Pacific Northwest: Reading Diary B

The second half of the Pacific Northwest unit was easier to read. The stories seemed longer and flowed better. One story, Cry-Because-He-Had-No-Wife (yes, actually title), reminded me of the Tales of the Congo unit. The wives in this story and several of those from the Congo unit held magical powers. If people did what the wives said, they would be rewarded by some spell. It's always interesting to me to see the women have any kind of power. In this Native American take, the wife has the capability to make elderly young again.

My favorite story from this reading is An Indian's Vow to the Thunder Gods. It is indicated in the preface that this story is not a myth but actually occurred. The Thunder spoke to a Native American woman is a vision, and she promised the God her firstborn. When her baby came, she remembered the promise she had made but did not give the infant up to the gods. The love of a mother is a powerful thing. She tried year after year when the rains came to give up her son, but year after year she retreated holding him ever closer. One day the boy was playing outside when all of a sudden a storm came. A bolt of lightening struck the boy and killed him. I feel like this story would be a good one to recreate because there is so much characterization that could be developed. It could be told either from the mother's or Thunder's perspective.

A storm. Deviant Art.