The most striking effect of Green Grass, Running Water is its ability to arouse readers’ desire to “get” the in-jokes, to track the allusions, and to find answers to a whole series of posed but unanswered questions _{(Fee and Flick 131)}

We each bring stories with us to our understanding of the world, and these stories are part of what makes us different from one another. As such, and as Fee and Flick indicate, not one of us holds all understanding of the wide range of allusions present in Green Grass, Running Water. We all have stories, and all contain some truth – our own truth. This is a crucial aspect of understanding others, of seeing that there are multiple perspectives: a crucial consideration when making assumptions. It is together, through the building of common ground (Paterson), we will begin to broaden our understandings.

For this final blog, I have chosen to focus my close reading on pages 193-204.

Pages 193-194: Storytelling is an important tradition found within all cultures, in one form or another. Within this passage, the reader encounters a variety of stories that are interwoven, the narrator, and Coyote.

The first of the stories we encounter within this passage are of Changing Woman, Moby-Jane, and Ishmael (the alter-ego Changing Woman adapts when captured by soldiers from Fort Marion). Changing Woman is “a figure from Navajo creation stories” (Andrews 105; Flick), and a version of the traditional Earthdiver creation story. In a interview with Peter Gzowski, Thomas King indicates that the Earthdiver in one of the types “of stories that exist in oral Creation stories” (Gzowski 71): an “archetypal woman who does come out of the sky, winds up, you know, somehow, in a body of water, and the whole process begins from there” (71). Matchie and Larson further explore the origins of King’s Changing Woman, as partially “coming from a Chippewa earthdiver myth in which Wenebojo, up to his neck in shit, sends three animals – beaver, muskrat, and otter – to find some earth to form an island” (160).

Changing Woman interacts with Moby-Jane, a large black whale with origins in Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick. This character revises the traditional ‘white whale’ narrative which encompasses a whole chapter of the book:

Ishmael tries to defamiliarize the color, challenging readers’ assumptions about what the color might convey to them. He begins with the idea of whiteness as beauty creating an enormous list of objects and ideas from around the globe that seem to presume that whiteness is related to royalty, power, and goodness—the basic assumption, of course, that white European colonists used to justify dehumanizing black and brown peoples. In one of the most disturbing passages that Ishmael presents without comment, he claims that the idea of whiteness as authority “applies to the human race itself, giving the white man ideal mastership over every dusky tribe.”

(Bellot)

Changing Woman’s story merges into the story of Ishmael, when she must provide the soldiers she encounters with a name. Ishmael is the “loner narrator” (Hoare) within Moby Dick, who chronicles his adventures upon the whaling ship the Pequod (Fee and Flick; Flick; Matchie and Larson). Though Moby Dick has been noted for being one of “the first work of western fiction to feature a same-sex marriage“, Cox notes that “Ishmael exoticizes Tashtego’s “aboriginal past,” which further confines Native Americans to a distant, ostensibly “simple” and paradisiac history” (234)

Coyote is a character of almost undefinable proportions. Referenced throughout a number of First Peoples cultures, and across global cultures as the Trickster archetype, “King describes his version of Coyote in the novel as “a sacred clown”: “Someone who could point out the fallacies in situations and arguments and who made sure that nothing stayed done, whatever you tried to do, that particular figure would take apart.” (Wyile 114). Matchie and Larson further define Coyote as a bridge between the reader and the story: “the fact that Coyote in Green Grass is also a listener, that is, the audience of the I–narrator, suggests that everybody can be trickster” (165)

The trickster proves to be a source of comic release and, in Native communities, serves as a model of how individuals ought not to behave. As Yellowman, a Navajo storyteller explains, trickster tales are intended to educate the younger population

(Andrews 96)

Matchie and Larson write that “in Native eyes creation is ongoing and must be retold again and again to “make it right”” (Matchie and Larson 163). This is a theme found within Harry Robinson’s stories, which is clearly recognizable within Green Grass, Running Water through the role of the narrator. Smith classifies the narrator as a “creative trickster who is constructing the narrative […]. Readers reading/interpreting through this disruptive lens, then, must constantly be aware that they are involved in construction of meaning rather than simply reading a linear or cohesive story” (523).

