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| Eskimo Folk Tales. Abela Publishing. |
Diary Entry #1
Today, I am alone and needed someone to talk to. I figured that writing here would help me have someone or something to talk to. This is so hard for me to do, but I heard once from the elders of the village that those who can write should record everything we can so as to keep history up to date. Today I lost my family. They should have known better about the seaweed, but it took both my parents and my older sister as well. Now it is just me and the fierce tides that beat against the island.
Diary Entry #2
Today was a hard day. Some strangers came to take me away to look after me. My family knew of my disability and never made fun of it. However, these strangers just don't understand me. They do not understand how hard it can be living in a body where half of it just doesn't work. I can't walk around normally as others do and they act as if it is a joke. I hope that I will soon like my new home, but today I do not.
Diary Entry #3
The strangest thing happened to me today. I was in our hut alone with the family was out hunting and I heard a noise. It frightened me so I hid behind the skins hanging on the wall. All of a sudden, a ghost walked in, drank some water and left. I was so confused and when I tried to tell the family after they returned, they did not believe me.
Diary Entry #4
I'm not sure what is happening to me. I could be going crazy or I could be dying, but I keep seeing ghosts. Today, the ghosts appeared again and began to play on the floor, rolling and laughing with each other. But, as soon as the family returned home, the ghosts fled, leaving me alone again. This might be strange, but when the ghosts are here, I feel a sort of strength that flees when they leave. I have grown to love their presence because they help me feel less lonely.
Diary Entry #5
Today is a day of great rejoicing, although it did not begin that way. The day began with the ghosts coming back, bringing me strength with them. This time, my parents were with them. I had never been so happy in my life to see them and they asked me to go away with them. I am writing this last entry as a ghost, happily living with my family again. They turned me to a ghost, no longer disabled, and we are able to live here in happiness!
Author's Note:
This week, I decided to tell a somewhat sad story. In my storybook, I have been writing very whimsical stories of nursery rhymes but when I read this story of Qalagánguasê, Who Passed to the Land of Ghosts, it really stuck out to me. In the story, Qalagánguasê is a lame boy who sees many ghosts and tries to tell others what he has seen. The people around him do not believe him and it makes him very angry.
In the end, the boy decides to go with the ghosts to their land so he would no longer be disabled. In the beginning of the story, Qalagánguasê also looses his family so I thought a diary entry from this character would be beneficial to hearing his thoughts and feelings.
Bibliography
Book Title: Eskimo Folk-Tales
Story Title: Qalagánguasê, Who Passed to the Land of Ghosts
Author: Knud Rasmussen
Year: 1921
Hey Kylie! First I want to say that I really love your background on this blog! As for the actual storytelling post, I like that you chose to use a dairy entry method for your retelling. I am in the same boat as you with trying a new style of writing versus what I have done in the past this week! I like you chose to tell something sad. The story went very well and flowed nicely. Wonderful job!
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ReplyDeleteI decided to read your storytelling post for my bonus this week. You did a great job and you were very unique with your story. The Diary posts made your transitions flow very well. I wish I would change up my writing style the way you did here. Maybe I will one day. About your story, it was a sad one, but it was easy to read and understand. I really enjoy all your stories!.
It was a really good decision to write this from the perspective of the boy, even if you did give the ghost the ability to write in a diary. This story is really creepy and really sad actually. It is one thing to say that it is good for the little boy to be with his family. It is also one thing to say that the boy would be happier if he was not crippled. But it is quite a jump from those to saying that it would be better if this sad little crippled boy was dead. Kind of a weird plot.
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