Preview

The "Way" to Rainy Mountain

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
284 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The "Way" to Rainy Mountain
The "Way" To Rainy Mountain Q: In many ways, Momaday is writing a memoir of a people, the Kiowas, not just himself or his grandmother. How does he use events from his own life and his grandmother’s life as a lens through which he can talk about the Kiowas? Momaday star his book by familiarizing the reader with facts about Kiowas’s past. Momaday tell of how the Kiowa migrated in the early 18th century. In the course of that long migration (the Kiowa) had come of age as a people. They had conceived a good idea of themselves; they had dared to imagine and determine who they were…(therefore,) the way to Rainy Mountain is preeminently the history of an idea, men’s idea of himself (Rainy Mountain 4) Momaday uses memories, cultural stories and flashbacks, combining his own experiences to bring together a journey of mind and body: Momaday presents three different “vision” of the Kiowa experience which are the “Kiowa” the “historical” and the “personal.” The Kiowa vision is composed by myths passed down to Momaday in tradition from relative nad other “tribespople” these myths are colorful and imaginative of the creators. But the Kiowa myth brings out the cultural value system: the sun the horse and the buffalo elements fundamental to sustain their lives. The “historical” give the reader another perspective from which to view the Kiowa experience. Finally “vision” Momaday brings his own personal vision, his memories and his imagination. For example he grow up among the Pueblo Indians, but also felt as if he belonged to the Kiowa culture because they were his grandmother’s people. His discovery of their belief gave Momaday information about himself and his family

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Chapter One, Surrounded by Enemies: The Apache way of life and Geronimo as a young…

    • 1040 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Each person has a story. Places they’ve been, their experiences, and culture. In the book Dreaming in Indian, the authors have taken a collection of stories and put them into this book to display the Native American voices that these stories demonstrate.…

    • 202 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Momaday uses this memoir to document, not only the end of his grandmother’s life, but also the “end” of several ways of life for the Kiowa people by constructing this world for the reader as if the reader had been there himself. Momaday begins his memoir with strong and descriptive word choice illustrating Rainy Mountain. Each sentence acting as a brushstroke in the reader’s mind, the paragraph painting an elaborate picture, the reader feels as if he has been dropped into the setting. Momaday then constructs characters with very much detail in, not just their appearance, but their personality. Thus, one feels he knows them so well they seem to be archetypal characters. Thirdly, Momaday writes this story from a different perspective. Most…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Never Cry Wolf Analysis

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages

    From a personal experience, I find it hard reading out of my comfort zone and struggle to recall the events taking place in a story. However, Mowat kept me engaged with a profound use of imagery. In a nature book such as itself, it is essential to provide vivid imagery and specific details. Mowat shows this practice numerous times throughout the novel, placing the reader into the Barren Lands of central Keewatin. As I read throughout the novel, I began to wonder to myself, “What would I do?” and “How would I react?” This is the effect Mowat’s descriptive words have on his reader’s mind. In the beginning of Mowat’s journey, he is dropped in seemly the middle of nowhere, and observes his surroundings. “As I looked about me at the stark and cloud-topped hills, the…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The speakers interviewed in OffShore explain the kinship felt by indigenous Hawaiian’s towards Mauna Kea. One speaker and activist, Rutha Lua mentions Mauna Kea as a grandparent, “who can a”be kind of standoffish” but prayers can lift her clouds. Loa providing Mauna Kea with pronouns humanizes the volcano and shows a distinct connection between that suggests an intimate relationship between this piece of nature and humans. Similarly, Hawaiian Indigenous leader Pua Case also described Mauna Kea as a grandparent. Notably she provides an anecdote in which one must earn respect from Mauna Kea and expressing reasons for visiting such as singing to the mountain or praying. Pua Cae’s examples for visiting the mountain describe not only an intimate relationship but also a selfless one which strays away from the recreational uses associated with nature. The…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Momaday, it seems, is writing this story for people who have also lost relatives. He seems to be relating to those who have gone through similar situations. The story takes on a depressing tone, as is usually associated with death, when he begins to describe the land in the first few paragraphs. You get a sense of loneliness when he describes the terrain because it is barren and desolate. This could be because he himself feels loneliness due to the loss of his grandmother. This point could be linked to the reason that he’s writing. Is he writing this to relate to others who have been through similar situations because he is lonely? It would seem so.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When a layman is asked to describe their idea of a Native person’s relationship with nature, it is the author’s experience that, most often, the description will involve Pocahontas’ song, “Colors of the Wind” – and not with unfair cause. Disney’s version of Pocahontas and the Powhatans embodies the “steward of the environment” trope in an extreme way, and the cultural ubiquity of the supposedly historical film makes it a powerful vessel to impact peoples’ perception of Native life. However, Disney’s unfortunate portrayal of all Native people being inextricably connected to and a natural protector of the land does more damage than cultural education – by stereotyping a people group based on one aspect of their cultural identity and minimizing…

