The second half of the
Blackfoot Stories unit focused on tricksters, magic, and heroism. Two stories featured Old Man tricking animals in order to make a meal out of them. He was so heartless with his decision making. I could not imagine leading someone to believe that I wanted to play a game with them and then slit their throat when they weren't looking. Trickery has been a major theme in the last few units that I've read. This seems strange to me because I've grown up with stories favoring the underdog. Yes, the antagonist gets his way for a bit, but the good guy always wins in the end. I wonder if these older stories focus on the trickster winning to teach the lesson of naïveté is a bad thing. Not everyone should be trusted right away. That's how they had to survive. Now we have the legal system, so trickery is much more difficult and the need for these hidden warnings in stories has decreased.
The last few chapters were about the life of Kut-O-Yis. He magically appeared on Earth and was raised by parents who were being mistreated. He became a hero not only with his adoptive parents but also to people that he met on his travels. This theme is in stark contrast to the last stories of trickery. Kut-O-Yis reminded me of a Native American super hero. He challenged powerful people and did things that defied logic to defeat them. I enjoyed his use of magic to do the right thing. He should be one of the Avengers. This is the first story that I've read that involves heroism in its classic sense, just a guy out to fight for justice in the world. Maybe this is the end of the tricker stories and the beginning of tales of justice.
I did not read the Blackfoot Stories but I have noticed that a lot of the stories that we have been reading involve tricksters and trickery. Not only has it been prevalent in this unit but in the past units as well. I am also used to stories that end with the good guy defeating the trickster or villain so although these stories were a little harsh at times, it was interesting to read something new. I liked your theory about how the trickster stories may be used to teach the lesson of naïveté. I know that in the Hopi tribe, they have clown characters that show children what not to do in an attempt to teach them how to be an upstanding member of the tribe.
ReplyDelete