Find three examples of names that need to be spoken aloud in order to catch the allusion. Discuss the examples as well as the reading technique that requires you to read aloud in order to make connections. Why does King want us to read aloud?
While reading the book (and the assigned articles) I came across these three names that need to be spoken aloud in order to catch King’s allusion.
Ahdamn
Dr. Joe Hovaugh
Shagganappi
With the help of Jane Flick’s, “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water,” Shagganappi was one word she gave me insight to what exactly King was alluding to when using this name. She notes that “Shagganappi [is] the name of this lounge comes from the Algonquian word for rawhide cord. Since Alberta contemplates finding a sperm contributor here, perhaps this is a pun, ‘shag a nappy;’ that is, shag (sexual slang) and nappy (diaper)” (149). Since this is a difficult word to pronounce, saying out loud – and slowly – emphasizes its hidden meaning. The use of the name (and its pun meaning) adds to Alberta’s deep desire to have a baby (also using humour to emphasize it).
With Ahdamn, this is a name that used in place of Adam (as in, Adam and Eve from Genesis). Here I think Thomas King alluding to ‘damn’ as being a Christian condemning from God. In the story Genesis (and in King’s rendition in Green Grass, Running Water) both Eve and Adam are condemned for eating the forbidden fruit. By changing the spelling of his name and saying it aloud there is definitely an emphasis on the word ‘damn’ – partly a tactic that King uses to have fun with the seriousness of the Genesis story and the implications of the two consuming the apple. Because he identifies most with Creation Story, as an Indigenous man, I believe that by using this spelling of Adam’s name he is not only making the story more fun but also lightly poking fun at the Christian tale.
Dr. Joe Hovaugh is one name I had the most trouble with pronouncing. In my mind I could not fathom how to say it. It was after a couple readings aloud that I realized that it is supposed to refer to Jehovah, like the Jehovah Witness religion. I found this name interesting as well because of the characters authoritarian position. He is a doctor of an psychiatric hospital. If we were to relate this historically, I would say that Dr. Joe Hovaugh relates to the Missionaries of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries in Canada and the United States who believed that the ‘Indians’ – because they were not Christian – were a “race to save heathens from a damnation that would be forever sealed by death” (Isenberg and Burstein 19).
With King’s work, I believe that the majority of them were written with the intention to be read aloud. He notes, in an interview with Jordan Wilson for the Journal of Canadian Literature, that he would love it if readers read his pieces “out loud and perform them themselves and see how they turn out” (n.p.). He adds that he “has a fairly strong oral voice in terms of [his] written pieces” (n.p.).
In addition to his oral influence in his writing, I also believe that King, especially for these names, wants readers to read them out loud to truly engage with the meanings of these words. I think it is also possible that he wants to pleasantly surprise his readers with play on words, ones that can only be found through the oral interaction of his written work.
Bibliography
“Coyote.” Paw Mane Fin. Photograph. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
Flick, Jane. “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water.” Canadian Literature, 1999. 140-172. http://canlit.ca/pdfs/articles/canlit161-162-Reading(Flick).pdf
Isenberg, Nancy, and Andrew Burstein. Mortal Remains: Death in Early America. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania, 2003. Print.
King, Thomas. Green Grass, Running Water. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Print.
Wilson, Jordan. “Another Interview with Thomas King.” Canadian Literature. October 2009. http://canlit.ca/interviews/21
Hi Laura,
I really enjoyed reading your post! I had originally considered writing my blog on this question as well but I had trouble finding names to use and when I did find them I had a hard time sometimes understanding the exact context in which they were supposed to be read. I think that Ahdamn is great because it is very obvious but also it was easy to pick out by simply reading it. I agree that it was King’s way of poking fun at Genesis and I think it does the trick, I certainly laughed. When I read Shagganappi I had a different oral translation and now that I’ve read your explanation “shag nappy” makes a lot more sense than “shag and a pee.” Dr. Joe Hovaugh just went right over my head so good job catching that one. Had I read it out loud, I might have caught it but I have to say that reading out loud takes practice. It seems much more natural when reading to someone than sitting at home alone, it has a distinct way of making me feel a little like a crazy person, or at least making my neighbours think so.
Thanks for the great post,
Jennifer H
Hi Laura,
Thanks for your great blog. I also answered this question and am interested to hear what other students think about some of the many allusions King uses. Personally, I love them. I love the challenge of saying them out loud, tracking down the reference and making connections with its own unique story. The three allusions that I focused on were the following:
Dr. Joe Hovaugh (Jehovah) – definitely of Christian origins and authoritarian in nature. Blanca Chester explains that Dr. Jehovah is much like the literary critic Northrop Frye firm in his beliefs in structure and order (Chester 55).
Louis, Ray and Al (Louis Riel) represents a pun and allusion to the Metis Canadian politician Louis Riel (Chester 55).
Frankie Drake (Sir Francis Drake), Polly Hantos (Pocohontas) Johnny cabot (John Cabot), Henry Cortez (Hernando Cortez) are allusions to explorers and other historically significant figures (Flick 157).
I found King’s allusion to Northrop Frye to be very clever and worth further attention. Here he draws a parrallel between Dr. Jehovah and the four Indians with the opposing nature of Western “structural literature” and “First Nation “dialogic literature”. Dr. Joe Hovaugh (Northrop Frye/Judeo-Christainism) is symbolic of a closed system. One that Blanca Chester describes as exclusionary and static with universal architypes (Chester 49-50). Conversely, Dialogic literature is dynamic bridging old and new narratives together to tell old stories and create news ones simultaneously.
I am enjoying this book as well as listening to King’s Massey Hall lecture series entitled, “The Truth About Stories”. Actually, I have been listening to his lectures on my way into work and back and then reading GGRW in the evening. I find having both on the go has really driven home the message that while oral storytelling can be fun and interactive it is also a very complicated, richly layered format. A format that engages its audience in a way that allows for a more profound learning experience.
What did you think of King’s allusions? Did you like them? I laughed out loud at the pun behind “Shagganappi”. Haha. Hope you enjoyed the book. Good luck with the second half of this semester.
Cheers,
Stuart Fleming
Jennifer,
Thanks for your comment. That was so funny that you thought it was “shag a pee” – I wonder how the book might differ using that way to read it instead, maybe I’ll try it out later! I often don’t read out loud but I feel like this class has really challenged that part in all of us (which I think is a good thing, I feel more confident about reading aloud now that I have had some practice). I also think that King’s work, as well as Robinson, is not extremely easy to read out loud either, possibly because they use language that is more ‘oral’ in form rather than ‘written’.
Thanks again!
Laura
Stuart,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I do like the book! This is my second time reading it for an English class and it always excites me when I see it on the syllabus. I feel like there are so many layers to it! On that note, you have just brought to my attention several other names that I did not pick up on! Louis, Ray and Al – so clever! I love how Thomas King can slip those subtle cues in there. There are many other allusions that I liked as well, I’m thinking here of the Pinto – this is supposed to be in reference to the ship – and how it’s always in a puddle of water. Too good!
That’s also a really great idea to listen to his lectures on the go, I usually listen to them when I’m doing other things like doing folding laundry or cleaning the kitchen. That is particularly why I like the radio so much – can you believe that was how stories were told prior to televisions? I wonder if that was one of King’s influences when developed his storytelling practices. I can imagine that it was!
I also hope you have a good rest of your semester!
Good luck to you!
Laura