When I first started reading Green Grass Running Water, I found it interesting but hard to understand. The story seemed to jump around and things didn't seem to connect at all, sometimes I had to re-read some pages to remember who was who and what had happened. In fact, the characters themselves seemed to communicate in strange ways. Many times, when the characters are in a conversation, there seems to be two going on, with neither paying attention or listening to other. This was slightly frustrating, but I'm sure there is some sort of symbolization behind this.
I was impressed by King's writing style after my first read, I has half expecting a heavy and depressing story about the history of First Nations but found the opposite as King incorporated humor throughout the novel. Although I haven't read Moby Dick and don't know much about Christian religion, I was still able to get some of the allusions, such as A.A. Gabriel, Dr. Joseph Hovaugh, Noah's Ark, Ahdamn and First Woman's garden. It seems like mistakes plays a large role in the story and I really liked how Lionel's mistakes could lead him to such uncontrollable situations and sometimes I wondered if anyone could really be so unlucky. There also seems to be a LOT of water throughout the book and to me it seems to represent story telling and the flow of a story. I'm still a bit confused at the puddles of water when the cars are taken though. I knew that in First Nation's stories the Coyote tends to be the 'trickster' and in Green Grass Running Water I saw his personality one that reflected a curious child that didn't know the damage he was doing. However, when Coyote exclaims "EARTHQUAKE, EARTHQUAKE! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee" (411), it completely changes my perspective of him. It is clear that Coyote knows exactly what he is doing and thinks the damage is funny, this was one of my favourite scenes (a bit strange, I know) because I could actually picture it happening.
On Monday's class I was really surprised at the Louie, Ray and Al alluding to Louie Riel. I've studied Louie Riel in high school but didn't even notice the allusion. I also didn't catch on to the DOG/GOD joke, so I'm hoping that as we explore the novel more in depth I will be able to expand my understanding more (and I really want to get all the jokes!).
I was impressed by King's writing style after my first read, I has half expecting a heavy and depressing story about the history of First Nations but found the opposite as King incorporated humor throughout the novel. Although I haven't read Moby Dick and don't know much about Christian religion, I was still able to get some of the allusions, such as A.A. Gabriel, Dr. Joseph Hovaugh, Noah's Ark, Ahdamn and First Woman's garden. It seems like mistakes plays a large role in the story and I really liked how Lionel's mistakes could lead him to such uncontrollable situations and sometimes I wondered if anyone could really be so unlucky. There also seems to be a LOT of water throughout the book and to me it seems to represent story telling and the flow of a story. I'm still a bit confused at the puddles of water when the cars are taken though. I knew that in First Nation's stories the Coyote tends to be the 'trickster' and in Green Grass Running Water I saw his personality one that reflected a curious child that didn't know the damage he was doing. However, when Coyote exclaims "EARTHQUAKE, EARTHQUAKE! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee" (411), it completely changes my perspective of him. It is clear that Coyote knows exactly what he is doing and thinks the damage is funny, this was one of my favourite scenes (a bit strange, I know) because I could actually picture it happening.
On Monday's class I was really surprised at the Louie, Ray and Al alluding to Louie Riel. I've studied Louie Riel in high school but didn't even notice the allusion. I also didn't catch on to the DOG/GOD joke, so I'm hoping that as we explore the novel more in depth I will be able to expand my understanding more (and I really want to get all the jokes!).