- Find three examples of names that need to be spoken aloud in order to catch the allusion. Discuss the examples as well as the reading technique that requires you to read aloud in order to make connections. Why does King want us to read aloud?
In King’s Novel the topic of Orality is intended as a takeaway from the stories that are written–to later be shared through the art of storytelling. Things take on a different meaning upon being told aloud; physicality, place, emotion, direction, and authenticity of the speaker can each be derived and/or portrayed as the speaker retells a story. King uses metaphorical names to directly connect characters with a predisposition that is imposed by the name of the character at hand.
Researchers have stated that King’s stories ‘denaturalise the colonial perspective’, providing “an important opportunity for readers of the dominant culture to look in the mirror of stereotypical caricature” (Wyile).
Furthermore, the ridiculous nature of the names in the stories can be seen as a caricature of the westernized myths which are attached the cultural significance of the characters themselves. As cultural signifiers go, names are perhaps the most succinct and informative of any that I know of.
For an example of this, Sally-Jo Weyha is introduced as a character which as names go, brings with it the attached inequity whivh is placed on the Western portrayal of “Pocahontas” in popular media. The true story of Sacagawea is far removed from that idealized version of Settler/Native relations, and thus King references it as an humorous recall of the inaccuracy of western intrepretations of historic events/stories.
I think further that with this example of Sally Jo-Wehya showshow stories are also powerful tools to fit a narrative of propaganda–thus being the story of “Pocahontas” which romanticizes a relationship that was anything but.
Dr. Joe Hovaugh is another example in Green Grass, wherein the name resonates with the religious connections that are implied with its use. In it, he describes stories of creation which give credence to the name usage of King.
A further example are the names, Nissan, Piulo, und Karmaiin Ghia which refer to the ships of Christopher Columbus’ maiden voyage to North America with the ships the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
“Thus, a storyteller’s observations and speculations are often inferred and carry with them an element of presupposition. The storyteller does not tell all he or she knows, or explain the meanings of names, places, and things. There is an assumption of a common matrix of cultural knowledge, and invoking words—names and places—suggests that shared epistemology. In King’s novel, that sharing covers a broad spectrum of cultural knowledge.” (Chester 55)
King assumes with us the reader, and with those with whom the stories are being shared in the oral tradition that a baseline cultural understanding id achieved within the context of the name usage, As stories are made to be read aloud, as they are so done the stories punch the reader in the face with meaning, rather than letting it perhaps be determined. King’s intentions can be derived from the above as well, with the evoked intent being as previously stated, to let the dominant culture view
Chester, Blanca. _Green Grass, Running Water: Theorizing the World of the Novel_. _canlit.ca_. Canadian Literature, 9 Aug. 2012. Web. 11 July 2014.
Flick, Jane.Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water.Canadian Literature 161-162 (Summer/Autumn 1999): 140-172. Aug. 9 2012. Web. 17 Jul 2014.
King, Thomas.Green Grass, Running Water. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 1999. Print.
Wyile, Herb. “Trust Tonto: Thomas King’s Subversive Fictions and the Politics of Cultural Literacy.” Canadian Literature 161-62 (1999): 105-24.