When Grizzlies Walked Upright
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HOW TO DO A CLOSE READING
The skill called "close reading" is fundamental for interpreting literature. "Reading closely," means developing a deep understanding and a precise interpretation of a literary passage that is based first and foremost on the words themselves. But a close reading does not stop there; rather, it embraces larger themes and ideas evoked and/or implied by the passage itself. It is essential that we distinguish between doing a close reading and writing one. Doing a close reading involves a thought process that moves from small details to larger issues. Writing a close reading begins with these larger issues and uses the relevant details as evidence.
Getting Started: Treat the passage as if it were complete in itself. Read it a few times, at least once aloud. Concentrate on all its details and assume that everything is significant.
"When Grizzlies Walked Upright"
Directions: This is worth 10 points. Please make sure that you follow the directions closely
1. Write directly on the passage! (2 Points)-Write at least two questions in the margins as you re-read. Write at least two opinions in the margins: you might write your opinion of a character, an idea, the writing style, etc.
2. Word meaning (2 Points): Determine the meanings of words and references. Also, note (and verify) interesting connotations of words. Look up two words you do not know or which are used in unfamiliar ways. (Laziness in this step will inevitably result in diminished comprehension.) Write the definition of the word. Explain how it is being used in the story.
3. Values (2 Points): Highlight sections that point to the values of the culture. What human traits (flaws) does the Sky Spirit show. What lessons are learned? What custom is explained?
The human-like flaws that were shown in this story are how rebellious people can be to elder but they don’t realize that listening to elders would be the best thing to do. The Sky Spirit also had a trait of revenge upon the people who were disobeying him.
This story could be retold in many different ways, but with the same moral. To understand past mistake for the future, or to understand how culture like the small things, and how it can be super important. Valuing this means honoring the elders, pretty much
The Sky Spirit showed human traits by wanting revenge. The lessons learned are that you should obey and not let your curiosity get you in trouble, especially if you were warned.
The sky spirit is shown as feeling vengeful and wroth towards the grizzlies, which is both human and strong enough to be a flaw.
One of the Sky Spirit’s human flaws is that he was fearful. He was scared of the wind. He sent his daughter to try to end the windstorm instead of attempting to stop it himself.
Another one of the Sky Spirit’s human flaws is that he was jealous. He was jealous of his daughter because she started a new race. He wanted to make the new race.
One more of the Sky Spirit’s human flaws was that he was filled with hatred. Because of his jealousy, he was bursting with rage towards the mother bear, his grandchildren, and his daughter.
The lessons that are learned are:
1. Disobeying your parents never ends well.
2. You should always be careful of where your curiosity leads you.
3. Jealousy will result in disaster.
1 Before there were people on earth, the Chief of the Sky
Spirits grew tired of his home in the Above World, because the air was always brittle with an icy cold. So he carved a hole in the sky with a stone and pushed all the snow and ice down below until he made a great mound that reached from the earth almost to the sky. Today it is known as Mount Shasta.
That is so weird! And to think my dog is named after the same mountain.
Brittle means cisp or hard but easy to break.It is just in the story by saying the weather is crisp.
Brittle- Brittle has many different meanings, there’s the brittle which in food terms is a crunchy snack often associated with sweets, for example a peanut brittle, but in this case it means fragile or easy to break.
Brittle: easily broken or cracked.
This is used to describe how cold it was.
“Brittle” is used in an unfamiliar way in this sentence. One of the meanings of “brittle” is “having a sharp, tense quality” (“Brittle”).
This word is being used in the story to illustrate and express how freezing and harsh the air was in the Above World.
Works Cited:
“Brittle”. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 8 Sep. 2016.
Was the chief getting rid of the ice and snow to make the Above World warmer, or was he doing this to create a way for him to leave the Above World and live somewhere else?
2 Then the Sky Spirit took his walking stick, stepped from a
cloud to the peak, and walked down to the mountain. When he was about halfway to the valley below, he began to put his finger to the ground here and there, here and there. Wherever his finger touched, a tree grew. The snow melted in his footsteps, and the water ran down in rivers.
