History Class: Native American Oral Tales
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| This is NOT a history class. Your job is to analyze the texts from the historical authors not to discuss what modern writers have said about those old texts. So, for example, if you want to write about the Native American myths, then only focus on and use quotes from the actual myths. Don’t include any other historical material or analysis written by modern authors ABOUT those myths. If you want to write about Native American oral tale, then focus only on what the oral tale says. Don’t include anything written by a modern author that talks about or analyzes the writings. Here’s a guideline to help with that: Primary sources = Original documents, like journals, sermons, diaries, oral tales, short stories, poems, court documents, pamphlets, etc… Secondary sources = Anything written ABOUT primary sources, like history books, biographies, articles, analysis, opinions, arguments, summaries, etc… In all of your writings in this course, ONLY USE PRIMARY SOURCES. Don’t use research in your essays. You may only use the readings you are given each week. If your essay uses outside research not on our reading list, it will get an automatic zero. In today’s age, information is at the tips of everyone’s fingers with a simple tap or click. Unfortunately, that often leads to lazy thinkers who can’t come up with original thoughts of their own. I’d rather hear your original thoughts on the literature instead of the thoughts of other people. Your essay is an argument. I must be able to debate your thesis. To have an argument, you must have an opinion on something and take a side. Read the “Thesis Statements Lecture Notes” for a thorough explanation of how to write an argumentative thesis. No matter how well you write, if you don’t have an argumentative thesis, then your essay is useless. I encourage you to email me your thesis before you write your essay, so I can check it. Read the “Essays” part of the syllabus before you submit your essay. I will hold everyone accountable for knowing the information in there. Also, see the grading rubric I will use to grade your essays for a point-by-point breakdown of what you must do in your essays to get good grades. Now, here’s what you will be writing about. Essay 1: Native American Oral Tales Trace one universal theme that is common among several tribes and give your own debatable opinion about it. Choose one of the universal themes from last week’s list that you see repeated over 3-4 oral tales. You can use the tales I provided and other tales from the website link I gave you that were not assigned. Generate an opinion about the presence of that tale. You MUST have an opinion about the tale to have an argument. So, your thesis will be made up of two things: Subject (the repeated theme) + Opinion (your opinion of that theme). For example, “(Subject) The repetition of the mutilation of the female body in these three creation tales (Opinion) illustrates the relationship between birth and the woman’s sacrifice.” Having trouble coming up with an opinion? Try this. Did you like or dislike the presence of the theme across the tales you chose? Why? Usually, the answer to the “Why?” question is your opinion. That opinion is the basis for your argument. Once you have an opinion, the rest is simple. Prove your opinion giving examples from the tales. Explain why you feel the way you do in the essay. Always remember in your essays to ANALYZE, DON’T SUMMARIZE. Don’t simply write a summary of the texts. Your essay must have a point. Email me your thesis before you write if you’d like my feedback |
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| Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date Native American Oral Tales The oral tradition of the Native American civilization is well known. These indigenous people did not use a written language to record their history; instead, they relied on oral traditions to convey their culture, customs, rituals, and stories. The mythology and literature of the Native American individuals of North America did not have a common foundation. Tribes globally evolved their myths about the origin of the planet, the arrival of the first humans, and the role humans play in the universe. Some legendary themes and figures appear throughout a wide range of Native American civilizations despite the diversity of myths in the region. Every time the people recounted a tale, they gave the culture new life, and its oral language was developed. Along with teaching life lessons like love, pride, leadership, and dignity, in this way, the tribe’s past embraced a new life. Pride and trickster narratives were two forms of literature that emerged as a way to teach moral principles to the people. “How Bear Lost his tail” by an Iroquois Legend, “Honeyed words can’t sweeten Evil” by an Algonquin Legend, and “Gluscabi and The Wind Eagle” by an Abenaki Legend are three excellent examples of such publications. Even though the Abenaki legend provides an account of suffering because of pride, the Iroquois and Algonquin legend tales’ are the most effective vessels for portraying the negative impacts of pride. In his story “How bear lost his tail,” the Iroquois legend talks about a prideful bear who constantly brought up the subject of his tail, much to the displeasure of the other animals. The story correctly depicted the saying pride comes before a fall. In other words, his tail was a source of pride. He spoke about it constantly. Other animals did not receive well bear’s story about his tail. As seen in the tale, “Bear used to wave it around just so that people would look at it (Iroquois Legend line 2).” However, if he had realized what was in