Laughing Boy · Chapter
II explained
At a Navajo dance, Laughing Boy is pulled from the crowd of singers by a slender, richly adorned girl who challenges him to dance.
What happens
At a Navajo dance, Laughing Boy is pulled from the crowd of singers by a slender, richly adorned girl who challenges him to dance. He resists but eventually complies, paying a ten-cent forfeit after a single turn. He returns to the singers, offended by her forwardness and unconventional style.
Themes in this chapter
Tradition vs. Modernity
The dance blends traditional Navajo ceremony with modern elements like the American hat Laughing Boy wishes for, and the girl's unconventional dancing style.
Gender Roles and Marriage
The girl's assertive behavior in pulling Laughing Boy to dance and her low forfeit challenge traditional gender expectations.
Characters to notice
- Laughing Boy
Attends the dance, is singled out by a girl, dances reluctantly, and feels insulted by her boldness.
- Jesting Squaw
Mentioned as 'Jesting Squaw’s Son' who accompanies Laughing Boy at the dance.
- Slim Girl
The slender girl who pulls Laughing Boy to dance; she wears exceptional jewelry and behaves in a shocking, forward manner.
Key passages
“A small drum beating rapidly concentrated the mixed noises into a staccato unison.”
A fast drumbeat unified the scattered sounds into a rhythmic pattern.
Describes the drum's role in organizing the dance's energy.
“Twelve girls in single file stole into the open space, moving quietly and aloof as though the uproar of singing were petrified into a protective wall before it reached them.”
Twelve girls entered the dance area in a line, seeming detached and protected by the loud singing around them.
Highlights the girls' poised entrance amid the chaotic singing.
“He felt animosity towards her, dark and slight, like a wisp of grass—only part of a woman.”
He resented her slender, dark appearance, seeing her as incomplete or insubstantial.
Reveals Laughing Boy's initial negative impression of the girl.
“Ten cents! Already!”
She asked for only ten cents as the forfeit, which surprised and offended him by its low amount.
Shows the girl's unconventional and dismissive attitude toward the traditional forfeit.