How does that work? I don’t get a lot of these tales.
3 The Sky Spirit broke off the small end of his giant stick and threw
I’m curious as to why all the animals were made from the fragments of the Sky God’s walking stick. I wonder if it has any symbolic meaning?
I think the word brittle in this passage would be like fragile or maybe even small?
Actual meaning
Brittle: Having a sharp tense
I think this is a right word for the passage because it helps understand the setting in the moment.
the pieces into the rivers. The longer pieces turned into beaver and otter; the smaller pieces became fish. When the leaves dropped from the trees, he picked them up, blew upon them, and so made the birds. Then he took the big end of his giant stick and made all the animals that walked on the earth, the biggest of which were the grizzly bears.
I love the imagery in this scene!
The imagery here is very awesome! It’s like how God created the Earth.
This scene is very beautiful to imagine. It’s almost kind of inspiring. There’s something very special and magical about the new Earth blossoming, growing, and filling up with life.
In my honest opinion, the imagery is magnificent and really creates a picture in my head.
4 Now when they were first made, the bears were covered with hair
and had sharp claws, just as they do today, but they walked on two feet and could talk like people. They looked so fierce that the Sky Spirit sent them away from him to live in the forest at the base of the mountain.
The bears are described as how they are today but the bears in this story could talk to people, making this story kind of like a fable.
My questions for the passage so far is, How come only one Spirit God made all animals and earth? Do they believe in another spirit who told them how one Sky Spirit made this world? The story is actually pretty cool, I was just interested
Why did the Sky Spirit make the bears look so mean if he was going to send them away for looking so mean? That’s kinda mean. It’s like saying “Hey, I just made but you look mean so go away now.”
Did the Sky Spirit think the bears were dangerous?
I think we can all see a picture of a bear on two legs. They don’t do it for long periods of time, but it’s a fearsome sight.
5 Pleased with what he’d done, the Chief of the Sky Spirits decided to
bring his family down and live on earth himself. The mountains of snow and ice became their lodge. He made a big fire in the center of the mountain and a hole in the top so that the smoke and sparks could fly out. When he put a big log on the fire, sparks would fly up and the earth would tremble.
If the Chief of the sky spirits made the snow go to Earth, because he was unhappy with the snow and cold in the sky, why did he move to Mount Shasta where it was also cold and snowy?
The first time I read through, I completely missed the fact that they were referencing a volcano; what a smart way to introduce it. :)
I like how there is now 2 interactions with Spirits, telling the story as if one owns one part of mother nature. This making it more realistic, from historic information.
That sounds like the guy is making some kind of volcano.
I think he shows some human characteristics here because usually if someone makes something their are proud of, they will want to show it off.
6 Late one spring while the Sky Spirit and his family were sitting
round the fire, tile Wind Spirit sent a great storm that shook the top of the mountain. It blew and blew and roared and roared. Smoke blown back into the lodge hurt their eyes, and finally the Sky Spirit said to his youngest daughter, “Climb up to tile smoke hole and ask the Wind Spirit to blow more gently. Tell him I’m afraid he will blow the mountain over.”
Why did the Wind Spirit start the storm?
The Sky Spirit should have gone to talk with the Wind Spirit, rather than send his youngest daughter to speak to the spirit. Though, I understand that it might bring around some pity points, but he potentially put her life in danger when he would have gone and spoken to the other spirit himself.
I think this section displays some of the Native American values by showing that even gods make mistakes. Similar to Greek Mythology, I feel like the Native Americans would put their characters in situations that purposely displayed their bad qualities in a way that furthers the story. They show if no mistake is made, then nothing is learned.
What does tile mean, used in this context?
I think “tile” is a typo.
How would the Sky Spirit be afraid of the Wind Spirit’s storm? The Sky Spirit is a spirit. He wouldn’t be afraid of anything.
What is up with the storm? Why can’t you just ask the other guy?
Is there a reason that the Sky Spirit sent his daughter to talk to Wind Spirit?
