The Cuban Legend of the Owl and the Sijú Essay

In this paper, I will compare two of my favorite stories from Trickster: Waynaboozhoo and the Geese and How Alligator Got His Brown, Scaly Skin. These two stood out from the others as strong tales with clear and powerful messages. After I compare the two plots, I will discuss the relevant parts of the respective cultures from which these stories originated.

soft hoot of an owl.” (pg 1) Lois Simmie was attracted, and felt, connected to a story of an

Myths are of great importance in the Navajo community because it is believed that it was a way to connect to the Holy People. The myth helps recognize symbolized supernatural in chants, translates the meaning of songs, and explains the importance of the ritual objects (Lamphere 1969). For example, there is myth of the two heroes who had gone through some misfortunes but thanks to the supernatural’s aid, the two heroes created a

The reader can first determine Oliver’s appreciation for nature through her vivid and crystal clear imagery of the “great horned” through the night. With its “razor-tipped toes” and “hooked-beak,” Oliver’s descriptions of the great horned owl show her respect towards the owl, and in the same vein, nature. Similarly, “the white gleam of the [snowy owl’s] feathers” effectively indicates Oliver’s respect and positive attitude towards nature and its picturesque qualities. At the same

When tenorio wishes Ultima and Antonio death he mentions something that catches Antonio off guard the novel states, “It was when he said that the owl was the spirit of Ultima that everything I had ever known about Ultima and her bird seemed to make sense. The owl was a protective spirit...The owl was her soul!” (Anaya,255). The symbolization of the owl demonstrates how Anaya uses the tradition of Catholicism to show that Antonio becomes more independent, because he chooses to accept the fact that he thinks Ultima has a greater

In David Almond’s magic realist novel Skellig, the story follows the protagonist Michael, a young boy who is facing many difficulties and challenges in his young life, the author uses a number of language devices to tell his story, including puns, metaphors and similes. However one of the most powerful devices are symbols. The author strongly uses symbols to reinforce character traits and to show the connections between characters throughout the novel. The author constantly refers to the symbols of evolution, death, birds and wings.

It can be seen in the novel that Anaya uses animals as a way to symbolize good and evil. He uses an owl to represent Ultima, and to portray as a good character. Many people believe that Ultima is truly a bruja simply based

Throughout the novel, Antonio is learning that Ultima’s owl is also his protector. "Its song seemed to say that it had come to watch over us," (13). The song, Ultima’s owl sings throughout each night, symbolizes Ultima’s comforting presence in Antonio’s life and the protective power of her magic. Also, like Ultima, the owl is like a healer to Antonio, when it sings through the night. "The owl had always been there. It sang to me the night my brothers came home from the war, and in my dreams I sometimes saw it guiding their footsteps as they stumbled through the dark streets of their distant cities," (272). Throughout the novel, the owl of Ultima is not only Ultima’s protector, but it is also Antonio’s protector. Also, in Antonio's mind as well, he could see it as a guiding spirit, because it provided a sense of hope and longing. All in all, Antonio sees Ultima’s owl as a protector and comforting presence throughout the novel.

The second legend comes from the Phillipines. The Sigbin is a creature that resembles a hornless goat, and has the powers of invisibility. It has a large tail it uses like a whip, large ears that clap and make whistling noises, and emits a terrible odor. It comes out at night and sucks the blood of unsuspecting

Huichols or Wixarika are a group of indigenous people live in the rough and rocky terrain of central Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountain whose rituals and traditions have endured all the way through the centuries, even in the countenance of absurd unusual. In spite of the efforts to change them to Catholicism follow by the Spanish invasion of Mexico, the Huichols’ immobile live today is quite related to the time as their ancestors lived many centuries ago. Huichols’ religion engages in recreations of central role in their everyday lives. From the most ordinary job, to the majority consecrated rites, each activity has special symbols and those symbols allude to Huichols’ belief system “myth”. Myth is defined as “a sacred story that people

Ultimas spirit in life follow her everywhere, it just so happens to be an owl. Not many people are as fortunate as Ultima to have known a man with a special owl like she did. “He gave me the owl and he said that the owl was my spirit.”(pg.160) Ultima and her owl are one and the same. The owl is Ultimas guide to past, present, future. The owl was a guide in life to Ultima, Just as she is to Antonio.

Birds are shown throughout our culture as symbols. Simply by their appearance, they can spark feelings of love, freedom, or wonder in the hearts of people. Birds are creatures that have attributes similar to the beings on earth that are so fascinated with them. Humans are full of constant bewilderment and curiosity, so it is no epiphany that they are entranced by such graceful creatures of the sky. People tend to use birds as symbolism, given the stark similarities between the creatures in the sky and humans. Each can fly with the desire to soar above in the sky and see all that is hidden down below. Both humans and birds can sing songs of revelation to their neighboring friends. Additionally, birds and humans can find themselves being restrained by something. Although such a comparison seems bizarre, Anthony Doerr captured the essence of birds and its connections entirely in his novel, All the Light We Cannot See. Almost every character that is spoken of has an aspect of freedom and flight deep in their story. Doerr’s novel follows the life of two teenagers as they travel through life during the disaster of World War Two. Many characters in the novel exhibit actions and situations in which a bird might find itself in. Werner finds himself fighting restraints, as a bird would to its cage. Marie-Laure is a young birds stretching her wings for the first time. The surrounding friends and characters also face the issues of the war, similar to which a bird struggles with the

Rudolfo Anaya, author of “Bless Me, Ultima”, uses countless examples of folk-lore all throughout his novel. In doing so, he gives his readers great insight to the Mexican-American culture of the 1940’s during World War II, and how different the culture is than how most people are raised. The folk-lore Anaya used most effectively throughout “Bless Me, Ultima” is; the whole idea of growing up and becoming a man, beliefs of witchcraft, children losing their innocence and the characters religious beliefs and unofficial beliefs.

We notice that Harwood is aiming to portray the transformation from an innocent child to a horny fiend, just by learning the cruel reality of death. She also examines certain aspects of the connection between maturity and wisdom. By loosing innocents one will then gain maturity and therefore gain wisdom. The father in this poem acts as the authority over the child who also helps him learn a vital life lesson. After the child attempt to kill the owl the father appears and he acts as a power figure again by instructing the chid by saying “ end what you have begun.”

Cuba is an island nation that was adopted in 1902. One third of it consists of mountains and rolling hills. It lies in the West Indies, and is said to be a beautiful island. Havana is Cuba’s capital, and the center of government for Cuba. Some important cities are Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. Santiago de Cuba is near the south-eastern area of Cuba, and has a population of about half a million people. It’s considered the second most important city in Cuba, probably because it’s an important sea port. Camagüey is the fourth largest city in Cuba, according to Wikipedia. The symbol of Camagüey is a clay pot, mainly because there are clay pots everywhere. They can be very small, or very big. They’re used to capture rainwater to be