    • 1354 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Often times in Native American literature, authors offer a better understanding of what the traditions and values are in regards to the Indian culture. Interestingly enough, specific characters offer different ways in which they express their traditional way of life. House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday, introduces Francisco, Abel’s grandfather, who took on the role of being his guardian. Winter in the Blood by James Welch shows a grandmother that is neglected by her grandson because “distance” was very much relevant in his life (2). The Round House by Louise Erdrich speaks of Grandma Ignatia Thunder, also referred to as the medicine woman, who is a “hardened,” “dried out” lady that spoke Indian (71).…

    • 1313 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Ceremony Analysis

    • 74 Words
    • 1 Page

    In the novel The Ceremony by Leslie Maremon Silke’s it significantly emphasized the importance of storytelling through the role of spiritual healing. The Pueblo Culture uses storytelling to illustrate the wisdom and knowledge of their ancestors and most importantly to discuss the creation of nature and our world. The main focus is to inform the functions of storytelling through the impact of culture differences on a individual as portrayed in the book the Ceremony.…

    • 74 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Momaday

    • 2329 Words
    • 10 Pages

    He bases what he has written over what he has lived and seen throughout life. “Loneliness is an aspect of the land. All things in the plain ar isolated; there is no confusion of objects in the eye, but one hill or one tree or one man. To look upon that landscape in the early morning, with the sun at your back, is to lose to the sense of proportion.” (Momaday, 3) Like mentioned, this quote can be related with Momaday’s culture. This book relates to his people that he is associated with, even if they are adversaries. This similarity helps the reader imagine what it is like to live like these people on the reservation like he did ,cut off from the real world. “But warfare for the Kiowas was eminently a matter of disposition rather than of survival, and they never understood the grim, unrelenting advance of the U.S. Cavalry.” (Momaday, 7) This goes back to the wholeness of the native american culture. In the book and in real life the KIowas never like to bolster troops, they would rather just use peace as a tactic instead. “Along the way Kiowas were befriended by the Crows, who gave them the culture and religion of the plains.”(Momaday, 23) In the culture he grew up with they were always helping of others even if it was not in their best interest. In the book Momaday talks about how the character's grandmother died and where she came from. He explains…

    • 2329 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Way to Rainy Mountain

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The way to rainy mountain was a long and hard one for the Kiowa people. Despite the hardship, they became stronger along the way, learning new skills, and gaining a new religion. The young man's way to rainy mountain also taught him many things. The journey gave him a greater understanding of the 1,500 mile long pilgrimage undertaken by the Kiowa and a mental picture of the places described by his grandmother. The grandmother's journey was a journey of the mind. She learned of the great pilgrimage through the stories and memories of others. They took on a form that was quite lifelike to her though she had never experienced them in person.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Way to Rainy Mountain

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This story had me thinking about a lot because in the story it felt like Momaday talked a lot about how the Kiowa tribe started and hoe they came about what they were. I felt that by reading this story I have learned somewhat of enough…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Importance of Language

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the story, “From a Native Daughter”, by Haunani-Kay Trask talks about herself, and how the history of the people and their culture of Hawaii means to her. She has learned stories over time from her parents and ancestors of how things were before her, so she has a lot of knowledge about the history and culture of the people before her. She is very vocal in her voice and wants people who aren’t native from Hawaii to learn the truth about the history of the culture of Hawaii.…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Way to Rainy Mountain

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “The Way to Rainy Mountain” written by N. Scott Momaday, is a story behind a Kiowa descendent experience with Rainy Mountain. In the story, he depicts history, culture and life of the Kiowa tribe. In addition, he focused more on his grandmother to display the life for Kiowa people. Rainy Mountain is a place where weather becomes extreme no matter the kind of season. One day, the author returned to Rainy Mountain to visit his grandmother’s grave. She had recently died and he feels nostalgic. His grandmother was born to the last traditional generation of the Kiowa. The Kiowa tribe were fond of the Tai me. This particular sacred sun-dance doll became the Kiowa object of worship. His grandmother attended the last sun dance the Kiowa tribe had in 1887. She was exposed to Kiowa culture and lives in Rainy Mountain until her passing. The author tries to recall his grandmother through what he experience when living with her. He remembers her standing at the wooden stove cooking the meat or sitting at the south window, bent above her bead work. He recalls his grandmother’s house being full of fun and noise. He claims the Kiowa people are good people who care for one another. Families within the tribe took care of one another and they had great morale. The place surrounding his grandma’s house was plain yet peaceful enough that he could hear the frogs by the river and feel the motion of the air.…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Becoming a woman is a big deal but what about finding your destiny? Many tribes take these two things very seriously especially the apache and lakota tribes. In the short story The Medicine Bag Martin is a young boy that does not appreciate his grandpa and to receive the medicine bag he has to learn to appreciate him. In the video Morning Star Feather had to complete tasks to prove her womanhood to her tribe. In this essay I will be comparing and revealing many similarities and differences that these two stories had. In addition to the similarities and differences I will be pointing out the advantages and disadvantages that these two stories provided.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays