Dogsong, by Gary Paulsen

I just read Gary Paulsen's Dogsong and several things jumped out at me. I really liked the square, grounded way of the sentences; the style of them seemed to fit the character's journey back to the way things used to be - a way of surviving off only what the land gives. In that time, there was a song for everything and everyone had a song, and in the story, Russel is returning to that way of life and along the way discovers his song.
It got me wondering what my what my song would be, and what makes up a person' song? All the ones in the story involved trials faced and things learned. I'd like to think every last one of us has a song, since every one of us has a story, and it seems the song just tells a person's story, plain and simple. There's no flowing artsy fluff of extra words, just "The deer was there. I was there. This happened. That happened." No melodrama, just the facts. The emotions were still there underneath the words, just not spelled out verbally. When people got up to sing their own songs they danced the emotions, and everyone seemed to understand because the story-song took them there, to the scene.
Another thing I thought was cool about the culture/old way was how death was viewed. When Russel goes to kill the polar bear, he knows he will die if it's meant to be or the bear will die if it's meant to be and provide Russel, Nancy and the dogs with food. Also, when Oogruk knows he's going to die he decides to do it looking out at sea. It showed total acceptance of dying...In the whole book, and apparently culture, dying is viewed as a natural part of life. It's done with acceptance and peace wherever or whenever it finds the person.
In teaching this book, I'd like to ask the students what they think about dreams. In Dogsong, the dreams Russel has and the reality he lives fold over into each other and become one. I think dreams are a very interesting discussion topic, and it would be interesting to hear other people's theories. I wonder, too, if dreams are viewed differently from culture to culture, and reading or researching other cultures in terms of dreams could be really interesting. Students could learn more about other aspects of Eskimo culture as well, and I think comparing it to their own culture could show them a lot about themselves and their own cultures.