Leslie Marmon Silko
Summary:
Juanita is the
main character who takes care of the elderly in her village because she does
not have anyone to care for. Everyday Jaunita visits her two aunts, Etta and Reyna. Etta spent more of her time growing up learning about plants instead of learning the traditional tribal knowledge. Etta left the reservation and went to school in Winslow, Arizona where she became more apart of the outside world and left her history at the reservation. When Etta returns to the village she has new social ideas and norms that she wants to follow. The first thing she wants to "fix" is the fence in between her house and Reyna's. She and Reyna are sister in-laws, but the distance between them would not have let you onto that fact. Etta learned in the "white school" in Winslow that fences are built by people to protect things from being stolen or lost, where as in the village fences show where you stand. Jaunita agrees with her Aunt Reyna that the village shares things, and that there is no private property. one night Reyna goes with Juanita, and her sister Ruthie into their cornfield to see what Ruthie's husband is up to. The cornfield was left to Juanita and Ruthie by their mother, everything is passed down through the women in the family. The women find Ruthie's husband having an affair in the cornfield. The three women are not angry that they were having an affair, but it was in the cornfield. Because Juanita and Ruthie share the field they are mourning over the fact that they believe the corn is now sickly and that the plants will no longer grow.
The entire story
is about private property, which is a different term for how their village
works. The aunts fight over a small section of land between their houses, and
Ruthie is fighting to keep what is hers and to keep it clean no less. The entire works theme is about fighting for
their property, which they want to keep private and traditional. Silko used the
different characters experiences to contrast with Etta because she went to a
"white man's Indian school". Her ideas about community have changed
and now she wants to keep herself and her property secluded from the rest of
the community. She builds the fence to
separate herself from the world she left behind and to keep others from getting
to her.
Analysis/ Reasoning:
I chose this piece for my anthology because it discusses how different cultures and groups of people within the united states are governed, and how they affect the land and visa versa. I want the students in my class to understand how their actions affect their fellow students and not just themselves. this story discusses how different people view property, whether it is shared between two people or whole class, or personal property. I want students to research native american tribes to see how each tribe is governed. One thing I would not share with the students would be the affair in the cornfield. I would either not read that portion of the story, or change it to be something more age appropriate. I would have students then write what they consider their private property and what is shared and how it should be treated. I would want to discuss governments/ discipline with my students using the layout that students are responsible to each other, and then discipline will be followed through by myself.
Common core standards:
Social studies core:
Standard 1: "Students will understand the relation ship between the physical geography in Utah and human life."
- objective 2: "Analyze how physical geography affects human life in Utah."
- objective 3: "Analyze how human actions modify the physical environment."
Standard 2: "Students will understand how Utah's history has been shaped by many diverse people, events, and ideas."
-objective 1: "Describe the historical and current impact of various cultural groups on Utah."
Standard 3: "Students will understand the roles of civic life, politics, and government in the lives of Utah citizens."
-objective 2: "Analyze the different ways people have organized governments in Utah to meet community needs."
Reading core:
Key ideas and details- standard 1: "Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text."
Standard 2: "Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text."
Integration of knowledge and ideas- Standard 9: "Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics and patterns of events in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures."
Craft and structure- Standard 6: "Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations."
Writing core:
Text type and purpose- standard 2: "Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly."
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