Private Property

By: Leslie Marmon Silko

  

This short story describes life living with a Pueblo Tribe. Etta and Reyna are sisters-in-law whose husbands died. Their mother-in-law was a fair woman who told them that whoever got the smaller house got the bigger yard. She believed that the houses and fields should be held by women, but no one owns anything, Etta does not agree with these old fashioned ways and the ways of the village. She went to live with the white people in Winslow. She had a job where she cared for the flowers, so she did not return to the Indian School for a while. Etta puts up a fence and talks about building trees to block out her neighbors. The town and her sister Reyna gossip about her. She learned a lot of different ways of living when she moved away. For example, the people in Winslow have fences to block out thieves. They plant flowers to make their yards beautiful and for privacy. The women in the village see planting flowers as a waste of time, since they are plants you cannot eat. Throughout the entire story Etta tries to block out the world, but in the end the horses break the fence in her yard. This represents how she cannot escape being a part of the tribe. I chose this story because it is a good example of how to teach students about the importance of community. Etta spent so much time trying to distance herself, that she was lonely and bitter towards her community. It is important to be able to go away and try new experiences, but it is also important to incorporate your new ideas into your old culture when you return. You do not have to stay away from people just because they have different views. Everyone has different opinions, but a community works together despite these different ideas. The story shows the difficulty of trying to combine two cultures. It can be hard to figure out who you are and what you want to be. Students will be taught that their actions affect others. The effect of Etta blocking out the community made a difference in not only her life, but also in the lives of the people around her. Freshman are starting to adjust to the community in their high school. This story helps teach them not to gossip and to be accepting of others. They should try to be involved where they can make a difference in their education and the education of others.

Problems that may come up When Teaching Private Property

Private property is appropriate for most ages. The only thing that may be seen as inappropriate is when the husband is having an affair in the cornfield. This part emphasizes how the people in the tribe were involved in everyone's business. The story should be easy to read for ninth graders. The author uses a lot of imagery, which will help the students to have a better understanding of the events in the story. The teacher can bring out the messages of the story by asking them specific questions. There are many symbols that the students may miss, so by going over them the story will have a lot more meaning.

This website includes a biography of the author.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/leslie-marmon-silko

A review of the story by another blogger.

http://witchsong88.blogspot.com/2010/09/private-property.html