Monday 8 February 2016

Karl May: Old Statterhand

Kniha obsahuje štyri poviedky, ktoré sú prepojené postavou Old Shatterhanda. Prvé dve z nich, Old Cursing Guy a Blizard majú spoločnú tému – nadávanie a rúhanie, a k čomu môže človeka priviesť. Muž s prezývkou Old Cursing Guy naozaj robí „česť“ svojmu menu, keď jeho reči Old Shatterhand ako rozprávač príbehu ani nereprodukuje celé, iba s vybodkovanými časťami. Old Cursing Guy okrem toho stále opakuje, „nech na mieste oslepnem a nech zdochnem, ak ...“. Dvojica z druhej poviedky má tiež podobné obľúbené výrazy. Všetci títo sú vinní z vraždy a udalosti sa v oboch prípadoch vyvinú tak, že Winnetou v jednej poviedke skonštatuje: „Súd prérie ho odsúdil, no veľký Manitou vyniesol nad ním ešte spravodlivejší ortieľ.Tomuto rúhavému šialencovi sa splnilo presne to, čo si sám žiadal od Veľkého Ducha. Winnetou, náčelník Apačov, videl a zažil už všeličo, čo iní nemohli zhliadnuť, no pred týmto rozsudkom mu behá po chrbte mráz.“ Old Shatterhand po rokoch stretáva vrahov, ktorí napokon neboli odsúdení, ale, ako vraví, ich terajšia situácia bola rozhodne útrpnejšia ako smrť“. Dočkáme sa však aj konca, pri ktorom Winnetou Old Shatterhandovi povie: „Predsa sa teda splnila vôľa môjho bieleho brata: duša tohto muža našla cestu k veľkému, dobrotivému Manitouovi. Jeho telo nech však aj s telom odpočíva v zemi, až kým sa v ten večný, jasný deň znova nenavráti doň duša. Howgh! “

Tretia poviedka, Both Shatters, sa medzi ostatné nehodí. O hlavnom hrdinovi sa explicitne nepovie, že je to Old Shatterhand, ale z faktov ako jeho slávna puška a kôň darovaný od Winnetoua usúdime, že je to on. Nevadilo by až tak, že popisované okolnosti stretnutia s Winnetouom sú iné, ako sú nám známe, alebo že nám nesedia informácie o Winnetouovej sestre. To, že najskôr Old Shatterhand vysvetľuje, ako jeho fowling-piece vystrelí na jedno nabitie dvadsaťpäť nábojov a potom pri príprave stratégie sú to už len dva – to patrí do zbierky chýb, aké sa spisujú pri knihách alebo pri filmoch bez toho, aby to človeku prekážalo. Ale že sa Old Shatterhnd pustí do boja bez zisťovania, čo sa deje, že sa bez problémov pridá k ľuďom, ktorí sú známi svojou nenávisťou k Indiánom a spolu s nimi ich zabíja, … :-(

V poslednej poviedke s názvom Synovia Upsarokov však už máme znovu dvojicu Winnetou – Old Shatterhand tak, ako ju poznáme. Ich pomoc teraz potrebuje Uinorinča ota, squaw náčelníka Upsarokov, aby zachránila svojich synov. Nevydrží však nečinne čakať, sama sa pritom dostane do zajatia a Folder, ďalší z ľudí nenávidiacich Indiánov, ju chce spolu s jej synmi zabiť, a to zvlásť ohavným spôsobom. Winnetou a Old Shatterhand zasiahnu, ale ešte predtým spraví Uinorinča ota takú vec, pre ktorú Old Shatterhand uzavrie svoje rozprávanie slovami: „Dodnes, vždy keď príde reč na materinskú lásku, myslím na Uinorinča Otu, Indiánku z rodu Upsarokov.“


The book contains four short stories that are linked by a character of Old Shatterhand. The first two of them, Old Cursing Guy and Blizzard, have a common theme - cursing and swearing, and where they may lead. The man nicknamed Old Cursing Guy really makes a "honor" to his name when Old Shatterhand, as a storyteller, does not reproduce his whole speech but only with dotted parts. Old Cursing Guy, moreover, always repeats, "I shall get blind and perish...". Two people from the second short story have a similar favourite expressions. All of them are guilty of a murder and in both cases the events develop in such a way that Winnetou in one short story notes: ”The prairie court sentenced him but great Manitou passed even more just verdict. To this blasphemous madman happened exactly what he himself asked from the Great Spirit. Winnetou, chief of the Apaches has seen and experienced a lot of things which others could not see, but this verdict makes his blood run cold.” Old Shatterhand after some years encounters murderers who ultimately weren't sentenced, but, as he says, “their current situation was no doubt more suffering than death.” However, we will see an end, in which Winnetou says to Old Shatterhand, “Yet the will of my white brother has been fulfilled: this man's soul found its way to the great, gracious Manitou. Let his body, together with the body of his son, rests in the ground, until on the eternal, bright day the soul returns back into it. Howgh!”

The third story, Both Shatters, doesn't fit among the others. It is not explicitly said that the main character is Old Shatterhand, but from the fact like his famous rifle and horse gifted by Winnetou we deduce it's him. It wouldn't matter that much that the described circumstances of meeting with Winnetou are other than we know them, or that the information about Winnetou's sister doesn't fit. That Old Shatterhand firstly explains that his fowling-piece shoots twenty-five bullets on a single charge and then, when preparing a strategy, it's only two – that belongs to a list of mistakes which are compiled for books or films without bothering/ But that Old Shatterhands enters a fight without finding out what is going on, that without a problem he joins people who are known for hatred to Native Americans and together with them he kills them... :-(

In the last story, entitled Sons of the Upsarokas, we once again have Winnetou – Old Shatterhand as we know them. It is Uinorincha ota, squaw of the chief of the Upsarokas, who needs their help in saving her sons. However, she is not able to wait without doing anything, she gets captured and Folder, another enemy of the Native Americans, want to kill her together with her sons in a particularly nasty way. Winnetou and Old Shatterhand intervene, but before that Uinorincha ota does a thing, for which Old Shatterhand closes his narration with the words: “Up to now, when the discussion come to motherly love, I always think of Uinorincha ota, a Native American from the tribe of Upsarokas.“

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