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On page 195, we encounter the Cherokee symbols for ‘West’ and ‘Black’ (Andrews; Flick; Goldman), reinforcing the cyclical nature of storytelling the narrator has suggested. Greg Bechtel further notes represent “Recognition/spring” (215), and within volume III, we see the character Lionel Red Dog begin to take control over his life – he recognizes his future lies within his own hands, and begins to (re)form himself (King, Green Grass 203).

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Pages 196 – 198: This passage begins with a conversation between the narrator and Coyote, wherein Coyote wonders whether it is time to apologize, or time to be helpful. In the Gzowski interview, King comments on the reference this makes to Rushdie at the end of the book, when the old Indians are complaining about Coyote not apologizing, and they say, “Remember what happened last time you rushed into a story …”” (Gzowski 73). Thought it is not time to apologize, Coyote does have the chance to be helpful, and act in the role of creator in turning on the light (Flick 159), based on Robinson Crusoe’s recommendation.

The remainder of this passage consists of the story of Thought Woman, as told by by Robinson Crusoe, who we later learn is the alter-ego of this “cultural heroine” (Cox 230). Robinson Crusoe is the main protagonist of The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, based off of the Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk (Flick; Selcraig). In a review of Thomas More‘s Utopia, critic Terry Eagleton notes that “More’s fantasy is an odd mixture of […] rational and libidinal. On the one hand, his ideal society is a high-minded, fairly puritanical place, one likely to appeal to the stereotypical Hampstead vegetarian; on the other hand, its inhabitants are genial, laid-back and agreeably disinclined to do much work.” (Eagleton). It is this second, more relaxed utopia that Eagleton classifies Robinson Crusoe.

Like Changing Woman, Thought Woman is a version of the Earthdiver creation story (Flick; Gzowski; Matchie and Larson). An important figure in Pueblo culture, Thought Woman – also known as Spider Woman – is seen within Green Grass, Running Water walking into the River, to enjoy a bath. Thought Woman notes that this River myst be a tricky one, and that River acts in the role of trickster, floating Thought Woman down through the water, and away from the shore. Rocks are required to move out of her way, and the warnings that the trees shout out are ignored by the sleeping Woman. That River goes too fast, and send Thought Woman over the edge of the water, and into the sky, the story that the reader/listener has encountered before. As the narrator says, we will hear this story again and again, “until we get it right” (King, Green Grass 198).

While Thought Woman is floating away, Coyote interrupts the story to draw attention to the trickiness of that River, and reminds the reader of Old Coyote. Old Coyote is a character that appears in A Coyote Columbus Story also by King (King 124; Wyile), which has republished as a children’s book in 2007, with illustrations by Kent Monkman.

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Pages 198 – 199: Within this passage, the four “old Indians” (King, Green Grass 198) – Lone Ranger, Ishmael, Robinson Crusoe, and Hawkeye – watch as the “universe gently [tilts]” (198), and the sun rises up in the east and runs across to the west. The “old Indians” are acknowledged in the same order in which they tell their stories, referencing once again the cyclical nature of this novel.

Like Ishmael and Robinson Crusoe, the Lone Ranger and Hawkeye are alter-egos to First Woman and, we later learn, Old Woman. The Lone Ranger is a Texas ranger character (Flick, Matchie and Larson). One of the many theories of who inspired this character is presented by Art T. Burton, and suggests Bass Reeves – a freed man.

Hawkeye, as Flick and Matchie & Larson comment, is an alternative name to the character Natty Bumppo from The Last of the Mohicans by James Cooper: a story of a white man growing up with, and fighting in the Indian Wars alongside, a Mohican group. Though the novel can appear to favour the First Peoples perspective, it played a role in promoting “ideas like Westward Expansion and the belief that Natives would either assimilate or disappear” (Landry). Further, the narrative suggests that the Mohican peoples are no longer around, which is false (Landry).

Hawkeye, as Flick also indicates, is the nickname of the chief surgeon on the television show M*A*S*H* (Benjamin Franklin Pierce). In the television show, it is noted that Pierce received his nickname from Cooper’s character (“Hawkeye Pierce”). H Further, Hawkeye is the alias of Clint Barton, a Marvel Comics character who first appeared 1964 (Roach). Like Cooper’s Hawkeye, Clint is an expert marksman (“The Last of the Mohicans”).

In the distance, as the four characters watch, they see a star settle on the horizon. They are now able to begin; “Gha! Higayv:lige:i” (King, Green Grass 199). This acknowledgement of the star upon the horizon parallels with the story of the three Wise Men following the star of Bethlehem. This mention of a star also draws a reference to the concept of a ‘morning star‘, which has symbolism within a number of cultures, and alludes also to Lucifer.

