House Made of DawnThe use of Language
Throughout House Made of Dawn Momaday forces the reader to see a clear distinction between how white people and Native Americans use language. Momaday calls it the written word, the white people's word, and the spoken word, the Native American word. The white people's spoken word is so rigidly focused on the fundamental meaning of each word that is lacks the imagery of the Native American word. It is like listening to a contact being read aloud. Momaday clearly shows how the Native American word speaks beyond its sound through Tosamah speaking of his Grandmother. Tosamah says,"You see, for her words were medicine; they were magic and invisible. They came from nothing into sound and meaning. They were beyond price; they could neither be bought nor sold. And she never Momaday forces upon the reader the idea of language as a remedy for sickness; not only of the mind, but of the heart, also. If a speaker can reach a listener and show the listener what she means, then that is the most honorable achievement. Momaday wants the reader to know the importance of word weaving, of weaving the words to form a beautiful picture that can heal souls if spoken correctl
Momaday does not think it should be about memorizing the words for intellect, but about seeing the image they create. The love for words, spoken with passion, makes them take on a three-dimensional quality. old John was a white man, and the white man has his ways, oh gracious me, he has his ways. It is clearly shown in Abel's disgust and disbelief at their detachment from what they are saying. Everything is stressed to be grammatically correct instead of alive. Momaday stresses these points and I feel he has a right to show the revere with which Native Americans regard words and the inconsequence with which many white people view words. Momaday wants the reader to see how much more words mean in the Native American culture. The white man's words break everything down until there is nothing left, nothing more to imagine and connect with. They cannot picture his religion and belief because they do not let the words show them. The first is with Tosamah when he tells about the way John describes his insight.
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