Discussion Board 1 AC - Essay Example

Kiowa People by Scott Momaday tells the story of the ancient tribe called Kiowa to which his grandmother belonged. Firstly he concentrates on the landscapes where the people lived and finds some correlation between the places and the mentality of the tribe. He seems to feel great affection to each place he describes, like every detail acquires some specific meaning for him:“The long yellow grass on the mountain shone in the bright light, and a scissortail hied above the land”.He stops on colors, textures, sounds of the environment around him.

Momaday seems to feel some nostalgia accompanied with some eternal sadness, but not the sadness which appears when something is gone for good. His blue mood is calm and simple, he wants to learn some answers on the eternal question of life and death. And he seems to understand something in the land of Kiowa. The author emphasizes the fact that his grandmother spent a great deal of time praying, trying to understand her meaning in life. Momaday does not mention his addressing to God, however, his desire to learn more about the land and the people which lived there is also a quest or a prayer.

Narrative is aimed to describe and to connect some past events, make them real for listeners or readers. Our life can also be regarded as narrative because it appears as the stories that we tell each other. Learning about his grandmother and her people the author creates narrative which helps him bring to life these people from nowhere. Narrative, however, is most often symbolic meaning that it has sense for the author only. But in this case Momaday express his gratification and respect to his grandmother.