Pretty Calf

819 Words4 Pages
Have you ever thought how different a story would be if it was narrated by the antagonist? If you have, you can see that the point of view of a story deeply affects how the narrative is written and perceived. “A Man Called Horse,” by Dorothy M. Johnson is written in third person, and is limited to experiencing only the thoughts and feelings of Horse. Had Greasy Hand, Pretty Calf, or Horse’s grandmother narrated the story, it would be a incredibly different version; if the point of view of a story is changed, the entire narrative is changed. If Greasy Hand was the narrator, the reader would better understand how Horse was accepted into Crow culture. “He understood that he was the property of the screaming old woman (p. 169) …” Greasy Hand, referred to here as ‘the screaming old woman,’ owns Horse. He is more a pet or slave than an actual human being in this part of the story. “ … the old woman brought a pair of new moccasins out of the tepee and tossed them on the ground…show more content…
“With great daring, she murmured, ‘Hayha,’ … ‘A woman calls her man that if she thinks he will not leave her (p. 175).’ ” Pretty Calf is obviously in love with Horse, more so than Horse is with her. She seems to be deeply invested in the relationship, and, had she been the narrator, the reader would have felt more of that affection. “Pretty Calf had cut off chunks of her long hair and was crying as she gashed her arms with a knife (p. 176).” In this part of the story, Pretty Calf is grieving the loss of her brother. She was closer to her brother than Horse was, and is significantly more affected by his demise. Horse seemed inconvenienced by the death rather than saddened. Here we would have seen deeper grief, and gotten more involved in the story. If Pretty Calf narrated the story, the reader would have been exposed to a greater amount of emotions and experienced deeper
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