Natural Symbols In N. Scott Momaday's The Way To Rainy Mountain

The Natural Symbols in The Way to Rainy Mountain

N. Scott Momaday is a Kiowa novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He devotes his life to protect and inherit the national culture heritage, and has published a large number of Indian literature with fresh content, unique style and light homesickness. Among his numerous literary works, the early published work The Way to Rainy Mountain belongs to a prose with beautiful style of writing and sincere affection. The way to Rainy Mountain is a Momaday’s journey to seek his root. He skillfully combines the life of his grandmother and the history of the people together, with a unique perspective, rich poetic language, delicate emotions to show readers the origin, development and decline of

It is a connection between the ordinary sense of reality and a moral or spiritual order. A symbol can be an object, a sound, or a bodily sensation. It can also be a character, or an act. A symbol is carried through the work and consistently represents something than adds to the meaning of the piece. Symbolism is the practice of employing symbols. Symbolism in literature was appeared in mid 19th century in France. It is the use of an item that causes the reader to think about what it stands for. The meaning it holds depends in the individual. Therefore, different people may have different understanding to the same

The bear borne from a little boy in the legend at the base of the rock represents equality of human and animal. In the minds of North American Indians, bears are human - shaped, powerful, adventurous animals, and they hope to have the strength and courage of the bear. Along the migration to the south and east--a journey toward the dawn, it led to a golden age. Kiowa people were befriended by the Crows, who gave them the culture and religion of the Plains. Kiowa people acquired horses, and their ancient nomadic spirit was suddenly free of the ground and became a people on the horse back. From then on, horses changed their life dramatically—offering convenience for their transportation and simplifying the tracking and hunting buffalos. With horses, they can attack distant enemies and return safely. So horse became the close friend in their scared story. Buffalo symbolizes a happy and healthy life with ample food and clothing. Kiowa people eat buffalo meat and use buffalo fur to make clothing. Cranium of buffalo plays an important role in the Sun Dance. People hang the painted and decorated cranium of buffalo on the holy tree, and Some tribes fill eyelets and nasal cavities of the cranium with grass to pray for exuberant plants, meeting the need of human and animals. And the cranium inserted with grass will make the buffalo complete, symbolizing the restarting of life. Eagle symbolizes the messenger between