Week 9 Reading Diary: Native American Marriage Tales Unit Continued

The second half of the Native American Marriage Tales Unit  by Stith Thompson was just as interesting as the first half. The stories were a little confusing for me to understand due to the extreme story lines and life lessons. This unit consisted of stories regarding humans that could transform into animals. All of the stories dealt with marriage or relationships. 

Tales of North American Indians by Stith Thompson

In the second half of my readings, there were two stories really grabbed my attention. The first story I found myself engaged in was "The Dog-Husband."  This story was unlike anything that I have ever read before. The main character in this story was a young woman. This woman had a dog that turned into a man at night. Half way through the story, the woman became pregnant and gave birth to five pups. Her parents were furious and killed the dog. In the end, the pups turned to humans and actually became "chiefs" of her village.

This story grabbed my attention because I thought it was ironic how the child pups eventually became heroes. I liked the idea of dogs being able to turn into humans. For my story this week, I would like to incorporate an animal becoming a hometown hero.

The other story that really grabbed my attention was called "The Youth Who Joined The Deer." In this story, a hunter leaves his two wives to join an "indian family." This family had the power to turn into deer. This family was especially unique because they had immortal powers. If a deer was killed, all they had to do was throw their bones into the water and they would come back to life. In the end of this story, the hunter left his human form and also became a "magical deer."

In this story, I loved the idea of being able to come back to life. For my next story, I want to incorporate a character that has the power of coming back from the dead.