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CHAPTER III RESEARCH FINDING AND DATA DESCRIPTION
In this chapter, the five Alaska folklores are about to be analyzed are The Ptarmigan Story, The Squirrel Shaman, How Selfishness was Rewarded, Crow
Brings the Daylight and The Meeting of the Wild Animals. Based on the research questions mentioned in Chapter I, this chapter focuses on how the writer analyzes
the chosen Alaska folklores. The main purposes of this chapter are to find the relationships between man and nature which are seen in the folklores through the
mythological events inside them. The definition of nature in this case refers to the existence of animals because Alaska with its temperature has a small possibility
for plants to live. So, it is specifically about the relationships between man and animals. Afterwards, the writer also tries to find the idea behind those
relationships due to man and nature are basically inseparable in life.
A. The Relationships between Man and Nature Presented in the Five Alaska Folklores
1. The Ptarmigan Story
In The Ptarmigan Story, the readers could see how man tends to act out of the limits just to fulfill their curiosity on something and eventually breaks the
tradition rules given by their ancestors or parents. For Eskimo people, this tradition is done through generations by fathers to tell their children the rules
of hunting. So, when one tradition is done from the first generation to the next,
34 it means that the tradition is a very important aspect in life. And if one ever
disobeys, it is believed that the person would get terrible consequences. When young boys are trained to hunt and fish, one of the first lesson they
are taught is to respect and care for the game they hunt. If animals are mistreated, then they may no longer allow themselves to be killed for food
and clothing, and the Eskimo would certainly die of hunger or freeze to death.
http:www.theliteraryreview.orgtlrsu-js.htm As everybody knows that a story must have a conflict to tell. In this story,
the conflict comes from two characters of young brothers. It starts because of their curiosity when they check ptarmigan snares one day. Their curiosity will
lead them into a great misfortune of life. As watching the ptarmigan, one of the brothers speaks to the other: “I wonder if ptarmigan can fly straight
without eyes?”. From this question, we could see how the character thinks beyond a proper
sense that people ever imagine. The boys see the trapped bird as something useful to be played with and they step out of line for what their fathers had
told them. This question turns into an action where they poke the bird’s eyes out with a small branch. The bird is thrown into the air and it definitely can
not fly straight. Seeing the bird keeps crashing into the hillside and bushes, the boys laugh aloud. For these two brothers, the bird has successfully entertained
them. They truly forget about their father’s advice and what is believed when nature is mistreated.
But, they do not stop the game yet. The other brother then asks another question: “I wonder if ptarmigan can fly without feathers?”. Once again, this
question turns into another cruel action where they pluck the blind bird while
35 it is struggling to keep alive. Because of their non-sense curiosity, they throw
the bird again into the air. This time, they feel disappointed because the bird has no power to fly anymore. The bird feels a great pain over these two boys
action. For these brothers, it is no longer funny toy anymore. There is nothing to do to play with the bird. After hurting the bird until it is nearly dead, the
boys leave it without taking it home for food and go checking out another snare. They still do not realize what they actually have done.
So far, the writer could conclude that nature is believed as something sacred for Alaska people. Ancestors consider nature as the provider where
people live because they allow taking nature as positive advantages. But once man treats it wrong, nature also has something much more powerful that no
men would even be able to fight against it. In this story, the two boys reflect a disobedience type of people. They disregard their fathers’ advice and
underestimate the belief given by their ancestors about nature’s power. Therefore, the story ends tragically “That night the two boys, who had shown
such great disrespect to the ptarmigan, died in terrible agony.” The Ptarmigan Story shows how man acts so ungrateful for what the
nature has given. Geographically, Alaska is the coldest area for living on earth where people struggle harder to keep living. Nature is the only thing that they
could rely on their life. It has the will to sacrifice for human beings so they could kill animals to eat, they could even use the furs for their clothing.
However, what has stated in the beginning of the story should be taken seriously by these two boys. Once the respect to nature is gone, there would be
36 great consequences that people may get over their actions. Death is the
deserved punishment from nature to the boys who have hurt and shown a great disrespect to the ptarmigan. Therefore, this story generally shows how man
and nature do not interact in a good and harmonious way. However, there is always a lesson for man to get even though the death has to take part.
2. The Squirrel Shaman
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