Shadow of the Dragon King 10-2 Original Draft

This is the original draft of Chapter 10-2 of Shadow of the Dragon King. My beta amyraine raised some issues with it, particularly a last bit when she felt Yenzi's reaction came out of nowhere. I decided to rewrite it from Yenzi's point of view, and while the rewrite took months with all the other stuff I had going on at the time, I felt the results were worth it. It was certainly an education in the importance of point of view. The new version posted to FanFiction.net is here. The original, external PoV version is below.

( 10-2 Original Draft )

We Can Do This, Together: Community and Change in the Water Tribes (1 of 2)

Culture in Avatar: The Last Airbender Series:

1. What It Is to Be Free: Aang and the Spirituality of the Air Nomads

2. We Can Do This, Together: Community and Change in the Water Tribes

3. Stand Strong, Stand Proud: Earth Kingdom Resilience and Identity

4. Burn for My Belief: The Fire Nation and the Courage of Conviction
5. Subcultures and Conclusion

The Water Tribes come across as a people of contrasts. On the one hand they seem to be the great communitarians, valuing their communal ties and the bonds of family and friendship. On the other hand we have seen how oppressive that community can be in the Northern Water Tribe arc at the end of Book 1, when teenage girls were forced into arranged marriages and the role of women was strictly proscribed. How do we explain this seeming contradiction?

( The characters show similar contradictions... )

We Can Do This, Together: Community and Change in the Water Tribes (2 of 2)

In Part 1 of this essay we examined the cultural values of the Water Tribes and how they affected the story of Avatar. Now let us take a look at the darker side of Water Tribe culture and how the Tribes worked through it as a society and as individuals.

( Bring me all your chauvinists! )