Green Grass, Running Water facts for kids
Paperback cover
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| Author | Thomas King |
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| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Indigenous, trickster novel |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin – hardcover March 4, 1993. Bantam Books – paperback June 1, 1994. |
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Publication date
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March 4, 1993 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 480 pp (U.S. Paperback) |
| ISBN | 0-553-37368-4 (U.S. Paperback) |
| OCLC | 29361347 |
Green Grass, Running Water is a novel written in 1993 by Thomas King. He is a writer with Cherokee, Greek, and German-American roots. King was born in the United States and has lived in Canada since 1980.
The story takes place in a modern Blackfoot community in Alberta, Canada. The book became famous for its special way of telling a story. It blends old oral traditions with written literature. The novel is also full of humor and makes fun of some Western ideas. Green Grass, Running Water was nominated for the Governor General's Award in Fiction in 1993.
Contents
What the Story is About
Green Grass, Running Water begins with a mysterious narrator. This narrator explains "the beginning" of everything. In this beginning, a trickster-god named Coyote is present. Coyote has a dream that comes to life and wakes him up.
The dream thinks it is very smart, even believing it is God. But Coyote is just amused. He calls the dream "Dog" because it gets everything backward. Dog wonders why there is water everywhere. At this point, the narrator starts telling another story.
This story is about four Native American elders who escape from a mental hospital. Their names are Lone Ranger, Ishmael, Robinson Crusoe, and Hawkeye. Each elder is linked to a female character from Native traditions. These are First Woman, Changing Woman, Thought Woman, and Old Woman. The book then splits into four main parts. Each part is told by one of these four elders.
Creation Stories and Characters
Besides telling about everyday events, each elder also shares a creation story. These stories explain why there is so much water in the world. In each creation story, the four elders meet a character from the Christian Bible. They also meet Western literary figures, whose names they later adopt.
The book has four main storylines that weave together:
- The first story follows the four elders and Coyote. They are trying to "fix the world." Dr. Joseph Hovaugh and his assistant, Babo, try to find the elders. Dr. Hovaugh believes the elders' disappearances cause major events, like the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
- The second story focuses on Lionel Red Dog, Charlie Looking Bear, and Alberta.
- The third story is about Eli Stands Alone, Lionel's uncle. Eli lives in his mother's house near the Balene Dam.
- The fourth story includes characters from Christian and Native American myths. It also features figures from literature and history. Examples include Ahdamn, First Woman, the Young Man Who Walks on Water, Robinson Crusoe, and Nasty Bumppo.
The story builds up to the traditional Blackfoot annual Sun Dance ceremony. During this time, an earthquake happens. Coyote's singing and dancing cause the earthquake. The dam breaks, and a flood destroys Eli's house. But the flood also returns the river to its natural path.
The novel ends much like it began. Coyote and the unknown narrator argue about what existed at the very start. Coyote says "nothing," but the narrator says "water." Coyote again asks why there is water everywhere. The narrator promises to explain how it all happened.
Main Characters in the Novel
Here are some of the important characters you'll meet in Green Grass, Running Water:
- Lionel Red Dog – He is an electronics salesman who isn't very motivated. Lionel is competing with Charlie for the attention of Alberta Frank. His parents and sister Latisha often give him advice.
- Charlie Looking Bear – He is Lionel's cousin and a smooth lawyer. Charlie is also in love with Alberta Frank. He works for the company building the dam that Eli opposes. The company hired him because they thought an Aboriginal lawyer might help with public opinion.
- Alberta Frank – She is a professor and is involved with both Lionel and Charlie. Alberta wants to have a child but does not want to get married.
- Eli Stands Alone – He is Lionel's uncle and a former professor. Eli is against building a dam that would change a river's natural flow. This natural flow is very important in Blackfoot traditions. Eli lives in a cabin near the dam. His home would be flooded if the dam were expanded. He has been fighting the dam company for 10 years.
- Latisha – Lionel's sister. She owns the Dead Dog Café. She pretends to sell dog meat because tourists mistakenly think it's a traditional Blackfoot food. She often gives good advice to Lionel.
- Dog, also known as GOD – At the start of the novel, Coyote is sleeping. One of his dreams comes to life and causes trouble, waking Coyote up. This dream thinks it is very smart and calls itself "GOD." Coyote agrees it's smart but says it's just a copy of him and gets everything backward. So, he names it "Dog."
- Coyote – A trickster god who accidentally creates "Dog" from his dream. He talks with the four escaped elders and the unknown narrator. He doesn't directly speak to the regular people in Blossom. However, he does appear as a strange-looking dog that Lionel sees dancing.
- The Old Indians – These are four Aboriginal people who escape from a mental hospital in Florida and travel to Blossom. Each of them tells a part of the novel to the unknown narrator. They also each tell a creation story. In these stories, they are first known as First Woman, Changing Woman, Thought Woman, and Old Woman. They meet a Biblical character and a Western literary figure. Then, they change their names to these literary figures: Lone Ranger, Ishmael, Robinson Crusoe, and Hawkeye.
- Dr. Joe Hovaugh – He is the doctor in charge of the mental hospital where the four elders were. King shows him as a confused, harmless old man. He is mostly worried about his dying garden. His name, when said aloud, sounds like "Jehovah."
Why the Title is Important
The title, Green Grass, Running Water, refers to a promise made by the Canadian government. They promised Indigenous people rights to their land "as long as the grass is green and the water runs." This shows how important land is in First Nations culture. It also highlights the politics of land claims, which are a big part of the book.
How the Story is Told
The narrator of the story is called "I." This character is a friend of Coyote. The narrator also knows the four escaped Aboriginal elders personally. The unknown narrator learns the story from each of the four elders in turn. This means you, the reader, hear the story through the unknown narrator. This narrator heard the story from the four elders, who separately told it to the people of Blossom. To make it even more interesting, the unknown narrator is telling this story mainly to Coyote, not directly to you.
Blending Old and New Stories
Throughout the novel, there are four different creation stories. These are told by four timeless Aboriginal women/gods: First Woman, Changing Woman, Thought Woman, and Old Woman. In each retelling, these women meet a figure from the Bible and a Western literary character. They then take on new names from these figures: Lone Ranger, Ishmael, Robinson Crusoe, and Hawkeye. These timeless women become the four "Indian Men" who escape the asylum. This shows how the Trickster can change genders.
Green Grass, Running Water is praised for mixing oral (spoken) and written traditions. It also blends Aboriginal and European-American cultures. The story has a "dualism," meaning it shows two sides, like Coyote and Dog. In the novel, Coyote is the Trickster from Aboriginal tradition. Dog, however, thinks he is "GOD," but he is just Coyote's dream.
The constant blending of oral and literary traditions challenges how Western stories are usually told. By using humor and satire, King compares and contrasts these two traditions. He shows both their weaknesses and their strengths.
