Heroic Qualities Analysis

The artifacts that this learner has selected to analyze is two different historical stories or tales. The first being that of the Nanabozho legend, and the second being that of King David. While the stories appear vastly different, there may be some similarities within the lessons of these legendary tales. Nanabozho comes from the Native American culture, specifically that of the Anishinaabe tribes (Native Languages of the Americas, 2020). King David, who did not start out as a king at all and in fact was born as a shepherd boy, was Israel’s third king (Nelson, 2020). These two different cultures are actually very similar in the way that they appreciate hard work, it takes perseverance, dedication, and hard work to get to where you want to be. Especially this very important similarity, which is that of telling legends, stories, and other historical fables to have an individual make their own decisions that will lead them into their own path in life. The Anishinaabe tribe believes strongly in telling kids lessons and stories so that they can learn the importance of making certain decisions, and not simply telling children what to do and how to do it (Obomsawin, 1971). Differences however in these narratives is that Nanabozho will shape shift or appear as different animals or humans to full-fill his message (Native Languages of the Americas, 2020), whereas David follows his faith for God no matter the battles that he faces—David has immense faith in the Lord, and never claims to be anyone other than a shepherd boy (Nelson, 2020).

Cultural Views

A difference between Nanabozho and King David, is that Nanabozho will occasionally take the form of other animals or persons to deliver his message—he will also, secondly, act in “mischievous, foolish or humorous ways” within the context of teaching his lessons (Native Languages of America, 2020). Both of these examples are vastly different from the manner in which King David would portray himself to his people. King David when going up against Goliath, was offered to take a sword, or another weapon as a way to protect himself, but David knew that God had prepared him for this battle, and he must only carry with him that which the Lord provided and trained him with—which was a sling and a rock, nothing more (The Holy Bible, 2016). David refused to be or carry with him anything other than what God provided for him, whereas in the legend of Nanabozho when the grandmother had forgotten about him as a baby he had turned into a rabbit so that he may still get food (grass to eat) even when forgotten about (Obomsawin, 1971).

While those are two differences, these two legends are also similar in a couple of different ways. Both, King David and Nanabozho could be similar in the ways that they value hard work and dedication. For King David, he had multiple different opportunities to kill King Saul and become ruler over his people, but he refused to go through with it. Multiple times throughout David and Saul’s story they come face to face and David could have sought to kill Saul in a dark cave without Saul even haven noticed—but that was not who David was. David stayed true to who he was. Much like Nanabozho staying true to values and culture customs in the Native culture, even though he was seemingly forced to shape shift in order to survive, he did not necessarily do it in an evil intent. He then later continues this same pattern and begins to teach others about life lessons, through his deeds. They are also both similar in the way that they both believe there is a path in life one must follow—sometimes you have to be the leader, and sometimes you have to be the student, but regardless, there are lessons and important things one must learn along the way.

Conclusion

This learner learned a variety of things from both of these stories, both in the way that culture values are held up by either real or make-believe figures. Lessons are meant to be learned, and people need to be able to make their own decisions. This learner believe these insights gained throughout this assessment will help with broadening my perspective when this learner looks at how to present opportunities or decisions to other individuals or children. Allowing individuals to make their own decisions and choose their own path, based on the information presented is probably the best way to live and this learner appreciates the way it was laid out.

Understanding the cultural values of King David utilizing what he was given by the Lord, and not accepting other weapons when they would have likely assisted him greatly, is largely beneficial for this learner in the way of coming from a Native American, Jewish, Christian, and English American household this teaches this learner to rely on what is given. Additionally, it is also shown to have great faith, and make decisions based on resources had. No one needs to have an abundance of resources at their disposal to survive, you only need exactly what you have. This can be related to professional, academic, or personal endeavors in nearly every way possible. Knowing the limits of yourself and having faith that you will reach the end goal is important. However, also living within the means that you know you have been trained is even more important—not relying on information or training that you do not have, but instead knowing and having faith that what you know and how you have been trained will get to you to exactly where you need to be.

References

Native Languages of the Americas. 2020. Native American Legends: Nanabozho (Nanabush).

Native Languages. http://www.native-languages.org/nanabozho.htm

Nelson, R. 2020. 16 Facts About King David. Overview Bible. https://overviewbible.com/david/

Obomsawin, A. 1971. The Legend of ‘Nanabozho’ [Audio]. CBC.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1527775827

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition. 2016. 1 Samuel 17:1-58.

Crossway Bibles.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel+17&version=ESV