Learning Through Story
7. Describe how King uses the cyclical paradigm of the Medicine Wheel (and a little help from Coyote) to teach us to understand, or at least to try to understand the power behind the stories we tell ourselves.
The Medicine Wheel, a term first used by Americans of European descent for the Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming, is of great importance to Indigenous culture and spirituality. The Medicine Wheel can be understood as “a physical manifestation of our Spiritual energy.” (Laframboise and Sherbina). The Medicine Wheel teachings are based on a circular pattern and the number four: four Seasons, four Directions, four stages of Life, and the four spiritual aspects of a person (Laframboise and Sherbina). “Medicine Wheel teachings are vast and limitless and form the basis of most First Nations beliefs – The great circle of Life.” (Laframboise and Sherbina).
Dancing to Eagle Spirit Society. This is an excellent example of a particular nation’s, and individuals, representation of the Medicine Wheel.
In the novel, Green Grass Running Water, King uses the symbolic number four to teach the reader. A reader who is familiar with the importance of the Medicine Wheel and its 4 elements will grasp the four old Indians as teachers, the four sections of the novel as providing structure and the four stories of the mythical women (who are each at one of the four stages of life) who fall from the sky as being of significance (O’Brien 35).
Moreover, King uses the cyclical structure of the Medicine Wheel to shape the interconnectedness of his storylines: the creation stories, the old Indians, the search for the Indians, and the stories from the reserve. The importance of the circular Medicine Wheel is again used in how King begins the novel by Coyote noticing that there is water everywhere and “I” saying: “That’s true.[] And here’s how it happened.” (King 3) and Coyote again asking about the water at the end of the novel, and “I” responding: “Here’s how it happened.” (King 431), showing that stories do not have defined beginnings and endings but are continuous. Additionally, at the end of the novel, Latisha begins to re-build the cabin which Eli, and Eli and Latisha’s mother had lived in – re-creating something that has existed in each generation of the family. On page 415, King writes “Below, in the valley, the water rolled on as it had for eternity.” again emphasizing that life, and stories, are continuous.
All of these uses of fours enhance how King uses the Medicine Wheel, always a teaching tool in Indigenous culture, to teach the reader to understand the power of stories (O’Brien 35). O’Brien, in her thesis essay, explains that King uses the four old Indians to represent the standard of ‘good’ storytelling in the novel. The story the Indians each tell is the same story, but because each storyteller is different, the story is slightly different. The story has to be told four times to ensure Coyote has learned the story (and, in turn, that the reader has learned the story), King uses storytelling, and its changing nature, to contrast with the European “conventional paradigms” of a dominant narrative that must be accepted by all. The oral telling of the stories further enhances their ability to remain flexible and fluid.
From my perspective, King presents us, the reader with four interconnected and changing stories to show us that stories change and evolve depending on who is telling the story, and who they are telling the story to (in the case of the novel, to Coyote). By allowing us to read the story four times, we start to understand the story better from our own perspective and can interpret the stories in different ways. I believe King helps us understand the power of stories as teaching tools: sometimes, stories change depending on the lesson that is being conveyed and depending on who and why the story is being told. I think King is teaching us that storytelling is a powerful way to learn, and consequently, that we must be good listeners to the stories we hear and those we tell ourselves, and if we are, we will always learn from them.
The Medicine Wheel influences almost all parts of Green Grass Running Water and serves as a teaching tool for the reader. Similarly, through the use of the four stories, four Indians, and four plotlines, King helps the reader learn the power of stories as a teaching tool, just like the Medicine Wheel. This excerpt from page 14 really illustrates, to me, how King wants us to understand the power and importance of stories and storytelling:
“That’s the wrong story,” said Ishmael. “That story comes later.”
“But it’s my turn,” said the Lone Ranger.
“But you have to get it right,” said Hawkeye.
“And,” said Robison Crusoe, “you can’t tell it all by yourself.”
“Yes,” said Ishmael. “Remember what happened last time?”
“Everybody makes mistakes.” said the Lone Ranger.
“Best not to make them with stories.”King 14
Works Cited
CanLit Guides Editorial Team. “Key Themes.” Canadian Literature. November 2013. Web. 6 Mar. 2020. https://canlitguides.ca/canlit-guides-editorial-team/green-grass-running-water-by-thomas-king/key-themes/
King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: HaperCollins Publishers, 1993. Print.
