Hi all!

For this assignment I’ve chosen question # 1, which focuses on why King has created dichotomies for us to examine two creation stories: “Genesis” and “The Earth Diver.” For convenience, here is the question directly from the assignment itself:

So, why does King create dichotomies for us to examine these two creation stories? Why does he emphasize the believability of one story over the other — as he says, he purposefully tells us the “Genesis” story with an authoritative voice, and “The Earth Diver” story with a storyteller’s voice. Why does King give us this analysis that depends on pairing up oppositions into a tidy row of dichotomies? What is he trying to show us?

I think that King created dichotomies for us to examine because it is important to make a choice. It may not always be the correct choice that is made, but it is important to choose regardless. I think that even those who claim they cannot choose lean one way or the other, naturally.

King himself emphasizes the believability of one story over the other because he himself has already chosen which one he believes. Therefore he tells it in an authoritative voice which reflects his opinion.

However, I also think he is trying to show us what we have been made to believe throughout our education in school. Stories of colonialism are taught in an authoritative voice, presented as fact. While Indigenous stories (or otherwise) are presented as just that… stories, or as a fantasy. Colonialist stories are then expected to be accepted at face value for their credibility related to the authoritative measures used to teach them in widespread educational settings. Are they actually fact? To many, indeed.

It is very important that we question the choices that we are given, and search for those which have been hidden from us throughout our lives. It is imperative to realize that we do have a choice in what we believe, even if that belief may not be the most popular of opinions.

Each and every person should have a right to their opinion and not be judged solely based off of them. There are so many factors that go into the formation of an opinion, the result of a choice. It is a string of choices, fragments of experience that lead a person to become the people that they are. Their opinion and beliefs in the creation of our universe may be a striking and sometimes different one. But just because it is different does not mean that it is wrong.

Comments:

I found that this assignment  challenged me, and made me think about the choices I have been given and those that I have searched for. What do my choices say about me? I have never been a spiritual person but recently experienced a strange phenomenon that may have me thinking otherwise. I recently arrived in England from Vancouver and am currently residing up north in the small village of Scrooby.

I commuted yesterday down to The Tower of London as it was somewhere I had wanted to go on my trip last year but never could quite find the time. While there, a raven with a chipped beak followed me around for nearly 4 hours, even waiting outside for me when I went into exhibits, the washroom and eventually the church on site. It was very odd, and every time I made eye contact with the raven it would squawk at me, pointedly as if it was trying to tell me something. A friend of mine is currently missing, and even though I don’t consider myself religious I did go into the church, light a candle for them and had a moment of silence for them after. Eventually, it was late enough in the day that it was time for me to unfortunately leave The Tower. The raven followed me all the way to the exit and stared at me as I left. I made sure to wave goodbye to it, and it squawked at me one last time.

I did get a polaroid photo of the raven as well as some photos and videos on my phone. I’ll insert a picture below.

Here’s the raven that followed me around The Tower of London.

How does this relate to the question, you ask? Well, on my train ride home I messaged my friend Greta about the raven that had followed me around all day. She told me to light a candle when I got back to the manor house in Scrooby, keep the polaroid of the bird at my beside overnight and to write a journal entry. She told me to write whatever came to mind.

Greta believes in Wiccan practices, and though I never have, she seemed like the right person to ask about what this whole thing meant. As it turns out, the raven is believed to be symbol of impending change, rebirth, renewal and healing in Indigenous culture. Whereas in Celtic mythology the raven is seen as a symbol of death. Greta told me that it was my choice as to what I believe about my experience with the raven. I have chosen to see it as a symbol of change, rather than a sign of impending doom. Why? Because I can. The power to choose lies within me, always.

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