What are the major differences or similarities between the ethos of the creation story you are familiar with and the story King tells in The Truth About Stories ?
Like many students in this class I’m sure, I was raised to know the Genesis creation story. Where there is a God who came out of nothing and created our universe in seven days. Light, Darkness, planets, earth, water, plants, animals and humans. Everything came about simply because God willed it. So when I read Thomas King’s The Truth About Stories and the variations of his creation story in Green Grass Running Water, it is easy to see how the stories may differ from Genesis, but perhaps harder to see how they are similar. I would like to point out a few things that grabbed my attention while reading the story about the woman who falls from the sky and try to tie together the story King tells us to the one that I know.
While reading the story of the woman who fell from the sky I was particularly interested in the part about where Charm and the animals are waiting for Otter to surface and, “finally, on the morning of the fourth day, just as the sun was rising, Otter’s body floated up out of the depths” (King, 17). The reason I was intrigued by this passage was because of the number four. After reading Professor Paterson’s blog about the medicine wheel, I figured that this number must be of significance in this story. The four directions – North, East, South, West, the life cycle – birth, youth, parents and elders, the seasons – spring, summer, fall, winter and the elements – fire, water, air and Mother earth. The four days Otter spends labouring to get the mud for Charm is representative of a becoming. Just as in Genesis, God spends seven days labouring over his creation, both stories put significance in numbers that we use today in our cultures for symbolic means.
So how else are these stories the same? Well, to point out the obvious, nothing is done without ‘magic’. Our Judeo-Christian God seems to snap his fingers and there we have it, everything occurs from a simple thought. Charm too possesses a magic to create and it too is not elaborate. Her creations come from her simple will to create and by the will of her children and the animals. However, Charms intentions are not singular like the Christian story, it is collaborative and, from what I can tell, seeks no praise or thanks.
So what of the ethos of these stories? King say that “elements in Genesis create a particular universe governed by a series of hierarchies – God, man, animals, plants – that celebrates law, order, and good government, while in our Native story, the universe is governed by a series of co-operations…that celebrate equality and balance” (King, 23-24). I’m starting to feel like the character of our creation stories tell us a lot about the religion or culture we live by. Genesis describes control, careful thinking and a complete power – a very similar description belongs to the way the Christians saw themselves and insisted on a world in their image. King’s version is not all together as organized as Genesis, which I find complements the liberating and unconfrontational tone of the story. In Green Grass Running Water, King provides 4 different versions of the woman who falls out of the sky, which I see as a testament to a diverse and creative culture.
We can see these stories as different, because they undeniably are, in which case we must discount one as being less true than the other (or less likely). Or we can try to see how they are similar and meet these two stories somewhere in the middle. Not that anyone is asking us to choose… are they? I never know for sure.
Work Cited:
King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Peterbough: Anansi Press. 2003. Print
Paterson, Erika. “Lesson 3:1.” ENGL 470A Canadian Studies Canadian Literary Genres 99C Jan 2015. 8 March. 2015. Web. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/courseblogsis_ubc_engl_470a_99c_2014wc_44216-sis_ubc_engl_470a_99c_2014wc_44216_2517104_1/unit-3/lesson-3-2/>
http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/creationstory.htm
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/pubs/abo-aut/spirit-spiritualite-eng.htm
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for an engaging blog post – I wrote on the same question but wanted to stop and comment on yours as there were some phrases that stood out to me.
I am a Christian so was not only raised on the Genesis story and also still believe it to be true. What I found interesting was that you did not pass comment on how the Genesis story of creation has been argued to be from the Hebrew poetry genre; therefore, the creation of the earth is not limit to our human understanding of “7 days”! Personally, I think people get too caught up in the time frame of the Genesis creation narrative, and therefore lose out on the awe-inspiring nature of it! That there is a powerful God who is able to speak and beings come into existence – I think the poetic side of the story is simply breath-taking (pardon the pun). Also, ‘time’ is actually a man-made construction, an important component to keep in mind, and God is outside of time :)!
