Satire In Green Grass, Running Water By Thomas King

When comparing the size of the followings of religions, Christianity and Native American beliefs are not in the same competition. Their difference in size and locations are vastly different. Yet, the differences between the two matter. As North America was settled, Native Americans were pushed further and further west, until there was no where left for them to go. Settlers took their lands and soon enough, the white man was everywhere, including his religion: Christianity. Christianity is a large religion, but is stuck with the mindset that its beliefs are the correct ones. However, in a world so large with many religions, one religion cannot have the only truth. In Green Grass, Running Water, Thomas King uses satire to mock the story …show more content…
As he appears in the garden to condemn First Woman for eating his food, she is unaware of who he is. He feels the need to prove his power and says, “…I’m almost as good as Coyote” (King 72). First Woman is aware of who Coyote is, but is not believing the importance of this ‘God’ person. King is mocking the importance placed on God and the expectation that all people know who he is. God’s comments on the story of creation detail his frustration, as he asks where is his “earth without form”, his “void”, and his “darkness” (King 37) that has now become Water World. He is no longer in charge of creation, and King includes God to mock the Christian belief that there is only one god and he has all of the power. The narrator refers to him as “that backward GOD” (King 40) to hint that he is not welcome by the others. God’s idea of creation differs from the creators’ in this story, and his inability to accept their story mocks the way Christians react to those of other religions. The view that non-Christian beliefs are wrong is being satirized through God’s …show more content…
In the Christian religion, God is the creator, but in Green Grass, Running Water he is the creator of a simple garden (King 72) and refuses to share his fruit; “There are rules, you know…Christian rules,” (King 73) God says when First Woman eats his food. He places his Christian beliefs on a pedestal and fails to understand that not all individuals follow his beliefs. God is a selfish individual who wants to punish those who take from him, satirizing the Christian belief that he is forgiving. He is referenced as that “God fellow” (King 73), depicting him as a normal character within the story. King mocks the Christian narrative by writing God as an unkind neighbor who is easy to ignore, as he is not the creator but a minor character within the