Reading Notes: Native American Hero Tales, Part B

The beginning of this story, Red Woman and the Twins, was very brutal and vivid. I am wondering who Red Woman is and why she not only killed the wife, but teased the husband by mutilating her lip. I thought the names of the two boys were unique, but a little distracting while reading. The old woman and her pot was an interesting addition to the story's plot. I liked the idea of having small stories within the tale and the boys were heroes even though they disobeyed their parents countless times.

The second story includes a reoccurring theme from old tales. A father does not want to give his daughter away so easily and gives the husband challenges. This story is a little more intense because he keeps killing her spouses. The ending was a surprised, but I always enjoy when a character turns into an animal.

I had to use my imagination when reading The Jealous Father for vivid details. I did not like Aioswe's son because he let the Walrus die after he agreed to save his life. I thought having both the mother and father conjuring things to save/stop the boy from returning home was a great idea. I would not categorize anyone, except possibly the mother, in the story as a hero. It is one thing to get revenge on the man who tried to kill you, but to set the entire world on fire is a bit much.

The author included a lot of detail when describing the camp Star and Sun landed on. From the first paragraph I thought Sun and Star would be spying on the daughters and the chief, but they are sticking so well to their new characters, grandmother and grandson, it really benefits the story. I was surprised when the elder sister did not obey her father. The ending paragraph describing the younger sister's new path was so beautiful.

Image Information: Two Ravens on Wood, Web Source: Pixino
Bibliography: Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson, Web Source: Native American Hero Tales Unit