Blog Post #2 - "The Way to Rainy Mountain"

"Forget what hurt you, but never forget what it taught you"
Click here for the link

This essay begins with author N. Scott Momaday returning to his hometown in Oklahoma; The purpose was to give a proper farewell to his grandmother, who belonged to the last tribe of the Kiowas. As he travels around, the many landmarks unique to his Kiowas descendants trigger stories he was told as a kid. The legacy of their finest horsemen who ruled the “whole of the southern Plains” is one everlasting in his heart, as well as the unfortunate ending when they had to surrender to the unrelenting advances of the U.S. Cavalry (314). Fortunately, Momaday’s grandmother was not yet born and was spared the “humiliation of [the] high gray walls”(314). Long after, during a summer of reunion with the “old council of warlords”(317), life was brought back to the century-old traditions of the Kiowas. But like all things joyous, this moment of the Kiowas was once again brought to an end. After his grandmother’s passing, Momaday was left with the peculiar memory of her “looking down into the folds of her hands...ramblings prayers out of suffering and hope”(316). Although he had never learned the language, the “inherent sad of the sound”(317) was undeniable. Growing up in such a reminiscent environment, the emotional tales he shares have great credence to them. Witness to the the pain of the Kiowas, the author desires to pass down these legends and keep the story of the Kiowas alive within his readers. The successful delivery of this message is in part due to the usage of rhetoric. Although readers likely have not faced such an event, Momaday’s didactic writing style and use of pathos in describing scenarios- like the “affliction of defeat”(314) after surrendering to soldiers- allows the readers to understand the extent of the Kiowas sorrow. By writing this essay, Momaday has been successful in returning life to the true spirit of the Kiowas tribe.