Question

Please help! I really need help with this!

Answer 1

The structure of the book alternates between three distinct voices or registers. The folkloric register comes from oral tradition and describes ancient myth and legend. The historic voice provides objective, historical commentary. Finally, the third register is Momaday’s own perspective, his first-hand account told as a poetic memoir. This structure results in shifting tones as the register changes from ancient and mystical, to journalistic and factual, to personal and poetic. Some readers have found this shifting structure to be confusing and have preferred instead to read each voice in its entirety rather than in the order presented in the book.

The structure of this text has similar elements to anthropological qualitative research. Momaday’s three-part structure can be seen as a researcher’s triangulation—providing three perspectives that support each other in meaning. The ancient, historical, and personal blend and corroborate meaning rather than conflict. Each gains significance by its complementary juxtaposition against the other forms. This balance of voices contributes to an interpretation of the Kiowa tribe that is not static but informed by the past, interpreted from the present, and looking ahead to preserve tribal heritage into the future.