8. Everyone is on the move in this novel, road trips abound and in order to hit the road what do we need? — a road map. At the same time, Lionel, Charlie and Alberta are each seeking direction in life. As Goldman says, “mapping is a central metaphor” (24) of this novel. Maps chart territory and provide directions, they also create borders and boundaries and they help us to find our way. There is more than one way to map, and just as this novel plays with conflicting story traditions, I think King is also playing with conflicting ways to chart territory. What do you think lies at the centre of King’s mapping metaphor? Marline Goldman, “Mapping and Dreaming; Native Resistance in Green Grass Running Water.” Canadian Literature 161-162 (1999). Web. April 04/2013.

I believe the centre of the mapping metaphor in “Green Grass Running Water” is the history Indigenous peoples have with their land and territory being taken away from them. Furthermore, I think that because these events in the novel didn’t necessarily have to be categorized into a theme of ‘mapping’. These events could’ve been represented through a metaphor of finding your path in life or travel, however, the metaphor is mapping. Likewise, the mention of maps creating borders and boundaries furthered my thinking towards the history of taking territory away from Indigenous groups. In addition, I think that because this is an Indigenous book and because of the long history Canada, and other countries, have with colonization, that this theory fits well. The conflicting ways to chart territory is a simple example of Indigenous and colonizers charting the territory of North America differently, or believing it should belong in different ways. Overall, I think mapping was an efficient metaphor at expressing meaning to readers and giving them a deeper understanding of the text.