Themes in Green Grass Running Water - 817 Words

The theme that drives most of the action in Green Grass, Running Water is the conflict between Native American culture and White culture. King establishes this most potently in the fantastical back stories of the four old Native American men. In each story, a character from the Native American tradition interacts with a Biblical figure and then a character from White literature or film. Tellingly, each of the four old Native Americans eventually adopts a name from these White works. The four characters come from works by white writers for white audiences that feature Native American characters: Robinson Crusoe from the eponymous novel by Daniel Defoe, Ishmael from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Hawkeye from James Fenimore Cooper’s†¦show more content†¦Later, Young Man Walking on Water (who is clearly supposed to be Jesus Christ) is unable to calm the storm to protect the sailors until Old Woman sings to the waves to calm them. By poking fun at stories from the Ch ristian tradition, King ironically points out the universality faith. Regardless of the culture, each faith tradition has deities and origin stories. Satire also reinforces the theme of cultural divide in the scenes set in Latisha’s diner, The Dead Dog Cafà ©. Even the restaurant’s namesake underscores the humor in the conflict between White and Native American cultures. Part of the selling point of Latisha’s cafà © is the illusion that the patrons are eating dog meat as a way of experiencing authentic Native American culture. In reality, the meat served is beef because consuming dogs as food is in no way part of Blackfoot dietary practices. The white tourists who filter through the cafe (both American and Canadian) are drawn in broad strokes and quickly display their ignorance of Native American culture by their enthrallment with its perceived exoticness. Another important motif in the novel is water. Title aside, water acts as a powerful force that serves multiple purposes in the story. Water is repeatedly associated with creation as all of the origin stories of the Native American elders begin with the same phrase: â€Å"In the beginning, there was nothing. Just the water.† In each of the origin stories, water carries the Native American elders intoShow MoreRelatedEssay about Great Gatsby Film Analysis839 Words   |  4 PagesRachel Hobson HON English 3 September 11, 2011 Critical Analysis: The Great Gatsby Film The classic American novel, The Great Gatsby, presents a major theme of passing time. Losing Daisy meant losing Gatsby’s entire world, which he only kept alive through his hope of repeating the past. Daisy is a symbol of everything he values and therefore became the entity of his dream: his dream of spending the rest of his life with Daisy, the woman he loves undeniably. 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