FREE ESSAY ON HOUSE MADE OF DAWN:THE USE OF LANGUAGE

HOUSE MADE OF DAWN:THE USE OF LANGUAGE

The Painting 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 
threw words away." --Pg. 85
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 correctly. Momaday believes that the Native Americans who
never bothered to learn to read and write, those who depend on their words, are those
whose words are most powerful. The love for words, spoken with passion, makes them take
on a three-dimensional quality. The words become the images and show a listener instead
of telling, making the moment an experience instead of just a moment. The listener can
feel what the speaker is trying to say; there is no need for interpretation, everything
is already understood. Momaday convinces the reader that the spoken language goes beyond
what words are being said; the words become their meaning, transcend into complete
understanding and clarity. The experience should be remembered as one of self-revelation
and understanding, not a moment filled with monotonous words. Momaday does not think it
should be about memorizing the words for intellect, but about seeing the image they
create. He wants the reader to know how important the woven web of words is so that the
reader is able to understand how Native American tradition has lasted so long without
words being written; that it is not the remembrance of words, but the remembrance of
images. 
Momaday shows the reader twice how different the white men's words are from the Native
American's word. The first is with Tosamah when he tells about the way John describes his
insight. He says of John,
"...old John was a white man, and the white man has
his ways, oh gracious me, he has his ways. He talks
about the Word. He talks through it and around it. 
He builds upon it with syllables, with prefixes and 
suffixes and hyphens and accents. He adds and 
divides and multiples the Word. And in all of this he 
subtracts the truth." --Pg. 83
Momaday wants the reader to see how superficial and trivial their words can be.
Everything is stressed to be grammatically correct instead of alive. The white man's
words break everything down until there is nothing left, nothing more to imagine and
connect with. This is what Momaday shows the reader by putting in Abel's questionnaire
when he leaves prison and enters relocation. Every part of Abel will be filed into a
category, denying Abel to be viewed as a whole and have his words heard by unbiased ears.
Through this Momaday shows the reader that there comes a point when there can be too many
words, when perfection has been attained and one more word ruins it. This is what John
has done. He tries to explain what he does not totally understand, filling in the blanks
with "prefixes and suffixes" until there is no more meaning for the listener. The second
time Momaday contrasts the white men's language use with Native Americans' is at Abel's
trial. The white men at the trial refuse to listen to Abel's story, to open up their
mind's eye and see his words with all their animation and zeal. This is where Momaday
wants the reader to see that listening is as much a part of language as is speaking. The
white men refuse to even try and understand his culture, closing their mind's eye and
only hearing the words spoken for their sound. They cannot picture his religion and
belief because they do not let the words show them. And so the dispose "of him in
language, their language..." The reader sees how their words do not have a
three-dimensional quality because they are not dealing with Abel, but only with his
crime. The words are impersonal and therefore have no depth and life to them. Momaday
wants the reader to see how much more words mean in the Native American culture. It is
clearly shown in Abel's disgust and disbelief at their detachment from what they are
saying. And the reader sees the attention given to words when Abel only speaks to his
Grandfather when his life has come full circle, even though Abel has wanted to since he
came home the first time after the war. The significance of Abel's silence shows just how
much weight he puts on whatever he does say, reflecting the Native American view of the
importance of words.
Momaday makes me view language in a new way. He has forced me to think about how I speak
and treat each word with respect so that I am able to grasp the picture it paints. And I
now believe that every word can have a picture if placed correctly, whether it be obvious
or merely a color associated with an emotion. The way in which some people abuse words
and let them become only the words on a questionnaire is horrifying. It's as if they lose
an emotion, their speech being monotonous and drab. 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. If the reader is willing to open
their mind's eye to see the beautiful picture words can paint, Momaday has achieved what
he wanted to, as well as brightening the life of that reader.
Bibliography
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