To explore the role of oral syntax in shaping the meaning of Harry Robinson’s short story, “Coyote Makes a Deal with King of England” I first read it silently, then read it out loud, then recorded/ listened to myself reading it out loud. The story was ultimately different each time I read it. The biggest lesson I learned from this experience is that it is one thing to simply look at words on a page, but it is another thing to immerse yourself in a story by reading it out loud. When I read “Coyote Makes a Deal with King of England” silently, I missed most of the story. By this, I mean that I had an objective understanding of what the words meant (king, coyote, book, boat, etc) but did not understand either the context nor the deeper meaning. I couldn’t make much of the language, the order felt awkward, and I felt confused as to what was going on. It was hard to read the words as they don’t flow in a way I am used to and this led me to often lose focus. When reading the story out loud, however, it had an entirely different pace. Some parts I read very fast and inflow (almost like a poem) and during other parts I had to pause, repeat it out loud, or go back because I missed a bit. This encouraged me to really read the story rather than simply gloss over it. For example, the lines: “There is a man standing there. Funny-looking man. He says he was a king. He’s coming to see you. He wanted to talk to you” have an entirely different meaning when read out loud (Robinson 69). Silently, I read these lines quickly and ignored the pacing. Outloud, however, the lines had a particular flow that demanded more attention. The lines came to life. To me, the words read as though I was having a conversation with the narrator as opposed to the distance I felt when reading the story silently. Check out Seth Fairchild’s Ted Talk, “Native American Oral Story Telling & History”, if you are interested in the role of facial expressions and tone in storytelling and how these make the storytelling/ listening experience unique. 

I also recognized how the language of the story more accurately reflects casual conversation than ‘formal’ writing. As King notes in his article “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial” we are highly encouraged to read oral stories out loud, for this recreates the storyteller and the performance” (King 186). The effect of listening to the story reveals how it is not a simple story but one that is complex and layered with historical references. 

The Indigenous Foundations of UBC explains that “throughout history, Aboriginal societies in North America have relied on the oral transmission of stories, histories, lessons and other knowledge to maintain a historical record and sustain their cultures and identities” According to this site, Western discourse often did not understand the importance of oral tradition and prioritized written word in knowledge building. Indigenous Foundations UBC also talks about the re-telling of stories and how “narrators may adjust a story to place it in context, to emphasize particular aspects of the story or to present a lesson in a new light, among other reasons”. I did not purposefully change the story when re-reading it, however, I did read it in different voices, spoke in various paces, and messed up some of the words thus altering its meaning. 

Though I will never be able to fully understand “Coyote Makes a Deal with King of England”, I do not think that is the point. King argues that literature has the ability to provide a limited and particular access to a native world “without being encouraged to be a part of it” (188). This allows us to learn from another perspective that is not trying to appropriate an experience but rather learn about it through a limited scope.

Works Cited

“Coyote Makes a Deal with the King of England.” Living by Stories: a Journey of Landscape and Memory, by Harry Robinson and Wendy C. Wickwire, Talonbooks, 2005, pp. 64–85.

King, Thomas. “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial.” Unhomely States: Theorizing English-Canadian Postcolonialism. Mississauga, ON: Broadview, 2004. 183- 190.

“Native American Oral Storytelling & History.” Performance by Seth Fairchild, TEDxSMU, TedxTalks, 3 Nov. 2015, Native American Oral Storytelling & History.

“Oral Traditions.” Indigenousfoundations, indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/oral_traditions/.