The Way to Rainy Mountain
The Way to Rainy Mountains by Momaday is a story which consists of many stories. Momaday emphasizes throughout the book on the importance of storytelling as a tool of survival of Kiowa. He contemplates on the power of language to represent things which are happening around him. Momaday believes that words inspire emotions and it is a powerful tool for shaping and understanding reality. Momaday was born on 27th February 1934 in Oklahoma Lawton where he lived. He is Kiowa Cherokee, which explains the way his novel was written. The book is dedicated from his own experience as it is talking about the Kiowa. Momaday in the novel applies symbolic language to say the land and his grandmother. He represents his story in the …show more content…
The novel is thus, very symbolic. It was symbolic because it can describe the culture of Kiowa, their way of life and traditions. For example, Tai-me is one of the symbols in the novel. It was the sun-dance doll that was sacred. It symbolized the way of worshiping of the tribe and the Sun being their god. Similarly, it showed how grateful they were to the sun for replenishing their lives and giving them a healthy community. Another symbol is the actual summer, which occurs every year. It symbolized the happiness of the tribe, and their cohesion as everybody in the tribe seemed to get along with each other. However, the most important symbol in the novel was an enormous spider. "He made his way to it and saw that a great spider-that which is called a grandmother-lived there" (Momaday 26). The quote suggests she is a significant part of the story. He used “great spider” to represent her because the spider just like his grandmother was a hard …show more content…
Almost in all the stories, he uses figurative language. In the story of the giant's cave, he uses words that have magical properties. For example, the twins use a mysteries word, which was passed to them in the oral tradition of the Kiowa. The term prevents the smoke from suffocating them. In the arrow maker story, he uses the password in Kiowa language to determine whether the man outside his tipi is an enemy or friend. It is words that also saves his life. Therefore, according to Momaday language is a tool, which almost equates to a weapon used for survival. Like Snyder, Momaday believed that it is only through language that an idea can be expressed well to the people. Snyder also has a collection of stories and utilizes the power of language to represent his account (Snyder 668). Furthermore, both writers use their personal experience to present their stories. Thus, both Snyder and Momaday used the power of symbolism and personal experience in giving their stories making them
The Way to Rainy Mountains by Momaday is a story which consists of many stories. Momaday emphasizes throughout the book on the importance of storytelling as a tool of survival of Kiowa. He contemplates on the power of language to represent things which are happening around him. Momaday believes that words inspire emotions and it is a powerful tool for shaping and understanding reality. Momaday was born on 27th February 1934 in Oklahoma Lawton where he lived. He is Kiowa Cherokee, which explains the way his novel was written. The book is dedicated from his own experience as it is talking about the Kiowa. Momaday in the novel applies symbolic language to say the land and his grandmother. He represents his story in the …show more content…
The novel is thus, very symbolic. It was symbolic because it can describe the culture of Kiowa, their way of life and traditions. For example, Tai-me is one of the symbols in the novel. It was the sun-dance doll that was sacred. It symbolized the way of worshiping of the tribe and the Sun being their god. Similarly, it showed how grateful they were to the sun for replenishing their lives and giving them a healthy community. Another symbol is the actual summer, which occurs every year. It symbolized the happiness of the tribe, and their cohesion as everybody in the tribe seemed to get along with each other. However, the most important symbol in the novel was an enormous spider. "He made his way to it and saw that a great spider-that which is called a grandmother-lived there" (Momaday 26). The quote suggests she is a significant part of the story. He used “great spider” to represent her because the spider just like his grandmother was a hard …show more content…
Almost in all the stories, he uses figurative language. In the story of the giant's cave, he uses words that have magical properties. For example, the twins use a mysteries word, which was passed to them in the oral tradition of the Kiowa. The term prevents the smoke from suffocating them. In the arrow maker story, he uses the password in Kiowa language to determine whether the man outside his tipi is an enemy or friend. It is words that also saves his life. Therefore, according to Momaday language is a tool, which almost equates to a weapon used for survival. Like Snyder, Momaday believed that it is only through language that an idea can be expressed well to the people. Snyder also has a collection of stories and utilizes the power of language to represent his account (Snyder 668). Furthermore, both writers use their personal experience to present their stories. Thus, both Snyder and Momaday used the power of symbolism and personal experience in giving their stories making them