Laframboise, Sandra and Karen Sherbina. “The Medicine Wheel.” Dancing to Eagle Spirit Society. 2008. Web. 6 Mar. 2020. http://www.dancingtoeaglespiritsociety.org/medwheel.php
O’Brien, Doris Mary. Reading tricksters or Tricksters reading?. MA Thesis. Lakehead University, 1999. Web. 6 Mar. 2020. www.collectionscanada.gc.ca › obj › dsk1 › tape9 › PQDD_0022
Georgia
March 10, 2020 — 11:10 am
Hi Katarina,
I enjoyed reading your blog post! It really heightened my understanding of how King intertwined the medicine wheel throughout his novel to grant further ower to his stories and to emphasize the cyclical and interconnected nature of stories. King used patterns and repetition to lend further weight to his lesson and message for readers.
I’m curious, do you think that stories that are more fluid and may be told in different ways by different people are inherently stronger, or do you think there is an increased risk of the story being changed for the worse, or being ignored as unimportant?
Katarina Smith
March 10, 2020 — 12:39 pm
Hi Georgia,
Thanks for your comment! I enjoyed learning more about the Medicine Wheel in writing this post.
Your question is one that was on my mind too – I’ve always been taught to re-tell stories but to make sure that you credit who told you the story, and you do not change the message of the story. I think that King changes the stories slightly as each person tells it, but that the message remains the same. I think that in this way, the story is made stronger by being fluid because telling it in a different way might better convey the message to someone. It makes me think of our earlier creative writing assignment – while all of our stories were vastly different, they each told the same message, strengthening that message. I think as long as fluid stories maintain the central message, they are stronger.
I’m curious to know what you, and others, think too.
ChaseThomson
March 10, 2020 — 9:42 pm
Hi Katarina!
I really loved this blog post. I didn’t fully grasp the concept of the medicine wheel and its true importance and your blog post did a great job of explaining it to me! I’m really inspired by the interconnection of storytelling that is displayed here.
Because this class has talked a lot about reading stories vs. orally telling them, I’m wondering which you truly prefer? Would you rather be told a fluid, continuous story, or read a more concise story that has a distinct ending and focussed narration and interpretation.
ChaseThomson
March 10, 2020 — 9:43 pm
I meant a question mark at the end not a period — whoops!
Katarina Smith
March 11, 2020 — 1:15 pm
Thanks! I didn’t fully grasp it either until thinking about this question, so I’m glad I answered it.
It’s an interesting question and I’m not sure I feel 100% sure of my answer. I think that the structure of the story, and whether it is oral or written all impact how much I enjoy it. I know I prefer to tell an oral story than to write a written story. I also know I prefer to be told a story (especially when it’s told well) than to read it. In terms of story type, I think continuous and fluid is really interesting but has its setbacks in that it can be confusing sometimes. If a story is easy to confuse, it can sometimes be easier to read it because you can go back and re-read (although, if you have a good storyteller, you can interact with them and ask them to clarify). All in all, I think I prefer the continuous oral stories, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like focused narration stories.
What do you prefer?
Thanks!
Katarina
SarahAfful
March 15, 2020 — 10:41 am
Hi Katarina!
Thank you for this great post. I love what you wrote about how “the Medicine Wheel can be understood as ‘a physical manifestation of our Spiritual energy.’ That statement reminds that stories work on us at a deep level and can be harming or healing or a mixture of both to our spiritual energy. In it’s incantation of the medicine wheel and it’s four parts, do you find the the novel “Green Grass Running Water” to be healing or harmful or a mixture of both to your spiritual energy? This is personal I know, but stories change with both the teller and the listener right?
Katarina Smith
March 15, 2020 — 12:30 pm
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for your positive feedback. I really enjoyed reading GGRW, personally. It was different than anything I’d read before which made it so enjoyable to read. I also found myself always wanting to read the next page. I’m not personally one to think much about my spiritual energy, but I do think that enjoying the novel (or any piece of art), contributes positively to my overall well-being and happiness.
And yes, stories certainly do change with the teller and the listener, and with when the listener is listening.
Thanks!
Katarina