Wong, 1
Camrin Wong
Mrs. Orloff
English I
3 April 2015
Literary Analysis of “The Snakeman”
"The Snakeman" is a Navajo / Native American folktale that portrays a group of girls on a Navajo reservation and shows many
different beliefs of myths and how they relate to their culture. In the passage, little girls are just having a good time, making jokes
among themselves, but it also states how they all miss their mothers and family as well. A little girl states "wouldn't you if you
could see your mother every night?" - (Tapahonso, 3) and was referring to another girl and her mother and father having family
issues. Monsters and myths were mentioned many times in the story as well and that's where the snakeman comes from.
In the story “The Snakeman”, the author Luci Tapahonso ties in many cultural aspects of the Navajo culture as well as some
others like Apache which contributes to a plethora of connections and meanings of the story. “The Snakeman” exemplifies
copious amounts of different beliefs and perspectives of Native American societies and it allows current day readers in various
regions of the world to compare their views to the Native Americans. There wasn't a true stand out theme because it was just
conversations and myths being told, but deceitful could be one because, in the end, the little girl left the room when everyone
was sound asleep. The Navajo people and other Native American cultures have exclusive beliefs and traditions and Luci
Tapahonso does a good job of tying particular cultures in with her snakeman story.
The characters were created from the author’s personal experience at a Christian Boarding School with other girls who shared
myths like “...all the dinosaurs and monsters that are sleeping in the mountains will bust out and eat the bad people. No one can
escape, either.” - (Tapahonso, 4) The setting is at a cabin type of building that contained many girls from a Christian
boarding school who has grown up in a Navajo setting as a child. It includes a very unique perspective as it came directly from a
Navajo native who has listened to a vast amount of different Native American/American Southwest fables and myths
throughout her generation and now exhibits them in her story.
Camrin Wong
Mrs. Orloff
English I
3 April 2015
Literary Analysis of “The Snakeman”
"The Snakeman" is a Navajo / Native American folktale that portrays a group of girls on a Navajo reservation and shows many
different beliefs of myths and how they relate to their culture. In the passage, little girls are just having a good time, making jokes
among themselves, but it also states how they all miss their mothers and family as well. A little girl states "wouldn't you if you
could see your mother every night?" - (Tapahonso, 3) and was referring to another girl and her mother and father having family
issues. Monsters and myths were mentioned many times in the story as well and that's where the snakeman comes from.
In the story “The Snakeman”, the author Luci Tapahonso ties in many cultural aspects of the Navajo culture as well as some
others like Apache which contributes to a plethora of connections and meanings of the story. “The Snakeman” exemplifies
copious amounts of different beliefs and perspectives of Native American societies and it allows current day readers in various
regions of the world to compare their views to the Native Americans. There wasn't a true stand out theme because it was just
conversations and myths being told, but deceitful could be one because, in the end, the little girl left the room when everyone
was sound asleep. The Navajo people and other Native American cultures have exclusive beliefs and traditions and Luci
Tapahonso does a good job of tying particular cultures in with her snakeman story.
The characters were created from the author’s personal experience at a Christian Boarding School with other girls who shared
myths like “...all the dinosaurs and monsters that are sleeping in the mountains will bust out and eat the bad people. No one can
escape, either.” - (Tapahonso, 4) The setting is at a cabin type of building that contained many girls from a Christian
boarding school who has grown up in a Navajo setting as a child. It includes a very unique perspective as it came directly from a
Navajo native who has listened to a vast amount of different Native American/American Southwest fables and myths
throughout her generation and now exhibits them in her story.