Lodge Boy and Thrown Away Questions

Alex Figueroa

P. 3

August 27, 2012

1.      This myth shows how important children were to this specific culture. These boys did a lot of good for their community including saving people that had been eaten by the great serpent, and raise their own mother from the dead. All this they did without being given power from an external source. This shows that this culture believed in the power of pure innocence and youth.

2.      Several fantastical elements are shown in this myth. One is that there are still living people inside the stomach of the beast that the two brothers slay. Obviously, in real life they would probably be dead before they even got to its stomach, if it was even a beast large enough for multiple people to be digested at once. Another one is that the boys raised their mother from the dead. This portion of the story isn’t very realistic because they just decide, out of the blue, to bring their mother back to life. Also, that’s just generally impossible. Finally, the Eagle talking to the boys, and pleading for help, is fantastical as well.

3.      By the twelve steps of a hero, the boys are not heroes.  The first step they skip is number three. The brothers never refused the call, in fact, they chased after it, even ignoring their father when he said not to. They also never had a mentor, it seems as though the brothers were born smart and skillful and always knew how to confront their problems. Finally, they were never really in danger of death, and they never left their world or changed environments. So that skips almost 5 steps!