Reading Notes: British North America; Part B

 Coyote's Gifts -- Myths and Legends of British North America, by K. Judson

  • Usage of ambiguous character names, such as the "Old One" adds on to the dramatic effects of the character described as well as to the character describing it. Usually, in instances like these, these names signify the importance of this character and foreshadow the appearance again sometime later in the storyline. Or maybe even a backstory?
  • The narrator speaks in a third-person point of view of him/herself, using no "I", but strictly "Coyote"
    • Maybe for clarification?
    • Could this be just an aspect of the culture of storytelling and mythology in this certain region?
    • All other characters in the story are described in such ways, no usage of "he" or "she" or any related terminology
  • All locations were clearly named
    • Adds on to the realness of the story and how it is applied to reality
    • I think that using these names, especially to those who have been to these locations, adds relation to the reader and allows them to immerse more into the story themselves
    • "Thompson River" & "Shuswap County" for example
  • Provides origin story
    • At the end of this story, it describes that due to the work done by Coyote and the salmon, it tells how the broken dam at the end of the Fraser River has now been converted into a canyon, which is probably a specific landscape in British North America
    • I especially love these mythological stories that ultimately describe how certain natural phenomenon came to be
(Coyote in the Snow. Source: Wikimedia)

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