Logan Huntze
Ms. H
English 205
27 February 2019
Project #1
Love has an important affect on each
individual’s life, some in a positive way and some in a negative. Two texts
that we have read this semester that involves love are “About the House Girl”
(40-50) and “Thocmetony” [Sarah Winnemucca] (254-261). These two texts illustrate
love in two different ways. In “About the House Girl,” love is accepted and persuaded
by each individual, versus in “Thocmetony,” love is more hesitant and persuaded
in a much different way and often times frowned upon rather than being
something special. I think love was much easier to pursue in the story “About
the House Girl” compared to “Thocmetony” and love definitely had a different
meaning in both texts.
We have been
reading lots of texts from back in the day about California’s history and the
influence it had on so many people. Each story has had a meaning behind it and
that is a reason why I chose the topic to talk about that I did. In the
beginning of the semester, we read a text called “About the House Girl” (40-50)
and this was an interesting story to me. I was able to relate to the story in
some way and I was also able to paint a good picture in my mind about what the
setting was during that time. This text was evolved around the love that
Patipir had for Ifapi, and eventually the love they both had for each other. We
have also read another text in this class called “Thocmetony” [Sarah
Winnemucca] (254-261) and in this text girls are involved with special
ceremonies growing up and the value of love is rarely taught to them. For a man
to marry a woman, he must approach her at night while she is sleeping in her
grandmothers lodge, and from there the women either tells the man to go away or
she accepts him and they get married. The concept is much different in this
story than “About the House Girl.”
In the text
“About the House Girl,” the main character Patipir is described as a hard
working young man who enjoys fishing and hunting, and on his quite time he
enjoys playing the flute near the river. He lived on a village, and had other
villages around him that were separated by a river. Ifapi, the other main
character who is discovered later in the story, is also a young woman who stays
with her older Aunt on the village of Rekwoi. Rekwoi is located directly across
the river from Patipir. Patipir has known Ifapi’s Aunt his whole life, but has
never seen Ifapi. In this text, Patipir begins his journey to locate and marry
Ifapi, and the events leading up to this is what makes this story so
interesting.
The story “About
the House Girl” was definitely based around love, and from the start Patipir
worked hard to get Ifapi. I think the river that separated the two symbolized the
road to marriage, and Patipir knew that getting across that river meant he
could finally find Ifapi. The imagery described in this text was very detailed,
and it emphasized the meaning certain scenes had on the overall outcome of the
story greatly. Without the description of the river, the smell of fresh sea
weed in the air, and the steep hill leading up to Ifapi’s house, the story
would have been more generic and basic. The scene where Patipir finally finds
Ifapi out on the beach during the middle of the night really shows that it was
love at first sight. Patipir knew who she was right from the start, and that
night he continued to follow her around and watch her. The following day when
he decides to go back up to her Aunts house, find Ifapi, and take her away to
marry her seals the deal for him. However, the overall meaning of the story
stays the same, and that meaning is love.
Characterization
is also a literary device used in this text, and it can be applied to both
Patipir and Ifapi. Patipir was a young, hard working man, however was shy
towards girls and focused most of his attention on hunting, fishing, or playing
the flute. Ifapi was also a shy young woman, but her days consisted of staying
inside and occasionally going out at night to dance at the beach. When the two
saw each other that night at the beach, both of their personalities changed as
they became less shy with one another, even though they didn’t even speak to
each other that night. This escalated into the next day when Patipir went to
Ifapi’s house, took her with him, and married her that day. Both of these
characters changed, and it’s all because of the love they had for each other.
This emphasizes the meaning of love that the author applied to the story and
reveals that love at first sight is actually a thing.
Another literary
device this text uses is plot and by doing so, it creates a better
understanding of how each event goes down to create a more significant meaning.
There is a sequence of events that lead up to the important ending of the
story, and is was very clear to follow in this text. The first important event
that happened was Patipir crossing the river and going up to Ifapi’s house
because of the smell of fresh sea weed. The next event was Patipir heading out
to the beach at night, spotting Ifapi, and watching her the whole night. The
third event was Patipir going back to Ifapi’s house the day after the dancing,
finding Ifapi, and taking her with him. The fourth and final important event
was Patipir getting permission from Ifapi’s parents to marry her, and them both
going off into the ocean to start their new lives. Each of these events are
very meaningful, and they all play an important part into the overall meaning
of the story, and this is love. Each one of these events occur because of love
from Patipir towards Ifapi and the author demonstrates this very well in each
scene. If Patipir didn’t participate in any of these events, the overall
outcome and meaning of the story would have been different. Love symbolized the
whole story, and each event had its own responsibility in the outcome of the
text.
