Tradition is a powerful history in society that builds our identities, cultures, and the way we interact with the world. In literature, traditions sometimes serve as central themes and provide valuable information into the complexities of human identity in different stories. In this essay, we will compare two short stories, The Medicine Bag and TA NA E KA, about the aspects of tradition, the structure, themes, and motifs of these stories, focusing on their similarities and differences.
One of the most important elements in analyzing the traditions in "The Medicine Bag" and "TA NA E KA" is their narrative structures. The structure of a story includes its characters, setting, conflicts, and solutions. These two stories have different story structures that focus on the role of tradition in their own cultures. In The Medicine Bag, the main characters are Martin, his sister Cheryl, and their grandpa, Joe Iron Shell. They represent the generational and cultural conflicts between modernity and tradition. Martin felt ashamed of his Sioux heritage at the beginning and learned to appreciate his family and culture as he realized the importance of familial culture. He is deeply proud of his Sioux heritage and respectful of his family's traditions. The setting of the story is primarily at their home, during Martine’s childhood. The major conflict is the cultural clash experienced by Martin, where he feels embarrassed about his grandfather's appearance. The Minor conflict is Martin's struggle about introducing his friends to Grandpa and worrying that they might mock him. Overall, the conflicts in the story “The Medicine Bag” revolve around cultural conflict, acceptance, tradition and modernity, embarrassment and shame. Martin's transformation from shame to appreciation of his heritage presents the solution to these conflicts. On the other side, TA NA E KA has similar characters to The Medicine Bag such as a grandfather, Amos Deer Leg, and a young girl, Mary. They belong to the Kaw tribe and the story's setting is in the woods when Mary goes to the Ta-Na-E-Ka ceremony. The major conflict is the endurance test that Mary and Roger, her cousin, are going to undertake. This conflict highlights the clash between traditional and modern life just as “The Medicine Bag” as Mary finds her own way to survive and differs from the conventional expectations. Overall, the conflicts in this story include endurance, tradition, modernity, and adaptation to challenges. The solution to these conflicts is Mary's resourcefulness and adaptability. In comparing these structures, "The Medicine Bag" and "TA NA E KA have very similar structures, they both include the conflict between tradition and modernity and show the characters’ personal growth of their culture. However, The Medicine Bag has a structure that focuses more on family, cultural identity, and the importance of honoring heritage. It explains the significance of traditional values and the acceptance of cultural heritage. On the other hand, "TA NA E KA" focuses more on self-discovery and adaptation.
The themes explored in "The Medicine Bag" and "TA NA E KA" play a significant role, these themes include family relationships, cultural identity, and the importance of heritage. The Medicine Bag has three central themes: Family and acceptance, cultural identity and tradition, and heritage. These themes present the transformation of Martin as he learns to honor his Sioux heritage. Martin and Cheryl feel ashamed initially about their Sioux grandfather's appearance when he visits them in the city. This reflects the common generational differences experienced in society. However, as the story continues, Martin has significant personal growth, leading to an appreciation of his family and cultural heritage. The theme of cultural identity and tradition is presented by the contrast between the traditional society represented by Grandpa and the modern lifestyle of Martin's family. The passing down of the medicine bag from Grandpa to Martin serves as a symbol of cultural transmission from one generation to another. It explores the importance of culture and reminds readers to honor their heritage. Heritage serves as another significant theme in The Medicine Bag. The story emphasizes the importance of heritage and the need to celebrate it. The medicine bag itself is a sacred item that carries significant meanings and it should be upheld with honor. TA NA E KA has central themes of tradition and the endurance to adapt it a changing world. These themes are exemplified through the Ta-Na-E-Ka ceremony. Young members like Mary of the Kaw tribe need to prove their worth and readiness for adulthood. Mary is tasting her endurance by surviving in the woods for five days, she shows her resourcefulness and adaptability to overcome the challenges she faced. The story explores the conflict between traditional values through generations just as in The Medicine Bag. TA NA E KA" highlights the enduring spirit of the Kaw people as they are facing a lot of challenges with the world around them. Comparing the themes in both stories, "The Medicine Bag" and "TA NA E KA" share some similarities. Both stories show the importance of cultural identity and acceptance of traditions. While "The Medicine Bag" develops themes on family dynamics and cultural symbols, "TA NA E KA" focuses more on adaptation and resourcefulness in the face of cultural traditions.
The motif also plays a role in how these two stories explore tradition, The Medicine Bag uses a common narrative style and TA NA E KA has a different writing skill. Motifs are important elements or ideas throughout a story that develop the narrative's depth and significance. The authors often use different writing skills to present motifs. The Medicine Bag has a traditional narrative writing skill, because it shows character development progressively by telling stories. The story has a common timeline that is to present the characters, conflicts and resolutions. This writing skill is easy to understand and it creates a strong emotional connection between readers and the characters. Particularly with Martin's transformation throughout the story. However, the disadvantage is that most of the story follows a familiar narrative pattern and readers are able to predict the end of the story only by reading half of the story. On the other hand, the short story TA NA E KA uses a different narrative writing skill and the motif of the story focuses on Mary’s self-discovery and adaptation. This narrative pattern gives a unique perspective between tradition and modernity. Readers are more immersed in the story and have a greater sense of experience. The advantage of this is its ability to immerse readers in the protagonist's experience. Readers feel like they become the protagonists and it creates more adventure and unpredictability. However, the disadvantage is that it has less character development and emotional connections. These two different writing skill has their own advantages and disadvantages, but they all display the motifs in the story very well.
In conclusion, The Medicine Bag and TA NA E KA both explore themes of cultural identity, acceptance of traditions, and the importance of heritage, they do so through different narrative structures and writing styles. These two stories show the richness and diversity of traditions in different cultural contexts and the ways in which they are passed down through generations.
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