Reading Notes: Native American Marriage Tales, Part A
The Eagle and Whale Husbands
The story starts out with two little girls playing with eagle and whale bones on a beach, which seems like a very bizarre thing for little girls to do (The story does not give them names, so I am going to call them Sky and Ocean). Sky, who is playing with the eagle bones, says that she wants to marry an eagle, and Ocean, who is playing with whale bones, says that she wants to marry a whale. Then, both of the little girls are kidnapped; Sky, by an eagle, and Ocean, by a whale. However, they both end up being rescued and returning to their families. I was worried that the animals would steal them back, but when the animals tried to follow, they ended up dying.
These are a couple of plot holes I noticed that I would want to fill if I rewrote this story: How did their families react to them being kidnapped? How long was each girl with her captor? How did Ocean's brothers know where to find her?
A theme in this story could be something along the lines of, "Be careful what you wish for," or "Sometimes, you don't realize you actually don't want something until you have it." If I were to rewrite this story, I would focus on this theme and make it about two teen/young adult girls - with names - who are each chasing after something they think they want, and then realize that it's actually not at all what they thought it would be. Maybe for one of them, there's a boy in school who they have a huge crush on, but then, after they start dating, turns out to be the wrong person. Then, their friends and family could help them get out of their unfortunate predicaments
Bibliography: The Eagle and Whale Husbands by Stith Thompson
The story starts out with two little girls playing with eagle and whale bones on a beach, which seems like a very bizarre thing for little girls to do (The story does not give them names, so I am going to call them Sky and Ocean). Sky, who is playing with the eagle bones, says that she wants to marry an eagle, and Ocean, who is playing with whale bones, says that she wants to marry a whale. Then, both of the little girls are kidnapped; Sky, by an eagle, and Ocean, by a whale. However, they both end up being rescued and returning to their families. I was worried that the animals would steal them back, but when the animals tried to follow, they ended up dying.
These are a couple of plot holes I noticed that I would want to fill if I rewrote this story: How did their families react to them being kidnapped? How long was each girl with her captor? How did Ocean's brothers know where to find her?
A theme in this story could be something along the lines of, "Be careful what you wish for," or "Sometimes, you don't realize you actually don't want something until you have it." If I were to rewrite this story, I would focus on this theme and make it about two teen/young adult girls - with names - who are each chasing after something they think they want, and then realize that it's actually not at all what they thought it would be. Maybe for one of them, there's a boy in school who they have a huge crush on, but then, after they start dating, turns out to be the wrong person. Then, their friends and family could help them get out of their unfortunate predicaments
Bibliography: The Eagle and Whale Husbands by Stith Thompson
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