7 As his daughter started up, her father said, “But be careful not to
stick your head out at the top. If you do, the wind may catch you by the hair and blow you away.”
8 The girl hurried to the top of the mountain and stayed well inside
the smoke hole as she spoke to the Wind Spirit. As she was about to climb back down, she remembered that her father had once said you could see the ocean from the top of their lodge. His daughter wondered what the ocean looked like, and her curiosity got the better of her. She poked her head out of the hole and turned toward the west, but before she could see anything, the Wind Spirit caught her long hair, pulled her out of the mountain, and blew her down over the snow and ice. She landed among the scrubby fir trees at the edge of the timber and snow line, her long red hair trailing over the snow.
Scrubby: small or poor quality
So I’m guessing the trees she fell on were small.
Scrubby: small and not growing. It is used to describe the condition of the tree.
Another one of the culture’s values may have been that you should always obey your parents, and if you do not, you will be punished in some way.
“scrubby” isn’t a word one comes across very often. It would seem to indicate that the trees are small or weak due to their poor positioning.
I did not know the meaning of “scrubby” as it is used in this sentence. One of the meanings of “scrubby” is “low or stunted, as trees” (“Scrubby”).
This word is being used in this sentence to describe the state or condition of the fir trees.
Works Cited:
“Scrubby”. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 8 Sep. 2016.
9 There a grizzly bear found the little girl when he was out hunting
food for his family. He carried her home with him, and his wife brought her up with their family of cubs. The little red-hinted girl and the cubs ate together, played to－gether, and grew up together.
It was nice and all that they took the girl in but you would think that they would take some initiative to at least try to find the girls real family.
10 When she became a young woman, she and the eldest son of the
Keep on keepin’ on.
Keep on keepin’ on.
grizzly bears were married. In the years that followed they had many children, who were not as hairy as the grizzlies, yet did not look exactly like their spirit mother, ei－ther.
Now THAT is hilarious to think about… :D But I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the start of some other legends.
I agree with Kaleb, this change in the story sounds like the start of a myth to Sasquatch or Bigfoot
That just sounds wrong. What about the girls father?
11 All the grizzly bears throughout the forests were so proud of these
new crea－tures that they made a lodge for the red-haired mother and her children. They placed the lodge near Mount Shasta—it is called Little Mount Shasta today.
12 After many years had passed, the mother grizzly bear knew that she
would soon die. Fearing that she should ask of the Chief of the Sky Spirits to forgive her for keeping his daughter, she gathered all the grizzlies at the lodge they had built. Then she sent her eldest grandson in a cloud to the top of Mount Shasta, to tell the Spirit Chief where he could find his long-lost daughter.
I see a value displayed within this section; It is showing that the mother bear wants to make things right before death. This displays a cultural value of relieving all emotional restraints to the physical world, so that they can pass successfully to the next realm. It is a lot like any stereotypical ghost movie, the “unfinished business” that ties them to the earth. From what I’ve studied about the Native Americans, they were huge believers in reincarnation and the spirit realm, so they thought any decision that weighed them down in this life would do so in the next.
Keep on keepin’ on.
Keep on keepin’ on.
I think that the mother bear decided to appoint her grandson with the task of asking the Chief for forgiveness because she was scared of the Chief and his anger. Also, she may have thought that the Chief would be more willing to forgive her if he was asked forgiveness by his grandson. The mother bear may have assumed that the Chief would be proud of having a grandson, even though the grandson was half bear.
13 When the father got this news he was so glad that he came down the
mountainside in giant strides, melting the snow and tearing up the laud under his feet. Even today his tracks can be seen in the rocky path on the south side of Mount Shasta.
14 As he neared the lodge, he called out, “Is this where my little
daughter lives?”
15 He expected his child to look exactly as she had when he saw her
If so much time had passed, why would he thing that his daughter would look the same?
last. When he found a grown woman instead, and learned that the strange creatures she was taking care of were his grandchildren, he became very angry. A new race had been created that was not of his making! He frowned on the old grandmother so sternly that she promptly fell dead. Then he cursed all the grizzlies:
I’m wondering why he got mad over the new creatures because he was not the one to form the world originally. Remember before, he just carved a hole to push all the snow out, although he was not the solitary creator of this world; the world he used to put the snow on was preexisting. So my question is, why would the Sky god get mad that new creatures were made on a world that he didn’t solely create?
