63 pages • 2 hours read
Velma WallisTwo Old Women
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Introduction
Two Old Women
- Genre: Fiction; realistic based on legend
- Originally Published: 1993
- Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 1030L; adult/college
- Structure/Length: 8 chapters with introduction; approx. 160 pages
- Protagonist and Central Conflict: Because they are considered to be making insufficient contributions to their tribe’s survival, Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak are left behind when their people abandon a campsite during an especially harsh winter. The two old women must marshal all their resources and work together to survive in the Alaskan wilderness until spring.
- Potential Sensitivity Issues: Ageism; abandonment
Velma Wallis, Author
- Bio: Born 1959 near Yukon, Alaska; was one of 13 children in her family; dropped out of school at age 13 to help her mother after her father’s death; after passing her high school equivalency test, lived off the land in an isolated cabin for over a decade; based Two Old Women on an Athabascan legend passed down by her mother
- Other Works: Raising Ourselves: A Gwich’in Coming of Age Story from the Yukon River (2002); Bird Girl and the Man Who Followed the Sun (2003)
- Awards: Western States Book Award (1993); Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award (1994)
CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
- The Sanctity of Human Life
- The Cost of Ageism
- The Importance of Physical and Mental Health
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:
