's plan is foiled. John calls Tuck over to him though so he can hang with him. They both start to get to know each other better and become even closer family. 

Bibliography: Why the Possum's tail is Bare, Myths of the Cherokee, James Mooney, (1900)