The Way to Rainy Mountain

The Way to Rainy Mountain has the most unique style I have ever encountered in literature. To me, this unique style was perfect for what N. Scott Momaday wanted to say. Because of his interesting relationship with the Kiowa people, Momaday needed a very specific form in order to tell the Kiowa story, and that is the form he used.

The use of three voices throughout this book worked perfectly to show the contrast between Kiowa America and white America as well as Momaday’s relationship with the two. The first voice, the mythical voice, beautifully painted the Kiowa mentality; however, I found it hard to believe whole-heartedly. As the voice came only from the Kiowas, particularly male Kiowas, I saw it as a bit one-sided. Next, the historical voice seemed to show how a white culture would view the ways of the Kiowa people, but much like the first voice, it wasn’t entirely fair. It showed only a view from the outside in – an observer’s opinion of a group of people. It came across dry and colorless at times, making it hard to follow. Finally, the voice of Momaday found a happy medium. Knowing a bit of the author’s background, the third sounded as expected: like a voice from the middle – the views of a man with a foot in each world. It took aspects of each voice before it and applied it to its own story, much like a boy who takes traits from each of his parents.

The organization of The Way to Rainy Mountain also works well to tell the Kiowa story. The three sections can easily be related to a journey or adventure with an exciting beginning, colorful middle, and dramatic end. “The Setting Out,” as its title suggests contains a lot of stories regarding the start of something. Most of the stories contain youth and Kiowa creation myths. “The Going On” depicts the Kiowa way of life, the traditions they held for so many years. This section touched on gender roles as well as what type of people the Kiowa were, a superior Native American force. Lastly, “The Closing In” brought closure to the journey of the Kiowa. The stories in this section hold themes of misfortune and reminiscence, and the section title itself hints that the legacy of the people is coming to an inevitable end.

I enjoyed the change of pace this book threw into our reading. Given the observations I have made, I would consider this short story sequence, but of course I’m open to persuasion.