Unit 8
Devil Deer by Rudolfo Anaya
Summary
In 'Devil Deer' by Rudolfo Anaya, a Pueblo hunter kills a grotesquely deformed deer near the Los Alamos Laboratory. The deer's deformities are caused by contamination from the lab. The pueblo sees the deer as a bad sign and prepares a cleansing ceremony for the hunter.
Cruz, a hunter from a pueblo, gets ready for deer season. He plans to hunt in a remote place called Black Ridge, near the Los Alamos Laboratory fence. His friend Joe warns him not to go alone after breaking his leg, but Cruz ignores the advice. On the night before the hunt, Cruz drives to the ridge and sleeps in his truck. There, he dreams of a deformed black bear that tells him to leave the mountain because no medicine can help him there. Ignoring the dream, Cruz wakes confident he will find a big buck.
While hunting, Cruz sees a massive buck inside the fenced laboratory area. The deer behaves strangely, following him instead of running away. When Cruz shoots at it, the buck does not react as expected. As he approaches, he finds the deer is horribly deformed—its legs are twisted, its hide is oozing bile, and its antlers are covered in patches of hair. Horrified, Cruz realizes he has killed a "devil deer”. Despite his fear, he drags the buck back to his truck to show the elders in the pueblo.
When Cruz returns to the pueblo, the sight of the deformed deer shocks everyone. Neighbors gather around his truck, whispering and shaking their heads. The men take the buck away, likely to burn it. Cruz feels drained and guilty, even though he is physically safe. His wife and friend Joe comfort him, but it is clear that something deep inside him has changed. The medicine men will perform a cleansing ceremony to pray for him. The story ends with the suggestion that contamination from the laboratory has spread into the land and animals, threatening the natural balance of life.
Summary
Rudolfo Anaya wrote "Devil Deer," a story about hunting culture in Pueblo, a community in America, where a hunter kills a deformed deer due to ecological deterioration caused by humans.
The story takes place during the deer season in autumn, a tradition that has been around for a long time. However, due to many hunters, the deer population has been decreasing yearly. Cruz plans to go hunting with his friend Joe, but Joe can't go because he broke his leg. Cruz goes to the Black Ridge where the Los Alamos Laboratory is located. Despite the danger of hunting in that area, Cruz spends the night there with a fetish stone bear in his bag. In his dream, a deformed bear tells him to leave.
The next morning, Cruz hears something breathing in agony and sees a deformed and blind buck inside the Tech Fence Area of the Los Alamos Laboratory. Cruz fires at the buck, and it follows him before he kills it. He takes the buck home to show his people, but they call it a devil deer and prepare to burn it.
The medicine men perform a cleansing ceremony for Cruz and pray for him. The deformed buck was trapped inside the laboratory fences and became deformed due to harmful radiation, lasers, atom smashers, and vibrations.
The story highlights how ecological deterioration caused by human activities, such as the activities in the Los Alamos Laboratory, can have a negative impact on the natural environment and the animals that inhabit it.
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