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Tristan Yerkes
Mr. Salsich
English 02
12 November 2008

A Land With Emotion:
An Analytical Essay on "The Way to Rainy Mountain"

Why does the land seem to have emotions? Sometimes the land may seem solemn, with brittle twigs, cold hard surfaces, and bleak horizons. Sometimes the land may seem happy and jubilant with warm weather, bright clear blue skies, and blossoming plants everywhere. Many moods can be shown in the land, and in "The Way to Rainy Mountain" N. Scott Momaday represents her grandmother's and his different moods.

TS: Throughout "The Way to Rainy Mountain" Momaday describes the land of his people in different ways, linking together the mood of the land with the mood of whomever he is talking about. SD: The weather is very important to the Native American people, as Momaday mentions on the second page when he talks about how his tribe worships the sun. CM: On the second page, Momaday mentions the sacred sun dolls that his tribe acquired from the Crows, who also shared their religion. CM: These religious beliefs are closely related to the weather, which could signify Momaday's referencing to the land's condition in relation to the condition of it's people. SD: On the third page, Mr. Momaday speaks of the highland meadows in July, describing them to be grand and "[to] cause the vision to reach away." CM: The way Mr. Momaday presents this description gives off the air of being something big and great, like some huge artifact that nobody has seen for thousands of years. CM: This mood is directly followed up by Momaday stating, "[The Kiowas] had come to the place where they must change their lives." CM: This condition of his tribe certainly is grand and important. SD: On page four, Momaday describes houses on the plains, saying that they were all worn away and the plains had the power to suck all life and color out of whatever was there, he says this right before and after remembering his grandmother. CM: This placement of his description could have been to say that his grandmother had had her life sucked away by the plains, had her color grayed by the onslaught of wind and weathering, and been left colorless and worn through. Mr. Momaday is trying to restore that color by remembering her and sharing his memories. CS: Through all of his essay, Mr. Momaday is constantly making references to people and their land, which is one reoccurring theme that helps with the mood of the story, smoothly transporting the reader.

After reading "The Way to Rainy Mountain" I was affected greatly, and I can attribute that mainly to Momaday's excellent writing and his ability to hold my attention with an iron fist that doesn't waver throughout the whole essay. If, in this essay Momaday had been describing bright happy green fields the whole time, I would wonder exactly what was going on, but his blend of emotions provided me with exact emotions in relation to the story. Other than the nuances of Mr. Momaday's descriptive writing, the whole story had a general mood of something great being lost, and that's exactly what happens with his grandmother. We know why the land seems to have emotions, but not only that, but how they affect people, and how they can represent how people feel.