In his novel Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King uses the Indigenous spiritual character Coyote to add life and more dimension to his story.  Coyote acts closely alongside the narrator and even manages to provide some comic relief to the story.  But what I found most interesting about King’s use of Coyote in his novel was the fact that King presented Coyote as more human than spiritual or mystical.  Because of this, I couldn’t help but feel that King used Coyote as a means to represent basic human instinct and thought processes, when preconceived “truths” are taken out of the equation; mainly, how most people think, feel, and act, when they are not told or “programmed” how to act (basically when people are not taught a preconceived idea of what is right and wrong–usually taught through religion).

I found Coyote’s interaction with GOD to be hilarious, yet incredibly truthful.  Coyote just doesn’t seem to understand why GOD is the way that he is and is constantly puzzled by GOD’s actions.  At the same time, King’s portrayal of GOD is quite comical in itself and, yet again, comes from a place of truth.  After First Woman eats from the garden, the narrator says, “That GOD fellow doesn’t eat anything.  He stands in the garden with his hands on his hips, so everybody can see he is angry” (69).  This image of GOD is amazing because it is representative of many religions, and, quite frankly, most authority figures in general.  It represents the fact that we view many real or believed persons/things as having superior status over us and, therefore, we feel they must be respected and listened to.  But, what is interesting is the fact that Coyote, and many of the other characters for that matter, find GOD’s behaviour not “all-mighty”, justified, worthy of praise, and/or worthy of submission.  Instead, they see him for what he really is–someone who makes lots of rules and attempts to make everyone follow them.  Seeing God represented in this light makes me think of how God in the Christian faith has been put on this pedestal, yet at the end of the day, he was/is just one guy making rules and I can’t help but think how things would have worked out differently if people like Coyote were there to argue against God or those who spread his word.  After all, the heart of the issue is: Why should I allow someone else to dictate what is right from wrong and how I should live my life?  Can’t I live according to my own rules and just trust that I can live the happiest life by carving my own path instead of following someone else’s?

This is why I believe Coyote serves the story so well.  He represents a version of the type of human beings that we would all be if we were free from certain control and could ask the questions that most avoid as well as question certain ways of living. Period.  He is a prime example of a character who just does what he sees fit.

I don’t mean to bring up religion so much because I know it is a touchy subject, but I was shocked in my reading about how many insights came up that tied directly to religion in my mind.  As I have said before, I am not religious, but I am fascinated with the religious culture.  So it intrigued me greatly every time King brought up religion.  “This is a Christian ship… I am a Christian man.  This is a Christian journey.  And if you can’t follow our Christian rules, then you’re not wanted on the voyage” (148).  When I was young, I had to fill out a medical sheet for a Naturopath and one of the questions was: “What are your religious beliefs?”  Yes, I could’ve put: “None”.  But I was struck by the question and actually remember thinking hard about it because I wanted to give an honest answer (I have a point to this story, I swear).  So, after thinking long and hard about it, I wrote: “Lara-ism”.  And then on part two of the question (explain your religion/beliefs), I wrote something along the lines of: “I believe that we are all our own god and should have the power to make choices as we see fit, independent of others opinions/ beliefs.  I choose to be the best person that I can be according to my own personal morals/values, not through someone else’s, or strictly due to a innate fear of going to hell and/or being punished”.  I brought this story up because throughout my reading of Coyote’s involvement in the story, I kept being reminded of it.  In my mind, it is clear that Coyote is his own god as well.  He acts purely through his own will and it is clear that he does not bow down to anyone else or, conversely,  put anyone else on a pedestal.  At the same time he is not perfect and often gets reprimanded by the narrator.  After Coyote asks, “where did the island come from?” (293), the narrator responds, ‘that’s what happens when you don’t pay attention'” (293).  Coyote is funny, charming, and, ultimately, just being himself, which is inspiring in itself.

All in all, I think Coyote can be used to represent all humans in the most basic form, which is evident in this interaction between Coyote and the narrator:

“‘And there is only one Coyote,’ says Coyote.

‘No,’ I says.  ‘There is a world full of Coyotes.’

‘Well,’ says Coyote, ‘that’s frightening.’

‘Yes it is,’ I Says. ‘Yes it is'” (272).

After reading Green Grass Running Water, I can’t help but feel like we are all Coyotes or conversely, we all have a Coyote within us; we just need to let our own unique Coyote within shine through.

Works Cited

King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: Harper Collins, 1993. Print.