Question 1:  “…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?” (Paterson, “Lesson 2:2”)

Many of us have heard the saying “The world is not black and white – it’s grey”, or another variation on that theme, with truth replacing world.

Duck Rabbit Illusion by Joseph Jastrow.

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“Write a short story (600 – 1000 words) that describes your sense of home; write about the values and the stories that you use to connect yourself to, and to identify your sense of home.” (Paterson, ENGL 470 Course Website)

The lady had been trying to get my attention for sometime. It was the commercial break during the big game, and my mother’s side of the family had gathered to watch. The buffet table was heaped with the traditional Filipino food that I only ate at such events, a handful of times a year.

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In the beginning were the walkers. They looked just like you and I – some were short, some were tall. Most were young, though there were a few who were old. Their skin was coloured in varying shades of bronze and gold. The walkers traveled with the sun, and the sun was bright and warm.

They followed the sun. To stop, to rest, was not a need known to them. The walkers never tired of walking – it was what they did, it was their life. For the walkers, walking was the same as breathing is to you or I. They followed the sun and traveled around the world. They knew not what nighttime was. They had never seen the great big silvery moon, nor the multitude of twinkly stars that are night’s treasures. The sun beat their skin into gold and bronze. They traveled with the sun, and the sun was bright and warm.

One of the walkers – let’s call them the Young One – walked with the sun and traveled around the world the same as the rest. It never occurred to the Young One that they were actually walking around in a circle across the Earth. All that mattered was that they traveled with the sun, the sun that was bright and warm. Continue reading →