Reading Notes: Native American Hero Tales Part B

Lodge-Boy and Thrown-Away

This story had a very dark and kind of twisted beginning. I couldn't help but wonder as I was reading it why Red-Woman would be so set on killing the man's wife and harming the babies as she did. This is what I would focus on for a rewrite of this piece to give it more of a background and a hope that it makes a little bit more sense to the readers somehow.

When the wife was killed, one of the sons was thrown behind

a simple curtain such as this. Source: Pixabay

The Son-in-Law Tests

I actually really enjoyed reading this story. There isn't much about the story line itself that I would want to change but I think that I could change the format somehow to enhance the story. Maybe I would write it as a journal/diary or something keeping a log of the tests being endured.

The Jealous Father

Again, this story seemed to be lacking quite a bit where background is concerned. If I were to do my rewrite for this portion, I would spend time focusing on why the father hated the son so much. I might even take it step further to try and figure out a resolution for this conflict.

Dirty-Boy

This story had a very Cinderella feel to me. I would want to rewrite this in a way that somehow modernized what is going on. Maybe the kids are in high school and the nerdy boy is trying to win the popular girls heart. This would be a potentially fun one to look at working with.

Bibliography

Stith Thompson's Native American Hero Tales