~Fleur~

This story was a bit haunting. I was thinking in the introduction that the story had taken place during a time where demon-like figures like Fleur were on the rise! But that was definitely not the case. Fleur is the pariah of the story in which know one knows much about. In the beginning she drowns herself constantly. In the middle of the story she leaves the town seeking employment at a Butcher's shop. Towards the end she is still seen as an outcast demon-like person who then gives birth to a child, and the father is said to be either the lake itself or Misshepeshu, the evil water man. This was a spooky read that hardly made any sense to me. >.

-Note to a Culture Vulture -

This read was somewhat confusing to me. At first I was thinking that the author a Native American who was angry at the assimilation of a white writer into Indian culture; however, I think it's more about a white American describing the way a full-blooded Native American feels about someone outside his Native society doing research and studying his people in order to gain knowledge and to be seen as a Native American Writer.

-How to Write the Great American Indian Novel-

The description of what an Indian man must be like and how a white woman should react deeply reminds me of Adult Swim's television series "King of the Hill". In this show, the main character's best friend, Dale Dribble, has a wife, Nancy Dribble, who is secretly cheating on him with a Native American named John Redcorn. Only a few neighbors know of this and Dale is so positive of the fact that aliens secretly planted a seed within Nancy, thus giving them a halfbreed named Joseph. Sherman Alexie's read says "All white women love Indian men. That is always the case. White women feign disgust at the savage in blue jeans and T-shirt, but secretly lust after him."

-Truganinny-

It would have been nice to see Truganinny's dying wish fulfilled. After seeing her husband stuffed and mounted she did not want to suffer the same fate and sought peace but was unable to find it. This poem describes the cruel end of the last of the Tasmanians.

Cowboy -- Thomas McGuane

In this short story we get an example of the life of a cowboy on a ranch, as oppose to the life of a cowboy that involves killing others or hostage-type situations. We get a sense of what the original definition of a cowboy is, and that is one who herds and tends to the cattle on a ranch. This story follows a cowboy that is looking for work on a ranch - no doubt different from all the other cowboys we've read in class. Although his life as a cowboy is different from that of other outlaws, it's not hard to notice some of the characteristics. He's not fearful, he's a bit brash, and has foul language to go along with all of that. He's willing to take on tasks that most couldn't stomach just to get the job done. Something like extracting a calf from a pregnant heifer in peices! Also, not to say that all cowboys aren't respectful, but he refers to the old man most often as "old sumbit**". Every now and then he'll say "the old man" or "the old fella". Something that came to my attention was that we never learn the name of the old man, the name of his sister, or the cowboy which left me discontent with the story.