Monday, March 7, 2011
House Made of Dawn
My favorite scene in House Made of Dawn was when Abel performed the burial ceremony for Francisco and then was able to run. This whole quarter we have seen characters and authors trying to reclaim their indigenous identities in the face of western culture and for the first time we see someone run away from it. Abel killed the eagle before it could be used for ceremony, didn't understand the tribal customs or language, killed the white man, slept with white women and went away to war to only become lost in alcohol and western culture. It was so satisfying to see him take the first step towards a better life and embrace his culture through the burial ceremony. It's sad that this change of events for Abel came too late for Francisco to really enjoy but I think that realistic sadness is what makes the novel so compelling. Abel went from running away from life figuratively (in the form of alcohol) to running towards a new life. The novel was hard to start, but the end was satisfying and I enjoyed the read.
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Your right for the first time this quarter we witnessed an indigenous person runaway from his culture. However, it was understandable because he was confused and just wanted to find himself. I think even though it was depressing to see his grandfather pass away it was good that this happened because it was a wake up call for Abel. It made him want his grandfather to be proud of him by taking the torch from him and keeping his grandfather's legacy keep on going by expressing the culture of the kiowa.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see him embrace his culture finally. It was interesting to see how all the cultural aspects of his childhood and what he learned through his grandfather directly and by observation actually stuck with him. I liked that Momaday chose to do that, it gives the novel a sense of hope that Western society will not stop Native Americans from being who they are and the indigenous don't have to actively defy western ways, but they can embrace their own cultures in their own ways when the time is right and best. I found the novel to be a good read by the end as well...especially when you get the full story finally and you realize what Momaday was presenting to his readers to begin with and everything finally makes perfect sense.
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