Week 10 Reading Notes: American Indian Fairy Tales Part B

Immediately I notice that these fairy tales give names and personalities to inanimate objects, and I am inspired to write a story in the same fashion. I will give everyday items like staplers and refrigerators names and personalities. Perhaps some items will be essential in helping the protagonist conquer the antagonist, who could also be an object. Like in the story How the Summer Came, I would like to put my character in a cold, lifeless environment to begin the story. He longs for something better, and he remembers how good things used to be. I like dystopian settings in stories, so maybe our antagonist is kept in a cold, emotionless oligarchical society. He is finally able to either escape or overturn the existing regime and free all of the oppressed people. I like the idea of the protagonist having to crash through a barrier or two-way mirror, like O-jeeg had to break through the sky in How the Summer Came. I also like the idea of the protagonist dying as a self-sacrifice for the good of a loved one, just like O-jeeg in How the Summer Came. Perhaps the protagonist will be a daydreamer, much like Neen-i-zu in The Fairy Bride story. That would help explain how he communicates with inanimate objects. Or he could be a magician of sorts, like O-jeeg. I really like how strong-willed Neen-i-zu is despite her mother's desire for her to be normal and marry a hunter. She followed her dreams and eventually did what made her happy. All of these stories inspire my writing for the week. I am considering a strong-willed protagonist in a cold, dystopian environment who daydreams and talks to objects or animals. He knows about the beautiful world outside of the monotone walls that are said to protect the citizens. He finds a way to save everyone and take them back to the beautiful outside world, but he loses his life in the process. Perhaps where he dies a magical tree of life will sprout.


Photo of the wall at the US-Mexico border, taken by Wonderlane and found on Flickr, here.
I chose this photo to represent the wall keeping our protagonist separated from nature in the story I am going to write. It represents oppression and unnatural disharmony.

Bibliography: Stories from American Indian Fairy Tales Unit B, found here.