In Native American culture, folktales are passed down from generation to generation and used as a means of conveying messages and lessons about life. Many times in folktales, there are supernatural spirits that become embodied in human or semi-human characters and their stories are then often left up to the interpretation of those reading or hearing the tale. Much like folktales, ambiguity within “Deer Dancer” by Joy Harjo is leaves the story up to the interpretation of the reader. One way to examine “Deer Dancer” is that the story is an adaptation of a Native American folktale is a modern setting Harjo’s take on a folktale represents the way that strippers, like the Deer Dancer herself, are viewed within society.
To begin, one can argue that …show more content…
Joy Harjo provides her own adaptation and utilizes the theme of a traditional folktale to convey the way society regards women, particularly strippers such as Deer Dancer, in various modern societies. Harjo uses the Deer Dancer to voice the fears of other women, the fears of traditional society and as a warning. Often, strippers and sex workers are not viewed in the same way the average person is. Detached from humanity, women who occupy these positions are lusted after, hunted and desired as a deer would be, and used to escape the reality. Women who occupy these professions are often regarded as “wild” and “untamed”, once again comparable to wild animals such as deer. The narrator even describes a situation in which their brother is bragging about how he broke the Deer Dancer, making her “human,” only after her told her “magic words” (Harjo 1378). In the traditional story of the deer woman, she is so beautiful that the men who come in contact with her are often lured away from their friends, families and communities; however, due to her immense beauty, they fail to notice her horse hooves. As a result, the men are too enamored and stay with the deer woman, wasting their lives “into depression, despair, prostitution and ultimately death” (“Legendary Native American Figures”). These men who frequented the bar in Harjo’s story were lured in by the Deer Dancer’s …show more content…
While exploring this perspective, the narrator’s words do not describe the dancer as a faceless being, like others may have described her. Her own retelling of the story exhibits the humanity of the Deer Dancer; she is given dimension by leaving “the drink of betrayal Richard bought her, at the bar” and the narrator even praises her, mentioning, “we all take risks stepping into cold air” (Harjo 1378). Furthermore, the narrator states that these facts must be mentioned “for the baby inside the girl sealed up with a lick of hope and swimming into praise of nations” perhaps leaving room for readers to interpret that this stripper was pregnant and working to provide for her child (Harjo
To begin, one can argue that …show more content…
Joy Harjo provides her own adaptation and utilizes the theme of a traditional folktale to convey the way society regards women, particularly strippers such as Deer Dancer, in various modern societies. Harjo uses the Deer Dancer to voice the fears of other women, the fears of traditional society and as a warning. Often, strippers and sex workers are not viewed in the same way the average person is. Detached from humanity, women who occupy these positions are lusted after, hunted and desired as a deer would be, and used to escape the reality. Women who occupy these professions are often regarded as “wild” and “untamed”, once again comparable to wild animals such as deer. The narrator even describes a situation in which their brother is bragging about how he broke the Deer Dancer, making her “human,” only after her told her “magic words” (Harjo 1378). In the traditional story of the deer woman, she is so beautiful that the men who come in contact with her are often lured away from their friends, families and communities; however, due to her immense beauty, they fail to notice her horse hooves. As a result, the men are too enamored and stay with the deer woman, wasting their lives “into depression, despair, prostitution and ultimately death” (“Legendary Native American Figures”). These men who frequented the bar in Harjo’s story were lured in by the Deer Dancer’s …show more content…
While exploring this perspective, the narrator’s words do not describe the dancer as a faceless being, like others may have described her. Her own retelling of the story exhibits the humanity of the Deer Dancer; she is given dimension by leaving “the drink of betrayal Richard bought her, at the bar” and the narrator even praises her, mentioning, “we all take risks stepping into cold air” (Harjo 1378). Furthermore, the narrator states that these facts must be mentioned “for the baby inside the girl sealed up with a lick of hope and swimming into praise of nations” perhaps leaving room for readers to interpret that this stripper was pregnant and working to provide for her child (Harjo