Reading Guide for From The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday

 

Word process your responses.

   

1.  “Headwaters” explains the origin of the Kiowa.  From where did the people

     emerge?

2.  The Introduction gives the reader a history of the Kiowa and a biography of

     Momaday’s grandmother, Aho.  How do both reveal Momaday’s reverence for the

     land?   Explain in general terms and support your explanation with specifics from the

     text.

3.  What is the myth of the Big Dipper?

4.  What two events led to the end of the Sun Dance culture?

5.  What is the gist of each of these sections:  IV, XIII, XVII, and XXIV?  How is each

     arranged?

6.  Describe the Sun Dance.

7.  The concluding poem describes Momaday’s sense of both the continuity of his

     heritage and his loss.  How and where does it do this?