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Pages 199 – 201: Within this passage Babo and Dr. Joe Houvagh have reached the United States-Canadian border in the white Karmann-Ghia. Joe Houvagh is a character that King frequently returns to (Goldman; Gzowski). A play on ‘Jehovah’ (Flick; Goldman; Gzowski; Paterson), by having Dr. Houvagh drive a white car towards “the squat dark buildings” (King, Green Grass 199), King invokes the symbolism that Dr. Houvagh perceives his role as the saving grace – the light arriving to the dark land. His dark glasses – when compared with the awareness of the light that Babo has – flips the narrative for the reader.

Dr. Hauvagh’s attitude is strict, and his word is the one that matters. Though he ‘reminds’ Babo to allow him to do all the talking, the warning is irrelevant as he and the customs officers treat Babo as if she is not there whenever she does speak.

Babo, seemingly a descendant of Herman Melville’s character Babo from the novella Benito Cereno (Fee and Flick; Flick; Linton). From this understanding, Babo is of African descent, whose ancestors were slaves. This is reinforced with the interaction at the border. Though the reader could make the argument that the “her” (King, Green Grass 201) Dr. Houvagh must register is the Karmann-Ghia, Flick makes the argument that this is in reference to Dr. Houvagh owning Babo, thus making Babo the “her”.

Babo’s final attempt at speech in this passage is to enquire into where they are; taking into consideration the registration she was just put through, her blatant question touches upon on of the ‘borders’ that Andrews, Fee and Flick, and Smith discuss within their research. Canada has the reputation of the ‘multicultural safe haven’. However, racist attitudes are still prevalent today.

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Pages 201 – 202: Narratives within this section begin to overlap, and phrases that Coyote speak are repeated by Babo. Based on Coyote’s “I’ve never been to Canada” (King, Green Grass 201) a few understandings can come to light. One is that Coyote and the narrator have been travelling outside of time and space, following along with the old Indians, but not directly with them as the four Indians have been shown previously at the Blossom Lodge. A second understanding comes from the lack of “aboriginal title” (Chamberlin), such as Turtle Island. Perhaps Coyote has never been to ‘Canada’ as it is a different title than what Coyote recognizes the land as.

This passage continues with a conversation around omens and myths between Dr. Houvagh, Babo, and the occasional interruption by Coyote.

Coyote’s final act within this passage is to jump up and down, and stand around, where Coyote is noticed by Dr. Houvagh and Babo – the first instance of recognition by a character other than the four old Indians and the narrator.

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Pages 203 – 204: In this final passage, Lionel Red Dog is waking up and coming to terms with his fortieth birthday. 40 is a number that pops up often in Judeo-Christian religions: “Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness being tempted by the devil; the great flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights; the Jewish people wandered the desert for 40 years” (Spektor).

Usually remaining in the dark, Lionel takes a step towards changing his story by snapping on the light; by deciding he is no longer going to squeeze things out, hold onto what is not moving him forward. He is no longer going to wait for his future to find himself.

Within his action, Lionel reflects upon what paths he can take, remembering his childhood dreams. “Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. Doctor, lawyer, television salesman. John Wayne” (King, Green Grass 204).

Lionel recalls roles that those he knows have held, and the one role that he hoped to be when he grew up: John Wayne. John Wayne is the resident archetype within the novel of the White man, and Lionel’s own “white whale” (Bellot). Within The Inconvenient Indian, King writes that “film, in all its forms, has been the only place where most North Americans have seen Indians” (xv, as quoted in Deshaye n.p.). Lionel sees the ‘hero’, but was unable to see the harm this cowboy and types caused to numerous groups. He was drawn into the idea of the mythical, vanishing, and “dead Indian” (Chamberlin).

King writes that “Lionel had made only three mistakes in his entire life” (Green Grass 24), and each contributed to where his life led. Bechtel analyses that “each of these mistakes is the result of Lionel’s being caught up in the wrong story, a story of mistaken identity” (206); all of Lionel’s mistakes can be traced back to one single mistake: adapting a character as his “primary role model” (Bechtel 207).

By choosing to take action, Lionel tak(re) claims his own story, because as we have learned, we can keep revisiting a story “until we get it right” (King, Green Grass 198).

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