store for him, he would not have been so content. Unknown to him, one of the creatures who adored his tail was determined to affect him significantly. The fox, enraged when he learned of his pride, wanted to trick the bear and teach him a lesson he would never forget. The fox had been patiently waiting for his moment to strike! When the right moment came, the fox took the necessary step to teach the bear the lesson. The bear trudged down to the frozen lake on a very chilly day in the depths of winter. While approaching the lake, a beautiful sight drew his attention. The fox sat on the bank, surrounded by a mountain of fish! Seeing so many tasty-looking fish made the bear’s stomach rumble, moistening his mouth. He walked up to the fox, who asked him if he would love to try fishing, “Oh, yes, said Bear, as he started to lumber over to Fox’s fishing hole (Iroquois Legend line 17).” When the fox saw this reaction, he was overjoyed. He tricked the fox into a situation that saw the bear lose his tail into a hole that ice covered it. As long as the bear could get his paws on the fox, the bear would have murdered him that day! On the other hand, the fox was aware of this and was able to avoid him at all means. That is how the bear parted his ways with his beautiful tail. If he had not shown pride and treated others fairly, this would not have happened. On the other hand, “Honeyed words can’t Sweeten Evil” by Algonquin Legend also played a role in portraying the theme of pride. Pride dramatically hinders the development of other qualities. People’s inadequacies and faults become too difficult to admit where pride takes the lead. Having a sense of self-importance causes us to assume we are always correct. In the Algonquin’s story, the Blue Heron was an amiable creature willing to help. For instance, when two Weasels, a mother, and a son, came to the river, the Blue Heron helped them cross the river after overhearing them praise him. He told the two Weasels, “I will help you go across. Come down to where you see that old tree lying in the stream (Algonquin Legend line 13-14).” On the contrary, an old Wolf on the riverbank reacted differently to the situation. He had pride take over, which did not end well for him. Unlike the two Weasels, the old Wolf spoke to the Blue Heron by calling him a bridge that helps others cross the river. He wanted Blue Heron to assist him in crossing the river like the others. However, “Blue Heron was angry. He didn’t like being called a bridge (Algonquin Legend line 27).” He used that as an opportunity to teach the old Wolf a lesson. He agreed to carry the old Wolf on his back but would later leave him in the middle of the river, and the water swept him away. If the old Wolf was as respectful as others were and did not allow pride to rule him, this could not have happened to him. “Gluscabi and The Wind Eagle” by an Abenaki Legend is another tale that helps the reader see the negative effect of pride. Because of pride, Gluscabi could not learn important lessons from his grandmother. Ignoring his grandmother’s lessons caused many troubles in their village. For instance, one day, as Gluscabi went hurting for some ducks, he could not do it because the wind came up, and he was back to the shore. Such an instance happened four times, and Gluscabi was not pleased. “He was not happy. He returned to his grandmother’s lodge and walked right in…” (Abenaki Legend line 18). Even though there was a sign on a stick at the doorstep that no one should enter, the boy’s pride could not prevent him, and he went in. He inquired his grandmother about why the wind blew. The grandmother was hesitant and worried about why the boy wanted to know. “Gluscabi,” she said, “Why do you want to know (Abenaki Legend line 20)?” Gluscabi was stubborn, and all he wanted was an answer. After learning that it is not okay to walk against the wind, he walked facing the wind until he came to where the wind eagle was. He saw how the wind eagle was doing to trigger the wind, and he lied to help him into the next peak. Instead, he wrapped the wind eagle with straps from a big basswood tree to a point it was hard for him to breathe. He then picked the wind eagle and would later drop him into a large crevice. Although he went home feeling that he was a man enough, things just got worse. Yes, there was no more wind, but other challenges emerged. He went on to hunt, some ducks, “But the air was scorching and still, and he began to sweat. The air was so still and hot that it was hard to breathe (Abenaki Legend line 78).” In addition, the water started to be dirty, with so much foam on it, and was smelling bad. He later learned from his grandmother that he had made one big mistake by messing with the wind eagle. His prideful actions had landed the entire village in trouble. In conclusion, even though some people believe that the three tales trigger the lesson of causing people to avoid trusting what others tell them, the theme of pride appears to be more relevant. A person’s excessive pride thwarts the development of other significant virtues. It is too difficult for people to admit their flaws or errors when pride takes the lead. People feel that they are always correct because of their pride. Works Cited Abenaki Legend. (n.d.). Gluscabi and the wind eagle. Retrieved from https://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/GluscabiandtheWindEagle-Abenaki.html Algonquin Legend. (n.d.). Honeyed words can’t sweeten evil. Retrieved from https://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/HoneyedWordsCantSweetenEvil-Algonquin.html Iroquois Legend. (n.d.). How bear lost his tail. Retrieved from https://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/HowBearLostHisTail-Iroquois.html |
