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?
I would like to start by saying that in reading Green Grass Running Water I found myself automatically reading certain parts out loud and certain parts in my head. In reading the parts that are written in a traditionally western style I would read silently following the story of each characters return to Blossom. I found myself reading the rest of the book out loud as I did when reading Robinson’s Living By Stories. That being said, when it came to meeting new characters I found myself repeating their names out loud. This allowed me to make some interesting connections. I’ve always been fascinated with how writers come up with the names of their characters, there seems to be such a need for an amazing imagination. In Thomas King’s case it is so much more than imagination, he uses the characters to weave an underlying connection throughout his story.
The first connection jumped off the page in meeting Dr. Joseph Hovaugh. I was pleased when reading Jane Flick’s Reading Notes as it confirmed my connection with Jehovah as well as the Doctors deep connection with his garden. In the bible, Jehovah is God’s personal name. There is also the use of other biblical names such as Mary and John that work directly with Dr. Hovaugh.
Alberta Frank not only stood out for the fact that Alberta is the province in which most of the story takes place but I found Alberta’s character to be very frank in terms of being direct and straightforward about what she wants, she wanted children but not a husband. What I found interesting is that as much as she knew what she wanted she was not very frank with those involved such as Charlie and Lionel.
Another name that really gave me a strong visual was Eli Stands Alone. Every time I read Eli’s part of the story I could envision this lonely cabin in the shadows of a large dam. To me this was the most straightforward allusion caused by a name; I mean he really was standing alone. His stance against the construction of the dam and holding up any further development leaves him on his own in the woods. He also struggled between two worlds, life on the reserve and life in Toronto. This is a huge contrast to his sister Norma who is resolute in her decision to remain a large part of her family when Eli seems torn and in the end is on his own.
In forcing the reader to read out loud, I believe King encourages us to be a part of the story. By saying the names I felt more connected to the characters almost as if I were meeting them myself. This strategy really helps the reader to be engaged with the book and the lives of its characters. For me it also added great imagery in that it allowed me to make a visual connection.
Works Cited
Ciccarelli, Stephanie. “7 Ways Reading Aloud Improves and Enriches Your Life.” Voices.com. Vox Daily. 6 November 2008. Web. 21 March 2016.
“Does God Have a Name?” JW.org. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 2016. Web. 21 March 2016.
Hey, Danielle!
First of all, congratulations for placing second in the championships! That’s incredible.
I also tackled the same question this week. I really wanted to engage with “Eli Stands Alone,” but your discussion of the imagery of solitude that accompanied the character was fulfilling to read. This character alludes to Elijah Harper, an Oji-Cree politician who opposed the Meech Lake Accord, “on the grounds that the First Nations had not been consulted or recognized in the constitutional discussions” regarding it. A powerful historical figure who is certainly echoed in Eli Stands Alone’s arc.
Your belief that King allows us to participate in the story through orality is a thought I possess as well. By reading aloud, I’m participating in the storyteller’s oral tradition. We become both listener and storyteller simultaneously, and recitation allows us to pass down the story in a sense. Although we may not have had direct listeners, the fact that you have recited portions or at least names from the story and then have written your reflections here constitutes a “passing down,” I believe. And this is a wonderful effect of the communal aspect of our discussion. After all, the community is an integral piece of the oral tradition.
Thank you again!
Hi Danielle,
Thanks for an interesting post! I love your comment about feeling as though you’ve met the characters personally after reading their names aloud. I haven’t thought of that before, but I really like that you’ve highlighted the deeper connection that is made possible by being forced to read out loud. Personally, I found that the names I found the most difficult to understand (such as Joseph Hovaugh, though I’ll admit it took me a while to catch the allusion!) were the names I eventually was able to remember the most. Like you, I also felt compelled to read some of the passages aloud, and though many of them were written in a style I am not very used to, I retained these parts of the book better than the ones I read silently. I noticed that your hyperlink mentioned greater comprehension as a result of reading aloud, and I certainly found that to be true.
