'The Sky Tree And Barry Lopez's Coyote Finishes His Work'

The earth is a valuable place that should be kept safe by those who live in it. Joseph Bruchac in ‎‎“The Sky Tree” and Barry Lopez in “Coyote Finishes His Work” are both Native American ‎literatures that demonstrate the importance of earth. In the “Sky Tree” a sick man asked his wife ‎Aataentic to cut down a tree because he believed that the fruit that grew from the tree would ‎heal him. When the tree was cut it fell through a hole; eventually, the tree grows in a new earth. ‎In “Coyote finishes his Work” Coyote the main character teaches the Indians how to survive. An ‎old man comes to earth and informs Coyote that his work is done. He says that coyote will be ‎back first and then the old man will come after him. Using numerous literary techniques-‎symbolism, imagery, and archetype- Bruchac and Lopez emphasize the theme that the earth as ‎our mother and provider needs to be honored and respected and can never be owned. ‎
In “The Sky Tree” the speaker’s use of symbolisms shows the importance of the rooting of the ‎tree throughout the myth. It symbolizes the earth as a mother to all living beings, an example of ‎what the earth holds in this myth include animals like the turtle, beaver and the water animals. ‎When the earth was harmed the animals gathered together to build a new earth for the tree and ‎for the ill man’s wife to rest in. The use of symbolism describes the importance of the earth which ‎emphasizes theme. Bruchac says that “without the tree there can be no life…”