Sternly-being firm or strict. It’s used in this context to show how angry the Spirit Chief was.
Promptly means quickly, or immediately. Meaning that she immediately died just from his frown.
Stern- in the text, stern means strictly or aggressively.
I think the Sky Spirit was angry even though the bears were trying to be nice by taking care of his daughter.
Keep on keepin’ on.
Keep on keepin’ on.
16 “Get down on your hands and knees. You have wronged me, and
from this moment all of you will walk on four feet and never talk
again.”
17 He drove his grandchildren out of the lodge, put his daughter over
his shoulder, and climbed back up the mountain. Never again did he come to the forest. Some say that he put out the fire in tire center of his lodge and took his daughte r back up to the sky to live.
18 Those strange creatures, his grandchildren, scattered and wandered
over the earth. They were the first Indians, the ancestors of all the Indian tribes.
Why is it that descendants of these Indian tribes do not use their arms and legs to walk and do not have an unusual amount of hair covering their bodies?
I think it is interesting that the grandchildren became the Indians.
19 That’s why the Indians living around Mount Shasta would never
It’s my understanding that Mt. Shasta is in California, but I wonder what people specifically this myth comes from.
kill a grizzly bear. Whenever a grizzly killed an Indian, his body was burned on the spot. And for many years all who passed that way cast a stone there until a great pile of stones marked the place of his death.
The word cast according to the text may mean to spell or sent out? I conclude this with the sentence before and after.
Actual meaning
Cast: To throw or hurt
Cast in this text meant to hurt someone for not honoring native tribal expectations, almost.
The grizzlies are very valued in Native American cultures as well as the belief that the bodies should just be burned and a rock to be left at the spot the person died instead of a proper burial.
Construct a Thesis or Argument for the values that are displayed in this text:
Disobeying your parents will result in disaster in your life, and jealousy will cause destruction.
One of the main values expressed in this story is the value of obeying your elders and parents.
Keep on keepin’ on.
Keep on keepin’ on.
2 Points: What is this passage about? Paraphrase it below.
The Chief of the Sky Spirits got of the Above World because it was cold so he made moved all of the snow below to the earth through a hole, creating Mount Shasta. He then took his walking stick, broke it into pieces which turned into animals. One the animals was the bear that could walk and talk like people. The Sky Spirit put them in the woods. The Sky Spirit then built a lodge in the mountain and brought his family there. One night the Wind Spirit was blowing extra hard and the Sky Spirit told his daughter to tell the Wind Spirit to take it down a notch but not to go outside the lodge because she might get blown away. The daughter climbed to the top of the lodge and peeked her head out to see the ocean and was blown away. She was adopted by a family of grizzlies, married one, and had bear people kids. The grandmother grizzly wanted to apologize to the Sky Spirit for keeping his daughter before she died. The Sky Spirit came to the bears, killed the grandmother with a frown, cursed the bears not to talk and walk on four legs, and took his daughter back to the Above World where they remained ever since. The bear people children became the first Indians.
This story is about how the Sky Spirit created things in the “Earth” to bring peace to it. But then, things started to get out of control with his daughter bearing with half-human half-bear children and the Sky Spirit got so furious with them that he cursed them. But then they realized how the bears brought peace to the world and that’s why Indians should not kill a bear.
A girl was blown away from her house, where she was found by a family of grizzlies. They took her in and cared for her. She married a bear and had bear/person kids with it. And eventually the sky spirit found out that his daughter was alive, so he went to see her. He thought she would be the same as she was when he lost her, but she was all grown up and had children. This made the sky spirit mad, so he cursed all bears to always walk on four legs and to never speak again. And since indians believe bears were their ancestors, they would never kill one.
This passage is about how our choices and emotions can lead to trouble.
