An Informal Analysis Of Jane Schoolcraft's The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Mariana De Oliveira Souza
English 221
Professor Ison
2 April 2023
Short Paper Two: An Informal Analysis of Jane Schoolcraft’s “Mishosha, or The Magician of the Lakes” (1827) Unlike the previous three hundred years of European settlement in America, the Post-Revolutionary war period welcomed a new literary era to the continent. Thus, new literary styles began surging across the country as American-born authors strove to create pieces that differed from European written works (Kurtz 1). Jane Schoolcraft was an American author whose works were an addition to this period with a mix of European and native-inspired stories that employ clever plot structure, character composition, and word choices to introduce Native American culture to white folks

As I read “Mishosha,” one parable whose format I recalled is Aesop’s “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” with some similarities being an action being repeated three times, the aspect of one character fooling another continuously, and the presence of a message involving the negative consequences of betrayal. I find this worth pointing out as it serves as an example of although Americans were striving to create their own culture, they did still share some similarities with European works. Nonetheless, these characteristics are also present in Native American folktales, but one difference is that they were passed down orally rather than written. Given Schoolcraft’s mixed heritage, it is quite clever of her to combine both European and native story components to create a work that reflects the new American literature style Post-Revolutionary war. Overall, “Mishosha’s” plot is organized quite similarly to an orally shared folktale, where not much imagery is used and a supernatural being not from the Bible is

Though the story does not directly go in-depth regarding the characters’ traits, the readers get to know them quite well as their actions develop in the plot. From the beginning, it is observable that Mishosha is not quite a nice character. After abducting Panigwum away from his little brother, he attempts to kill the young man several times for his own benefit. Not much else needs to be said for readers to understand that ultimately Mishosha is the antagonist of the story. On the other side, Panigwum is shown to be a resilient, kind character from the very beginning where he puts a lot of effort into taking care of his young brother. It becomes clear that he is the protagonist and that he’ll likely present noble and righteous actions throughout the