Hi Emma,
For me the reading out loud in this course really helped me connect to the story. I felt more engaged as if I was almost interacting with the characters. I really enjoyed the detective work that we’ve been doing to dig deeper into all of King’s allusions. It has certainly made the read more rewarding.
Danielle
Hi Brendan,
I think you make a good point about community being an integral part of the oral tradition and this class has certainly built a community between us. I wonder how we could spread it further? Reading stories and how we tell stories have changed drastically over time. With all the creation of Facebook, Snap Chat, and Instagram we have the potential to spread the word about almost anything making our community huge, possibly worldwide. This can have a positive impact if the message is positive, the scary part is it can also spread hate and anger. I just hope the positives outweigh the negatives.
Thanks for your comment,
Danielle
Hi Danielle,
I liked how you mention reading aloud allows you to feel like a part of the story. I never thought about being part of the story by reading aloud. I felt more interacted with the story by reading aloud, but I agree that it does make you also feel as if you part of the story. I also feel like it makes you a character within the story in a way. Your post was interesting as well because you also envisioned yourself within the story and created different scenes around the allusions. I thought this was very creative! You mentioned how it takes real imagination to come up with character names; in King using names that were essentially already created because they were alluding to other characters already created, do you think that it would have been more creative to come up with completely new characters?
– Courtney
Hi Courtney,
In King’s case I think it’s the opposite. He makes such a strong connection to actually historical events to tell his message therefore using actual names was brilliant in my eyes. Reading this book was almost like taking a history course that focuses on settlement and the injustice that was caused. I am thrilled by how he was able to make so many connections throughout his book.
Danielle
Hi Danielle,
It was nice reading your blog post as it was a different topic than the one I chose. I liked how you talked about reading part of the story out loud. I’ve never thought of that before, and I can understand that reading it out loud can create a different vibe and make you more immerse in the story. Next time I shall try it to get a better understanding of the story. I really liked your descriptions of each characters, and as i was reading it I got a detailed visual of how they were in my mind! The fact that you corresponded the character’s personality with scenery was amazing, it really helped create the perfect vision in my head and got me to think about the story in another aspect.
Thank you for your post, it was an amazing read!
Althea
Hi Althea,
What I found interesting is that I would automatically read the dialogue parts out loud but the ongoing story, that was written in the usual novel format, Alberta, Lionel, and Charlie, I would read in my head. I’m interested to go back and read the whole thing aloud to see if it would had to the experience.
Danielle
Hello Danielle. I agree with you unreservedly. There is more to a name than we can notice. In most cases, we take names for granted until we’re made to reread them or read them out loudly. Only then do we connect them to their meanings or allusions. I agree with when you say that, “In forcing the reader to read out loud, I believe King encourages us to be a part of the story.” There is a special connection that comes by reading out names loudly. Additionally, I believe that reading names out loudly sharpens our focus. You may be reading a story or a novel, but throughout your reading time, you have a lot of thought patterns in the back of your mind. Reading loudly breaks these patterns and gives you the chance to think deeply about what you have just read. Additionally, reading out loudly challenges our use of intonation which may help us get immersed into the writers world. For instance, when reading Indian names loudly, one may find himself or herself acquiring the Indian accent which makes the story more interesting.
By saying the names I felt more connected to the characters almost as if I were meeting them myself. This strategy really helps the reader to be engaged with the book and the lives of its characters. For me it also added great imagery in that it allowed me to make a visual connection.
Hi,
It’s funny, when reading what you have said about reading names out loud it really got me thinking about what a name really does. When we meet people they are just someone we meet, just another person. Once we are introduced to them formally we give that person a name, an identity, and they start to mean something to us. I think this is how reading the names out loud worked for me, it was as if I was actually meeting them and they became an acquaintance or friend.
Danielle