Summary of This is a story by Jeannette Christine Armstrong
About the writer Jeannette Christine Armstrong
Jeannette Christine Armstrong (जेनेट
क्रिस्टीन
आर्मस्ट्रांग)
was born on the Okanagan (ओकानागन) Reserve in British Columbia. She is a Canadian
author, educator, artist, and activist. She received a diploma of Fine Arts
from Okanagan College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She often writes to educate young people
about native culture and history. Her writing reflects political, cultural and
linguistic struggles of Native Americans.
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This is a story [Characters]
1) The narrator: She tells a story about Kyoti under
the Owl Rock. She tells a story after her friend George asks her to tell a
story.
2) George: He
is one of the friends of the narrator. He asks the narrator to tell a story.
3) Kyoti: He
is the main character of the story. He is a personification of a wild animal
named ‘coyote’ (उत्तरी अमेरिकामा पाइने सानो व्वाँसो). He was a traveler and the guardian of
the Okanagan people. He usually sleeps for long
periods. He used to fish for salmon after he woke up. He then gave Salmon
to the Okanagan people and ate with them together. That is why he was liked by
everyone in Okanagan. He returned to Okanagan and observed many changes. He
didn’t like the changes that took place in Okanagan.
4) Two
people under the dam: They are Okanagan people who don't know their own
language. They have a small conversation with Kyoti and they feed him food.
5) The
old Okanagan native: she is an old woman from an old headman family.
She doesn’t like the changes that takes place in Okanagan. She cries after
recognizing Kyoti because she has been waiting for him.
6) The
young boy: He is the caretaker and the Salmon Chief of the Okanagan
River. He is very kind towards Kyoti.
7) Tommy:
He is an old chief of a village in Okanagan. He helps Kyoti to destroy the dam.
This is a story [Setting]
The author tells
the story in a women’s gathering under Owl Rock. The story takes place in
ancient Okanagan, Canada.
Theme: The story reflects how the culture
of the Okanagan people was ruined after the arrival of Swallow people. Salmon
is represented as the culture of Okanagan people and the Swallow people stop
the flow of Salmon indicating that they ruined the Okanagan culture.
About the story "This is a story"
'This is a Story'
by Armstrong is an anti-colonialist story (उपनिवेशवाद विरोधी). It reflects how the arrival of the Swallow people has
ruined and killed the culture of the Okanagan people. Swallows are whites
(western) and Okanagan people are colonized ones. The story reveals that people
become what a community wants them to be. People of the Okanagan changed their
culture, customs and life style to fit-into, and imitated the colonials.
But as a result, their willingness to change gives the Swallows the chance to
oppress them. Kyoti, a native of the Okanagan, was offended by the way the
Swallows treated him. The main plot is focused around a dam that they created.
This is a story [Summary in one sentence]
The narrator
tells a story about the culture of Okanagan being disrupted after the arrival
of swallow people and Kyoti saves them by destroying the dam that the swallow
people built.
Points to remember in This is a story
-Swallow people
refer to white people.
-Salmon is a kind
of fish.
-Grand coulee is
a river.
Detailed Summary of the story "This is a story"
The author was
once in a women’s gathering under Owl Rock. It was late so she felt sleepy. One
of her friends, George asked her to tell a story to pass time. So, she told
the story.
Kyoti, a traveler
was very fond of the villagers of Okanagan. He used to fish for Salmon in the
Okanagan and Columbia Rivers. After he woke up, he gave it to everyone he found
in the villages. He was liked by everyone in Okanagan.
Once after a
nap Kyoti again went to Okanagan. He was returning to Okanagan
through the banks of Columbia River to the Okanagan River. He noticed many
changes there. There were no salmon in the river. He saw swallow people’s
houses everywhere he went. There were no Okanagan people.
He reached Grand
Coulee. He saw a huge thing across the river. It was so high that it blocked
all the water and salmon also couldn’t jump over it (it was a dam). It made
Kyoti worry even more. Now he went through the banks of Chief Joseph. Surprisingly,
there were also high things that blocked the river. Two Okanagan people were
fishing under the river. He went up to them and waited for them to greet
him.
As he was
waiting, he got no response so he talked with them. He asked them how their fishing
was going. It seemed they didn’t understand so they ignored him. It worried
Kyoti so he asked them again in Swallow language. This time they understood
Kyoti so they replied saying that they have been there for two days but they
hadn’t got anything. Kyoti was disappointed. Later they had a small
conversation. Kyoti asked about the whereabouts of the headman but the people
mocked him. Now Kyoti was angry. He told them that they treated him
disrespectfully and they didn't even offering Kyoti food. The men
apologized and took Kyoti to their village, Nespelem to feed him.
Kyoti saw
Okanagan people living in swallow houses, speaking in swallow language, and
eating swallow food. He was surprised by all of this. He wanted to find someone
who could talk in the Okanagan language. He found an old lady who could
talk in Okanagan language. He recognized her because she was from an old
headmen family. The old woman recognized him as well. She cried after realizing
it was Kyoti. She asked him why he was away for so long. Kyoti said that he
overslept a little. Then, the old woman explained Kyoti everything about the
changes. She said that swallow people came and changed everything. She, then,
told Kyoti to go to Tommy for more information.
Kyoti went
stopping at each village and trying to convince them to break the dams built by
Swallo people. Every one refused. One of them even scolded Kyoti. He
added that the swallow people were smart and they should follow swallow people
because they knew how to do everything right. Kyoti was saddened to hear that.
He noticed the Okanagan people got sick from swallow food too.
Finally, he found a young kid sitting by the river. They had a small conversation. Kyoti said the kid looked like Tommy, a chief he was acquainted with. The boy could understand his native language and greeted Kyoti. He was told to watch the river by his mother. In fact, Tommy(their new headman) had instructed the boy's mother to take care of the river. He also said that they both died without seeing salmon in the river and that it was his dream to see salmon in the clean waters of that river. This inspired Kyoti. At last, Kyoti knocks Tommy's door and invites all of them(0kanagan people) to break the dams made by the colonizers and feed everyone the salmon fish.
Thank you sir
ReplyDeleteThank you sir :) :)
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