CHEE’S WITCH
Chee’s Witch by Tony Hillerman is a mysterious short story with a mixture of crime and witchcraft beliefs. The story is absorbing though it is not the kind of story that interests me. I had to read the story several times to understand it.
The title is alluring, and one expects that the story is about a character who has a witch, which is not the case. The author uses the character Chee, a corporal, to solve a murder mystery by delving into the witchcraft beliefs of the native Americans.
The author uses characterization to build the plot of the story to make it seem real making readers relate to the story, for instance, Chee is passionate, the way he handles his case shows how excited he is, he is also a deep believer of tradition as the author uses him to explain the importance of witchcraft beliefs of the native Americans. The author describes things in detail, which helps in building the plot of the story.
At the end of the story, the author uses suspense, which made me disappointed as I was absorbed in the story. We are not told who the murderer is. This makes me wonder if Simon Begay is the witch who murdered the natives since the Navajos believed that he was the witch.
- What did you learn from Navajo witchcraft beliefs? The witches blew corpse powder on their victims, which made the victims sick. To know a witch killing had happened, the victim’s hands were stretched out upwards and the skin was cut off the palms and fingers.
- What is the significance of the rhetorical questions posed by the author at the end of the story? The rhetorical questions provoke the thoughts of the reader on who Simon Begay is.
- Does being a stranger automatically qualify you to become a potential witch in the Navajo society? Yes, Chee tells Wells that Navajo people suspect strangers as potential witches.
- What did you learn from Navajo witchcraft beliefs? The witches blew corpse powder on their victims, which made the victims sick. To know a witch killing had happened, the victim’s hands were stretched out upwards and the skin was cut off the palms and fingers.
- What is the significance of the rhetorical questions posed by the author at the end of the story? The rhetorical questions provoke the thoughts of the reader on who Simon Begay is.
- Does being a stranger automatically qualify you to become a potential witch in the Navajo society? Yes, Chee tells Wells that Navajo people suspect strangers as potential witches.
- What did you learn from Navajo witchcraft beliefs? The witches blew corpse powder on their victims, which made the victims sick. To know a witch killing had happened, the victim’s hands were stretched out upwards and the skin was cut off the palms and fingers.
- What is the significance of the rhetorical questions posed by the author at the end of the story? The rhetorical questions provoke the thoughts of the reader on who Simon Begay is.
- Does being a stranger automatically qualify you to become a potential witch in the Navajo society? Yes, Chee tells Wells that Navajo people suspect strangers as potential witches.