The section that I cover in Green Grass Running Water covers pages 9-15. This particular section begins with four characters all of which are trying to begin by telling a story of creation. However before the story can begin each character continually argues with each other as to how the story actually starts. It seems that each of them have a different interpretation as to what the true beginning may actually be, and quarrel with each other until they are able to get it right. I believe that this quarrel is part of an essential theme that this novel tries to convey, which is that each man, depending on their people’s cultural and historical background has a different version of the creation story. This point is exemplified by the fact that each of the names of these characters stem from very different cultural figures that have appeared throughout man’s history, whether that be from popular American culture, the bible, or stories about Native Americans.

Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is an American cultural icon and is in a way considered to be one of the country’s first “superheroes”. The character was first introduced to American audiences in the 1930’s through a radio show, which later stemmed into comic books, tv shows, and a feature film in 2013. The origins of the character begin with a group of Texas rangers chasing down a criminal named Butch Cavendish. However Butch and his gang ambush the ranger killing all of them, except for one survivor. This survivor is then brought back to health by a Native American man named Tonto.

When trying to tell the story of creation the Lone Ranger starts with “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep-“. I believe that the reason for typical Judeo-Christian telling of the creation story is because the Lone Ranger is very much a western character. This western character coming from the United States would typically adhere to the religious traditions of the country, which during that time typically of Christian faith. However just because he believes that this is his version of creation, doesn’t mean that it is the only one, as we shall see from the other characters.

Ishmael
Ishmael is a much more ancient cultural figure that stems from the Bible and the Quran. As a character Ishmael is the son of Abraham, he was born from a need for him to have a son, as his wife Sarah was too old to have children. Thus Abraham sleeps with his maid servant Hagar. However through miracle Sarah is later able to have a child Isaac.

Hawkeye

Robinson Crusoe