29 normal idea where stories could result in a very similar way as mentioned.
About all the goodness values, local wisdom, forbidden things and advices are definitely occurred in stories because all traditional people, no matter where
they live, must definitely share some common experience and react to those experiences in similar ways.
Traditional people as the first people on earth are challenged to understand the world and adapt themselves in order to have a stabile process of life. Myth
which is then shared in stories such as folklore and legend show how man and nature attempt to live in harmony without hurting and giving disadvantages to
each other. The traditional people who consider nature as something powerful and sacred try to get along with it well. Because they know and already
experience how nature reacts over man’s actions.
2. Mythological Perspective
When mythology is applied to study and analyze a literary work, it certainly has its own perspective as a guide in order to keep a research stays in
focus. Mythological perspective towards a literary work is not concerned with stories that explain origins so much as those that provide universal story
patterns and recur with regularity among many cultures in many different times and places.
23
Even though, the term of a myth in general is basically a story that explains how something came to be, but the perspective of
mythology in literary work is not an attempt to clarify the issue.
23
Robert DiYanni, Literature 5
th
Edition-Reading Fiction, Poetry and Drama McGraw Hill, 2002, p.2997.
30 In this case, the patterns of mythological perspective typically identify and
analyze are those that represent common, familiar, even universal human experiences.
24
Therefore, it is more likely as an intrinsic analysis. Human life experiences that are reflected in the story must be described where these
people deal with conflicts in life. The process and the journey of human life which is included in this case are being born and dying, growing up and
crossing the threshold into adulthood, going on a journey and even engaging in sexual activity.
25
According to Brisson, myth is a privileged instrument for modifying the behavior of the inferior part of the human soul Brisson, 1998:16. Therefore,
there would be certain actions be done by these traditional people in order to balance out their lack of knowledge and their natural curiosity as human
beings who want to understand the world. That is why, it is often seen how traditional people do some actions which are considered unusual as their
attempt to work out with the nature. As what Brisson adds in his next statement: “The action proper to myth can be presented as extraordinary, like
the effect of a charm or spell, or as ordinary, like the effect of persuasion in general.”
26
The existence of reading spell or using a charm
27
is an extraordinary action from traditional people in the story. They consider nature as God or generally
24
Ibid.
25
Ibid.
26
Luc Brisson 1998, op.cit., p. 116.
27
Based on Amazing Native American History: The Arctic world was believed full of danger. If a whaler’s boat capsized, within minutes he could die in the icy water. If a hunter was
careless, even for a moment, a polar bear might maul him to death. If one season’s animal catch
31 as the creator of the world. They worship the nature and believe that nature
would react on certain actions for what people have done. The effect of persuasion on statement above tries to explain even if there are no spells being
read or other extraordinary events in the story, the main point of myth in stories is to persuade people to do exactly what the previous generations did in
order to avoid any negative consequences. Therefore, it is the reason why these stories along with the myth inside
them are delivered through generations. It keeps happening to be this way not only because these traditional people attempt to preserve the tradition as a
cultural heritage but also as a knowledge to learn for the next generations in getting through their life, so they would not be harmed by terrible
consequences after doing something or else. Stories with myth used as a message inside them would also be a great
influence where human beings then tend to be more cautious in their life. As what Malinowski says “…Myth fulfills in primitive society culture as
indispensable function: it expresses, enhances and codifies belief: it safeguards and enforces morality; it vouches for the efficiency and contains
practical rules for the guidance of man.”
28
In many stories, we would see how myth basically limits the actions of human beings. Myth positively guides people to avoid he things that would
destroy the surroundings or even things that may cause terrible damage for
was small, a family might face starvation. To protect themselves from the many everyday threats, Arctic people carried small charms. Carved from stone or ivory or crafted from animal hides, each
charm had a specific purpose. One charm might make the owner a good seal hunter, while another might drive away evil spirits.
28
B. Malinowski, Myth in Primitive Psychology London, 1926, p.13.
32 them. However, as we know that stories vary into many kinds of conflicts. It is
determined by human beings in the story, would they follow and obey the myth that tries to warn them or not?
In general, the resolutions or the ends of the stories count on how the nature reacts. Sometimes, nature and man live in harmony but in several other
stories it shows how nature becomes the victim and acts viciously. It is all about the consequences that probably man would get for not appreciating
nature. Myth tellers seem especially intrigued by the fact that small mistakes and minor events can have very large consequences.
29
As a conclusion, mythological perspective is used to see how human life experiences are described in the stories. Because, the most important to get in
this case is how religious beliefs, social customs and especially cultural attitudes are represented in the story.
30
29
The New Book of Knowledge 2004, op.cit., p. 573.
30
DiYanni 2002, op.cit.
33
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,