The other
story we have read in class is “Thocmetony” and love was also a factor in this
story. Love had a different meaning to this text, and what makes it different
is love wasn’t necessarily the whole meaning of the story. Love was mixed into
the story, and the way love is looked at and perceived is much different than
the other text called “About the House Girl.” In “Thocmetony,” each child,
especially woman, are taught to be good and are to follow a specific guideline
when they are growing up. The girls in this story are Indian, and they do not
do certain things until they meet a white man who is there to teach them. They
are taught by their parents to love everyone, including their siblings,
cousins, aunts and uncles. However, the young woman are not allowed to talk to
any young men that is not their cousin.
Each year,
the Indian girls have an event called the Festival of Flowers and this is an opportunity
for the girls to dress up and finally be able to talk to young men. At this
festival, the girls meet boys that they are interested in, and the boys walk
them through the flower ceremony and sing the flower songs with them. When
finished, the “Chief” would come out and announce that their flower day will
come in 5 days, and until then they must wait. Five days later the ceremony
happens, the girls now call themselves the “flower girls” and after the dancing
is complete the day full of happiness ends. From there, the girls are sent off
to womanhood at the grandmother’s house, and this is recognized as a very
sacred thing. The girls cannot get married until after they have been through
womanhood. Womanhood lasts twenty five days, and each day the girls are given
certain tasks to complete that will help strengthen them. Once these twenty
five days are over, the women are now open for men to approach. During the
night, men will approach the girl sleeping next to the grandmother, and they
are either told to leave or they’re accepted. It takes up to a year for some
men to be accepted by the woman, but once they are the men can get permission from
the girl’s father to love his daughter. After this, they have a wedding feast
with lots of food and their lives continue on.
In this
story, symbolism is used a lot to describe and show the true meaning of certain
events. When a woman gets to the age where she can participate in the flower
ceremony, that is the first big milestone in the young girls life. This symbolizes
the opportunity to meet a young man and find love. Once the girls are assigned
flowers, the flower ceremony begins and they have the most special day of their
life so far, and the most fun they have ever had also. It is an opportunity for
a man to participate in a ceremony with the girls, and the whole time they are
preparing themselves for love. After the festival, the girls must go to
womanhood which is provided to them by their grandmother’s. The girls are here
for 25 days and each day they are given a new task to complete, which ultimately
gets them stronger. Womanhood symbolizes the importance of marriage to the
young girls, and allows them to learn certain things that will help them be
successful in their future lives with men. The final step is the men
approaching the girls when they’re asleep, and the girls making the decision
whether or not they are ready to marry this man. All of these events are
described as important opportunities that both men and woman get to learn and
appreciate the meaning of love, and I think the author does a great job
breaking each one of these events down to understand the true meaning.
The author uses imagery a lot in this text to help describe each event that is
happening which emphasizes the meaning of love. The flower each girl is given
represents an opportunity for love, and the way the author describes these flowers
shows the true meaning of how important it actually is. The flower festival is
very descriptive, and easily paints a picture in my mind about what is actually
happening in that scene. Womanhood is very visual, especially the woman cutting
and stacking firewood to gain strength. The author uses this imagery to
emphasize how important it is to be strong before a girl decides to get
married. The last step before marriage is the men approaching the woman while
sleeping, and this event is also easy to paint a picture of. The woman must
decide whether they are ready for marriage, and having the grandmother there
while the girl makes her decision is important because she is the one who has
put the girl through womanhood and showed her the importance of being strong. Each
individual scene has its own imagery, but they all have the same meaning and impact
and that is for the girls to find love. Love is a process that is cherished by
the family of the young girls, and it is a huge factor that is played into this
story.
Both “About
the House Girl” and “Thocmetony” emphasize the meaning of love and the
importance of it; However, it is looked at very differently in each texts. “About
the House Girl” describes a young boy who is determined to find and marry the
love of his life, and each event in the story descries an action he partakes in
to make this happen. There are no rules of marriage in this story, and the
young boy Patipir does all the work by himself to marry Ifapi. This is very
different compared to “Thocmetony.” In “Thocmetony,” girls have to go through
certain ceremonies and training before they can even talk to boys their age. The
process to be able to be married takes a long time, most of the time over a
year. They have to be taught certain things and go through training to learn
the importance of love, but this was cherished in this story. Nothing like this
happens in today’s world, and it is crazy to see how things have changed
tremendously. However, Patipir’s actions relate to the world we live in today.
Most people find someone they’re interested in, and make an effort to be with
them. What is different in today’s world compared to “About the House Girl” is
the time to get married. Patipir married Ifapi the first day he took her from
her house. In today’s world I would say that never happens, and it usually
takes a few years to get married.
Both authors
describe love in two different ways with two different perspectives and
stories. It is interesting to think about how things have changed from back
then until now. Although one thing hasn’t changed, and that is the meaning of
love. Love was persuaded in two different ways in the story, and it is
persuaded a whole different way in today’s world but the meaning of love is
still the same. One author described the journey a young boy took to meet the
love of his dreams and marry her, and another author described the importance
of love more in depth and shows the steps required to take to become married.
Each one of them were different points of view, but revolved around love in
different ways.
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