I have chosen to dig deeper into location 52-123 (I used a kindle edition so the page numbers are not listed but this is part of the first chapter). I have chosen to concentrate on the different names that come up throughout the section I have chosen. The start of the section I chose is when Lionel and Norma are beginning to discuss carpet samples and different colours. In Jane Flick’s work I did not see very much about Lionel and Norma however, one connection I made was to Norma Bates from Bates Motel. I do not know if this is an intended connection but it is one I made because it is a popular TV show that I enjoy. As described in Jane Flick’s work, the Lone Ranger is a hero in a mask based off of a TV series and different books. In this part of Thomas King’s novel the Lone Ranger is talking about telling a story. I think that he was implemented into the story because in the TV series and movies he has an Indian side kick. Hawkeye is a similar character to Lone Ranger in the sense that the name was popularized in American culture. Another connection that I noticed that I am sure many other people did as well was the use of the cliche saying “one upon a time” and “A long time ago in a far away land”. I think the author chose to use these sayings to implement more popular culture into the novel, especially because companies such as Disney, Dream Works and Universal are so widely known. Another link I found within King’s novel is between Dr.Joseph Hovaugh and Mary. These two characters have a conversation towards the end of the section I chose. I do not think that this would be a coincidence. I think that King chose these two characters to have a conversation because of the story of Jesus’s birth with his parents Mary and Joseph, who were selected by the Christian God to raise his son.
Over all I found this book to be filled with different characters that can be related to different outside sources. I think that King did this to give the novel some more depth and to make pieces of a modern day Indigenous story have relatable aspects for the average reader.
Works Cited:
“Bates Motel.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 18 Mar. 2013, www.imdb.com/title/tt2188671/.
Flick, Jane. “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass Running Water.” Canadian Literature 161-162. (1999). Web. April 04/2013.
JPC-DESIGN, whychristmas?com /. “The Christmas Story – An Angel Visits Mary.” The History of The Christmas Story — Whychristmas?Com, www.whychristmas.com/story/angel_mary.shtml.
King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: Harper Collins, 1993.
Hi Megan,
I also chose the same question, and I found it challenging to decide which pages to discuss because almost every page has an allusion or an indirect reference to something! I was wondering what your connection is with Norma in the novel to Norma from Bates Motel? I also watched that tv series- so good- but I’m not sure how the two characters are related? Norma in Bates Motel is an obsessive mother with serious anger management issues, but she genuinely cares and loves Norman, even though, at times, it is a little over the top. Are you comparing Lionel and Norma’s relationship with Norma and Norman’s? Norma, in the novel, is constantly nagging at Lionel so I can see a small connection in that aspect since Norma in the show is very strict with Norman and how he lives his life.