Colonialism Effects in King’s Green Grass, Running Water
King’s novel is credited with its symbolic representation of the events that transpired in America following the invasion of the Europeans. It figuratively details the broken promises and damages that resulted from the interactions between Native Americans and the Europeans during the developments on their lands. Primarily, it is notable that through the title, King seeks to highlight the promises that were made by the Europeans in regards to the rights of the Native Americans, that they would “have rights over their lands as long as the water runs and the grass is green” (Maithreyi 2). King discusses the widespread exploitation of the natives and their land …show more content…
The express symbolism that demonstrates a lack of control over personal space, thoughts and decisions implies the loss of freedom and ability to determine personal destiny. For instance, King suggests a disregard for the sanctity of the female by the colonizers through the example of the old Blackfoot woman who offers to calm the storm but is ignored because of a combination of discrimination based on her age, sex and race (Petkova 9). Through this, King implies women as being the children of Eve who are blamed for the fall of humanity. While the narrative may appear to support the belief of male superiority over females, it symbolic representation is that the whites during colonialism considered the involvement of women in religion to demonstrate the inferiority of the culture of the natives. As a result, the culture of the Blackfoot was widely eroded by the colonialists.
As discussed by various critics, the colonialists in Green Grass, Running Water highlights numerous effects of colonialism. These include subordination, erosion of culture, deprivation off the rights to own lands, discriminative treatment and prejudiced treatment. While vast symbolism is used throughout the narrative, the truth of colonization for the colonized, one too often not mentioned, is illustrated by Green Grass, Running
King’s novel is credited with its symbolic representation of the events that transpired in America following the invasion of the Europeans. It figuratively details the broken promises and damages that resulted from the interactions between Native Americans and the Europeans during the developments on their lands. Primarily, it is notable that through the title, King seeks to highlight the promises that were made by the Europeans in regards to the rights of the Native Americans, that they would “have rights over their lands as long as the water runs and the grass is green” (Maithreyi 2). King discusses the widespread exploitation of the natives and their land …show more content…
The express symbolism that demonstrates a lack of control over personal space, thoughts and decisions implies the loss of freedom and ability to determine personal destiny. For instance, King suggests a disregard for the sanctity of the female by the colonizers through the example of the old Blackfoot woman who offers to calm the storm but is ignored because of a combination of discrimination based on her age, sex and race (Petkova 9). Through this, King implies women as being the children of Eve who are blamed for the fall of humanity. While the narrative may appear to support the belief of male superiority over females, it symbolic representation is that the whites during colonialism considered the involvement of women in religion to demonstrate the inferiority of the culture of the natives. As a result, the culture of the Blackfoot was widely eroded by the colonialists.
As discussed by various critics, the colonialists in Green Grass, Running Water highlights numerous effects of colonialism. These include subordination, erosion of culture, deprivation off the rights to own lands, discriminative treatment and prejudiced treatment. While vast symbolism is used throughout the narrative, the truth of colonization for the colonized, one too often not mentioned, is illustrated by Green Grass, Running