Reading Notes: Week 11, Native American Tales: Cherokee, Part A

Symbolism is at the heart of the story, especially the animal symbol of the owl. In traditional mythology stories, the owl was the symbol for the goddess Athena which represented wisdom and strategy. This symbol is not consistent with the underachieving man, turning out to actually be an owl. Also, his real identity of being an owl, is something shameful and something the man is actually hiding which would not align with the traditional symbols.
Firstly, the story begins with a widow advising her daughter to find a suitor to could hunt to take care of her. The fact that the girl's parental guardian surrounds her focus on her daughter needing a man suggests that the widow is longing something that she does not have, which makes sense due to her lack of a suitor. Personally, I think the background of the mother's death of her former husband is a gap in this story. What was her old husband like? How did she die? I think the mother's root of her desire of a hunter for her daughter serves as a great source for character development for the story. Why makes the mother this passionate about this? Does her strict expectations stem from stereotypical gender roles or from her previous experience with men.
A man approaches the mother claiming he is everything she could possibly wants in a husband and even says that he is a hunter-- one of the things the mother says she specifically wants for her daughter. However, when he is put to the test, he cannot perform, and he can barely bring home any food. Personally I interpret it as the animal wanting to be a human, but in reality the animal cannot fulfill the roles of what humans are expected to do. Because yes. The owl is able to successfully hunt and bring home food for the woman. And the amount of food is ample--but for the expectations of an owl. The meal for the owl does not amount to anything that would be enough for humans. The owl cannot be what he desperately desires to be-- a human.


Owl, Needpix


Bibliography: J. Mooney, Native American Tales, The Owl Gets Married (link)

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