Momaday's The Way to Rainy Mountain: Summary
N. Scott Momaday divides his book The Way to Rainy Mountain in an interesting manner. The book is divided into three chapters, each of which contains a dozen or so numbered sections, each of which is divided into three parts. The first part of each numbered section tends to be a legend or a story of the Kiowa culture. However, this characteristic changes a bit as the book evolves, as does the style and feel of the stories.
The first passage in the first numbered section describes the Kiowa creation myth. It tells that they came into the world through a hollow log. The next ones tell of a dog saving the life of a man, the story of how Tai-me became part of their culture, and other stories. These, especially in the first beginning of the first part, are stories which relate timeless tales. The events described took place long ago, though nobody knows how long. In addition, the endings of the tales would probably be described as having a good outcome. The people were created and they found friends in the physical and spiritual world.
The first part of the book describes the beginning of the Kiowa culture and their development.
Towards the end of the first part, the tone of the stories changes.
Instead of describing different stories each time, they begin to tell a story which continues through six numbered sections. The story relates the life of a baby who grows into the sun's wife who then has a ·child who becomes two children, who become honored people in the eyes of the Kiowa. These stories do not explain things like the creation of the people, or the reason dogs and men are friends, or the origin of Tai-me. They tell what happened to some people.
The last part of the book, the last third, is mostly narrative. Instead of telling myths to explain things, Momaday tells stories which relate events without any significant outcome. Also, in contrast to the first part of the book, the outcomes seem to be bad ones, or at least not fulfilling. They describe, for a large part, people whom he knows existed and were related to or were friends of his family. One story tells about Mammedaty, who heard someone whistling to him, but could not find the person. Another tells about how Mammedaty was having trouble with a horse, so he shot an arrow at it, but missed and killed another horse. These endings do not leave the reader or listener with a good feeling
At the beginning of time only the Gods where living, until one day Sovereign Plumed Serpent and Heart of the Sky, named Hurricane, created trees, bushes, and life. Bearer Begetter was the creator or animals big and small, like birds, deers, jaguars, pumas, and serpents. When the Gods created animals they created them for the sole purpose of being worshiped by them. However, when they realized that the animals could not speak they decided they would be sent to live in the woods and fend for themselves. After this Xpiyacoc and Xmucane attempted to make humans, but instead of not being able to speak. They appeared to be too unnatural and decided to call them manikins or wood carvings so, Heart of the Sky creates a flood killing them off. It is believed that monkeys look like humans because they are the manikins who survived the flood by climbing onto trees.
Most cultures have a creation myth, a story of how humans came to exist in the world. Often, they involve Gods of some capacity who exist without much question or explanation. Many myths have a common idea for the origin of the world, like Earth being born from water, a golden egg, or a great monster. The Mayan creation myth and the Babylonian creation myth are similar in that they both begin with water, and account the creation and purpose of man. They also differ, as the Mayan Popol Vuh chronicles a peaceful tale of trials to forge the Earth and sentient beings to worship the gods, while the Babylonian Enuma Elish tells of wars between gods that lead to the creation of Earth and of man as a servant to the gods.
starts to ride into battle until a man next to him is shot, then he retreats and meets up with
The Jemez people have a famous creation story that they tell their children. There creation story is this “Long ago, Pueblo people lived far away up north. At first they lived underground, in a holy place called Sipapu. Then people climbed up through a hole in the earth into the sunlight. God guided them for many years as they wandered. People suffered many bad things like tornadoes and drought and bad magicians, before they got to a good land where they could settle down”.
He concentrates on getting as close as possible without being noticed. Ed then decides he is ready as he will ever be. Yet, the moment he shoots his arrow he feels that he jerks upward. He immediately realizes that he is going to miss. Indeed, he does miss the shot, yet he wastes another arrow, knowing the second shot is pointless for the deer is now running.
story from ancient literature-it is an allusion of the well-known story of Cain and Abel in the Bible.
The people he grew up with were the same people that influenced him in. The one
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phonies, but mostly people who have done better than he has in life who he
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At times, the specific religious traditions, practices, and beliefs of the past are not enough to fill the spiritual void of the modern human being. Even more, a single religion alone may not hold all of the answers to satisfy one’s desire for enlightenment, and many choose a new path. This is the path that led to the creation of the religious denomination of Unitarian Universalism.
To explain the unexplained the Kiowas had myths, and Momaday tells these myths of their journeys in a historical voice. One of their myths explained how they came into this world and why their numbers are so small: “the Kiowas came one by one into the world through a hollow log. They were many more than now, but not all of them got out. There was a woman whose body was swollen up with child, and she got stuck in the log. After that, no one could get through, and that is why the Kiowas are a small tribe in number”(16). The few of them that managed to come out of the log saw so many things that it made them glad to which they decided to call themselves Kwuda, and later Tepda, both of which mean “coming out”(17). The Kiowa saw an amazing new world as they came out of the hollow log; Another of the unexplained that they explain through the myths is the story of how the big dipper came to be, “Eight children were there at play, seven sisters and their brother. Suddenly the boy was struck dumb; he trembled and began to run upon his hands and feet. His fingers became claws, and his body was covered with fur. Directly there was a bear where the boy had been . . .The seven sisters were borne into the sky, and they became the stars of the Big Dipper”(8). This story shows how they explain the unknown of nature through stories. With this story Momaday uses a great deal of
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