Indian Legends of California and the Southwest Week 13: Native American Tales - Assignments - Reading - Resources - Images

Reflections Essay

Gods and Goddesses. Many myths and folktales involve gods and goddesses as characters in the stories. What impression did you have of the gods and goddesses who appeared in this week's stories? How did the gods act? What kind of personalities did they have? How did they interact with the human characters? How did they interact with each other? Did you learn anything about the religious practices associated with these gods from the readings this week? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Tricksters and Fools. One of the most popular figures in folklore and mythology around the world is the "trickster" character. The "fool" is a related character. Who are some of the tricksters and fools you saw in this week's readings? Are there characters who combine "trickster" and "fool" into a single character? What kinds of adventures do the tricksters and fools have? How do the other characters in the story interact with the tricksters and fools? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Comedy and Humor. What were some of the comic elements in this week's stories? Did you appreciate the humor in the stories? What are the characters and/or situations that were supposed to be humorous? Was the humor based on surprise? exaggeration? making fun of someone or something? Did any of the stories make you laugh out loud? Which story did you think was the most humorous? How does the kind of humor you found in these stories compare to the kind of humor found in television and movies today? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Magic and the Supernatural. Magic and supernatural elements are important for many mythological and folktale traditions. What examples of magic and supernatural elements did you see in this week's stories? What kinds of characters used magic? What did they use magic for? Were there supernatural characters or events in this week's stories? What role did these supernatural characters or events play in the plot of the stories? Would you say that magic and supernatural motifs were dominant elements in this week's readings? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Recurring Motifs. Folktales and myths are built up of "motifs" - common elements of plot and character that can be used and re-used over and over again, combined and recombined in different ways in order to create variants on existing stories. Did you see some motifs that recurred more than once in this week's stories? Some character types that repeated over and over again? Events in the plots that were similar between one story and another? Other things that repeated from story to story? Discuss these recurring motifs, and explain how these motifs are useful in creating a story. Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Parents and Children / Brothers and Sisters. Many myths and folktales are about the relations between parents and their children, or between brothers, or brothers and sisters. What impression did you have of the parents (mothers, fathers) and siblings (brothers, sisters) from this week's readings? Do you think that these parent-child or sibling relationships were an important theme for the stories? Were there some specific family behaviors that were being promoted by the stories? Some specific family behaviors that were being discouraged? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Setting and Landscape. What impression did you have of the setting and the natural landscape for these stories? What details do you remember? Did the setting(s) play an important role in the stories? How were the events of the story related to the natural landscape(s)? Were the seasons or time of year important in any of the stories? The weather? Was the natural setting realistic, or was it a kind of fantasy setting? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.

Assess. Think back to your Starting Assumptions this week and your Starting Assumptions for the course in general. Did anything you read or studied this week make a big change in your starting assumptions? What surprised you the most? What story made the most vivid impression on you? Was there a story that didn't grab you at all or that you didn't understand? Did this unit fit into your expectations for a course in Mythology and Folklore? If you were going to continue with this topic, what kind of research and reading would you want to do? What questions would you want to find answers to? Make sure you make specific references to at least three different stories in your essay.