Consider the following prompt for a Constructed Response on a test. Read it carefully and then read the answer choices carefully
. Decide which answer choice would be the best response to the CR prompt and receive full credit. PROMPT: In the prologue, Momaday states, " In one sense, then, the way to Rainy Mountain is preeminently the history of an idea, man’s idea of himself, and it has old and essential being in language. The verbal tradition by which it has been preserved has suffered a deterioration in time. What remains is fragmentary: mythology, legend, lore, and hearsay—and of course the idea itself, as crucial and complete as it ever was. That is the miracle. " Explain the meaning of this quote and how it relates to the structure (3 voices) of the text. Write at least 1 full paragraph using correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and evidence from the text. Question 11 options: Momaday chose to write in 3 voices because he felt like that would provide the best telling of his people's history. He likes his people a lot and felt it important to tell his side of the story along with the historical side. Momaday uses the three voices to structure the novel because they are all important to the record of who the Kiowa people were and are today. As the quote states "What remains is fragmentary: mythology, legend, lore, and heresay," showing that there isn't one thorough record of Kiowa history- instead it exists in fragments from history, from oral tradition, and from mythology. Momaday felt compelled to compose the most holistic history of his people, so he used the three voices to help tell the story. The three voices of the text are Kiowa mythology, historical facts, and Momaday's personal memoir/memories. In each section of the text, the three voices are tied together by a single thread or topic. The topic as well as all of the voices show how that topic was important to to Kiowa and how it impacted their culture. The book's structure is not traditional. The three voices cause the novel to forgo the traditional chronological plot structure and instead focuses on ideas that are important to the Kiowa. Through the presentation of ideas, a story is build around how the Kiowa were once prosperous and had a time of success but found themselves in the same plight as many other Native American tribes being sent to a reservation to preserve their culture as best as they can.
