SUMMARY
The story is about an old man named Koskoosh, a former chief of an Eskimo tribe. He, who now has a poor vision, has been judged to be nothing but a useless being in the tribe –cannot keep up with the tribe, as youth has long died- Therefore, the tribe, in the middle of their long journey, decided to leave him in the snow (where they were taking a rest), expected to die from hunger, frozen or even eaten by the famished wolves. His son, the current chief of the tribe, gets him nothing but a handful of fagots.
He knows his time is nearing. He’s a “last year’s leaf” as he calls himself, the thing he can do nothing about. Left in the frozen weather, he recalls doing the same thing to his father decades ago, throwing him away like a piece of rubbish. He also remembers his old day with a friend, Zing-ha, looking at an old, sick moose being killed by the wolves. He learns than this what life is supposed to be and its task.
The moment he feels the cold nose of a wolf against his cold skin, he tried to fight back stopped fighting back as he heard more footsteps coming his way, but to no avail. This is the law of life, he decided. Everything will face the death.
ELEMENTS 1. Characters * Koskoosh (major and protagonist): thoughtful, open minded.
Koskoosh, though knowing that he is only waiting for the death to come, still thinks that he’s lucky enough that his son at least waited for him and talked to him before leaving with tribemen. He also thinks about the life and its law.
His is a round/complex character of the story, as for there is changing of character. His function is to serve the major idea of the whole story. * Koskoosh’s son (minor): caring, strict.
He’s a certifiable chief of the tribe, doing what is right the tribe’s good. Though he leaves his father, he still cares for him; he is just doing his role as the leader of the chief. * Sit-cum-to-ha (minor and antagonist): egoist
She is KosKoosh’s