So, I struggle with your point that “Genesis describes control, careful thinking and a complete power – a very similar description belongs to the way the Christians saw themselves and insisted on a world in their image” mainly because I do not see myself or God in this light and so wanted to share this with you! To me, the Genesis story highlights the beauty, detail, and magnificence all highlighting the power of God. And yes, the historic accounts of Christianity are not all pleasant and some terrible acts have been and continue to be committed in the name of God/Jesus – but I wouldn’t say that that means everything about Christianity is “controlling, careful thinking and completely power” – but hey, this is what I believe and I don’t want to step on your toes so please forgive me if I have! Just wanted to share my perspective 🙂
Cheers, Susie
Hi Susie,
Thanks for the comment! I didn’t mean to offend or go against anyone’s religion when I wrote this blog. I am a Christian too but for the purpose of this exercise I was trying to stick to what we see on the surface of stories. Because stories can be read and taken in so many different understandings I was trying to keep more to the imagery of things as to avoid significant confrontation of beliefs! With the Genesis story that I know, it is very much hierarchical in my eyes. That’s what I meant by “controlling, careful thinking and complete power”. Meaning that everything is really in the hands of God. As for the woman who fell out of the sky, there was collaboration from many beings in the creation process. I do not doubt or belittle the magnificence of the Christian God, I was simply just trying to point out how I saw the stories differently. Thanks!
Sarah C.
Hi Sarah!
I really enjoyed reading your post as it is also what I wrote mine on as well. I especially liked how you connected the number four to certain elements in the story and I found your hyperlink really helpful in understanding the importance of it. Like many creation stories there is some uncontrolled power which “creates” the new world, whether it be by creating land, humanity, animals or society. I found this in both the Christian and King’s creation story, where life is created beyond any human means. That is a similarity I found between the two different creation stories, even though creation is started by different means. I think that an individual can believe in as many creation stories as they like and should not have to be pinned down to specific story. You question if anybody is asking us to choose which story has more validity, which I think is dependent upon the person. Each story has is valid points and truth, it just depends where an individual finds their faith 🙂 Again thank you for your amazing post I really enjoyed learning a new perspective on this question and liked your writing of it!
Hi Alex,
Thanks for your comment! I am glad that I had a little bit of a different reading than you had and hopefully my response helped you to create an overall more rounded understanding, or view, of both stories. It’s always fun to see what other people come up with! And thanks for trying to answer my question, it is sort of Chamberlain-esc and probably doesn’t have an answer but it gets you thinking!
Sarah C.
Wow – what a great blog. A good short read that captures the gist of the question with expertise, thank you. I found your link to the RCMP training manual fascinating and revealing of both a problem with racist and ignorance in the forces, and what appears to be a sincere effort to solve that problem through education. The dialogue on this post is most outstanding and understanding, and equally delights me. Thank you for inspiring this dialogue ☺
Hi Professor,
Thanks so much for your feedback! It’s a very encouraging message that I will continue to build on. I felt particularly related to this post because it engaged a deep part of who I am and what I grew up with. It allowed me to look outside my comfort zone and challenge my own beliefs and education and broaden my horizons. In fact, the progression of this course has been really good for that.
Sarah C.
Hey again Susie,
I wouldn’t mind engaging with a few of the above comments, but it’s probably too late in the term to expect a productive dialogue. A thought – when characterizing King’s novel as promoting a ‘nonconfrontational’ culture – remember that King is predominantly a ‘native writer’ and that his books are going to be confrontational by virtue of their publication, and take into consideration cultural universals and disparities. For my own part I always try to take into account what I see as grossly oversimplified narratives of white-male-colonizers and ‘noble savages’. I like that you call attention to the number four – similar to 3 and 7 – I’ve read something about this phenomenon before, but the first recollection that pops to mind is the Trinity. I’m not religious myself but am of the opinion that ignorance when it comes to the Abrahamic traditions is tantamount to intellectual masochism.
Anyways, good writing as per usual! Cheers!
Joey