Here is my paraphrase:
Once, when no humans existed, there was the earth and the Above World. The Chief of this world desired to live somewhere warmer. So, one day, he created a huge mountain — it is presently called “Mount Shasta” — using the snow from the Above World. He traveled down this mountain, creating animals, fish, rivers, trees, and more along the way. One of his biggest creations was grizzly bears who were human-like. These he sent to the forests which were located at the bottom of the mountain. The Chief was so satisfied with this new world that he moved his family from the Above World to the mountain. They lived inside of the mountain. One day, there was a terrible windstorm. The Chief was frightened, so he decided to send his daughter to the inside of the tip of the mountain where there was a hole to let the smoke from their fire escape. He told his daughter to try to make the windstorm come to an end. He warned her to not let any of her head out of the hole because the wind would catch her hair in its gusts and take her away from the mountain. The girl tried to end the storm, but her curiosity overtook her, and she peeked out of the mountain. Immediately, the wind swept her hair up and took her away to the bottom of the mountain. A grizzly bear was hunting there, and he found the girl and took her home. The girl was raised by a mother bear alongside her cubs. When the girl had grown into a woman, she married a bear. They had half-bear and half-spirit children. Years later, the mother bear realized that her life was almost over. She sent one of the grandsons to ask the Chief for forgiveness for having his daughter stay with them. The Chief left the mountain, but became filled with rage when he discovered that his daughter was no longer a little girl. He became extremely jealous when he saw that his daughter had started a new race that he had not started himself. He caused the mother bear to die. He cursed his grandchildren, resulting in them now acting like bears and no longer acting like humans. He forced his daughter to return to the mountain with him, and they have not been seen or heard from since.
It is about how the Sky Spirit everything and then had his family come see his work. Then the Wind Spirit was making a terrible wind storm so the Sky Spirit sent his daughter to take to the Wind Spirit about calming the wind down. As the girl was about to head back to her family she stuck her head out and the wind caught her hair and flew her down to where a bear found her. The bear took her to his family. The bears and the girl grew up together. Once they were all grown up, the oldest bear son and the girl got married and had lots of kids. When the the mama bear was about to die she sent her oldest grandchild to see the Sky Spirit to tell him that they had his daughter. When the Sky Spirit heard that he cam to see but what he saw was a creature that he had not created so he got angry. He told the bears they were to walk on their hands and feet and were never to talk again. He sent his grandchildren out into the wilderness and carried his daughter back with him.
This passage is about the chief of the sky spirits and how bears had been forced to walk on all fours and lost the ability to speak. The passage also brushes up lightly on the idea of the Native Americans’ ancestry.
The Sky Spirit came down to Earth and created animals with pieces of his walking stick. He brought his family down and there was a storm. He sent his daughter to talk to the Wind Spirit. She was blown away and the bears took care of her. She married one of the bears and had children. The Sky Spirit found her and punished the bears. The Sky Spirit’s grandchildren became the descendant of Indians.
In this story, a sky spirit and his family come down to earth and in doing so create life. However, his daughter is lost in the forest and adopted by grizzly bears. Her half-bear, half-spirit children are humans. The sky spirit angrily curses the bears to walk on four legs like common animals.
The passage is mainly about the creation of the coastal Native Americans, and their homeland.
2 Points: What values do you think this illustrates are present in the culture?
This story shows the Native American’s values of life by showing the reaction and consequence of decisions made by their ancestors.
I think that the values shown in this story are rebellion, anger, honor, and peaceful.
I think that the values this illustrates are present in the culture are:
1. Curiosity is a dangerous thing.
2. You should always obey your parents.
3. You should never let jealousy overtake you.
4. The chief of any tribe, world, etc. should be in charge of everything.
This story shows the cause and effect of the decisions that are made.
I believe the values expressed in the story that should still be practiced in today’s society is obedience to adults.
I think this values anger, obedience and curiosity.
Keep on keepin’ on.
Keep on keepin’ on.
Keep on keepin’ on.
Keep on keepin’ on.
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