In order to tell us the story of a stereo salesman, Lionel Red Deer (whose past mistakes continue to live on in his present), a high school teacher, Alberta Frank (who wants to have a child free of the hassle of wedlock—or even, apparently, the hassle of heterosex!), and a retired professor, Eli Stands Alone (who wants to stop a dam from flooding his homeland), King must go back to the beginning of creation. Why do you think this is so?
The story of Green Grass Running Water starts with a story of origin and creation. Thomas King’s story states, “…in the beginning, there was nothing. Just the water. Coyote was there, but Coyote was asleep” (1).
The U.S. National Library of Medicine describes the Medicine Wheel as:
The Medicine Wheel, sometimes known as the Sacred Hoop, has been used by generations of various Native American tribes for health and healing. It embodies the Four Directions, as well as Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Spirit Tree—all of which symbolize dimensions of health and the cycles of life. (The U.S. National Library of Medicine Website)
King’s emphasis on the idea of creation relates closely to the symbol of the medicine wheel and to the cyclical nature of life.
Alberta Frank is my favorite character of the three mentioned in the question because she is an example of how the past affects the present.
In “The Earth Diver” creation story, the woman is autonomous and seeks help only from her friends. The relationship between male/female or patriarchal-centered relationships are of no significance in this story of creation and very human experience. Although “The Earth Diver” is built on cooperation, it does not specify how the family or household is created.
The characterization of Alberta is also impacted by her being the opposite of the ultimate western, biblical origin story “Genesis”. In Genesis, the male and female relationship is epitomized. The female in “Genesis” (Eve) is ostracized as the cause for the downfall of humankind by introducing sin into the world.
According to the Vatican website, in the Book of Genesis it states:
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Not only is Eve ostracized for the downfall of man, ridiculed, and punished for her “sin”, but also god said,”men rule over her”. Her relations to men definitely have a large impact on this origin story. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Alberta does not even want heterosex, but desires children. Alberta wants “at least one, perhaps two” children, but struggles with how she will get there (65). This idea is closely related to the story of Virgin Mary and the miraculous birth of Jesus. Mary experiences miraculous conception without the heterosexual role of a man and that is what Alberta desires.
Lionel Red Deer lives in his past. Deer continuously tried to “move on” in order to go back to school, but he is held in place by his past. King is suggesting that the struggles and pressure from Deer’s past weighs him down and bars him from starting a new chapter in his life. Academia is related to this topic because it is something Deer is trying hard but failing to achieve. His aunty Norma tells him that he is trying to be a “white man” and his parents dislike his profession as a stereo salesman. The past creates this character’s stagnation. He had “made only three mistakes in his entire life,” he explains, “and he could name each one” (30). Deer reasons with himself about his past mistakes and I think this is a way of showing how his past is connected to his actions in present time.
Eli believes that the floodlights will be taken down when the dam is completed. However, “for reasons known only to corporate vice presidents and lawyers, it remained in place” (260). This reminds of me the symbol of the medicine wheel. The stories that were written by King are connected to the way we see the world and how these stories connect to the importance of the creation narrative. Origins matter in the present.
Works Cited:
By the Sweat of Your Face You Shall Eat Bread until You Return to the Ground, for out of It You Were Taken; You Are Dust, and to Dust You Shall Return. “The Book of Genesis.” The Book of Genesis. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.
King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: Harper Collins, 1993. Print.
“The Medicine Wheel and the Four Directions – Medicine Ways: Traditional Healers and Healing – Healing Ways – Exhibition – Native Voices.” U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.
I think it is true that origins matter in the present. How our lives are shaped from birth affects the ways in which we function in the present. You can use this idea with anything, why is something the way it is, because this is where it started. Origins give a foundation and this is something that I think King was trying to get at. Do you think our perspective of these characters would be different had we not been given the basis from where they came?
Hi Hannah,
Thank you for taking your time to read and comment on my post!
I agree that our lives are shaped by our conditions as birth and our origins are carried with us wherever life takes us. Their perspectives would have definitely been different than potrayed in the novel if their origins weren’t the same. It’s that argument of nature vs nurture. Nurture shapes us for the rest of our lives, but our origins give us the basis and a foundation, as you said, for how to live.