Trickster Tales by Matt Dembicki

In the Raven the Trickster by John Active, the raven is seemed to be mischievous. First, he kicks the deqs, and when his foot gets caught, he lies to get the deq to release him. This was the first sign that portrayed the raven as a trickster. Not only was the raven mischievous, the raven was also very inquisitive. Normally when a beluga whale opens its mouth, one does not typically dive into it. However, in the raven’s case of curiosity he flies right in and gets eaten by the beluga. When the raven arrives in the stomach of the beluga, he meets a woman with a lamp over her shoulder. The women specifically told the raven not to touch the lamp in her absence. Knowing the curious nature of the raven, he disobeyed and touched it anyway. This had led to the killing of the beluga whale. Not only does the raven get the beluga whale killed, the raven fool the hunters into giving up the beluga meat. This story gave a very direct and clear picture of what a true trickster should look like. Though the story was quite straightforward, I came to realize that the woman inside the belly looked very similar to the hunters that killed the beluga. This begs the question of was it really a coincidental that when the raven touched the lamp, the beluga was killed? The next story of the mink and the wolf was less clarity of who the trickster really was. Simply because both the mink and the wolf had traits of a trickster. First off, the mink who tried to trick the fish into swimming along the edge of the river in order to hunt them. Secondly when the wolf talks the mink to sleep and eats the fish he catches, and tricks the mink into believing that he had ate it when he woke up. I felt that the wolf was the real trickster because not only did the wolf eat the fish, he tricked the mink into believing that he had ate the fish and that he actually satisfied his appetite. 

William Bradley, Graphic Memoirs Come of Age

In William Bradley’s “Graphic Memoirs come of Age”, he focuses on giving his take upon certain graphic novels. In a way, it seems to me that Bradley is more than just sharing his opinions, he is showing his adoration for certain graphic novelists and their work. For example, Bradley focuses a lot on Beschdel’s Fun Home in comparison to another one of her works Are you my Mother? Bradley then discusses the differences between both these works, and ultimately gives us his take on which one is better. Other than graphic novelists such as Beschdel, Bradley also gives us his take on another graphic novelist; Dorkin. Once again, Bradley goes into Evan Dorkin’s AutoBioHazard and how Dorkin chronicled his depression and anxiety into one of the best works of his career. This adds on to how Bradley seem to show adoration for these artists and their works. Bradley gives me conclusion that tells me he is not only an essayist, but also big fan of graphic novels. 

American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erodoes and Alfonso Ortiz

I must say, that I had become a fan of Native American myths and legends after reading these pieces selected by Erodoes and Ortiz. What had made me a fan was that the myths and legends was of great humor to me. Not only was it quite humorous to me as a reader, it also came to me as very absurd and eccentric stories. However, I believe those were the traits that made these myths and legends such an interesting and compelling read.

Both Ortiz and Erdoes display true passion for Native American folklore in the opening pages. However, it was clear to see that Ortiz and Erdoes were very disappointed in modern Native American culture. They claim that it has been “white-manized”, and that it is extremely difficult to obtain knowledge of ancient Native American tales in the modern day.

Not only was Ortiz and Erdoes passionate about Native American folklore, they were very much trying to inspire readers to preserve it. For example, they would continue to reiterate how important language is and how vital these myths and legends truly are to the survival of Native American culture. Ortiz and Erdoes considered these myths and legends to be emblems that represented the Native American as people. In addition, they claimed that these tales are the only things that connect the modern day Native American people to their ancestors’ centuries in the past. This commitment and passion displayed by Erodoes and Ortiz really did sway me as a reader and a person that will appreciate Native American literature.