I. Feminism

A. Moby Jane ( pg. 220)

1. Ahab and Coyote call Moby Jane, Moby Dick and are thrown overboard for calling the female by the male name. Deals with sexual humor.
   
2. Implies lesbian relations with Changing Woman confirmed by suspicions by Coyote.

B. First Woman, Changing Woman, Thought Woman, Old Woman.

1. First Woman represents Eve in a feminist light(pg 38).

• "First Woman's garden. That good woman makes a garden and she lives there with Ahdamn. I don't know where he comes from. Things like that happen, ya know?"

1. Changing Woman represents fertility and possibly homosexuality (similar character to Alberta) (pg. 160). Questions sexual orientation(pg. 219)

1. Thought Woman represents Mary(pg. 298) Floats for nine months, talks about her virginity and Gabriele coming to visit her. “There are lots of Mary’s in the world” (suggests that she’s not unique).
2. Old Woman calms waves by her singing when Jesus and His disciples are walking on the waves. But Jesus takes the credit for it instead of giving the credit to a woman (pg. 390).
   

C. Alberta (pg. 135)

1. Talks about men being used purely to procreate.
2. Bob(Alberta’s ex husband “wanted a wife not a woman(pg. 93)”.
3. Amos(Alberta’s father) tells her that her and her sister can’t go camping with him and her brothers(pg. 281).
4. Conversation between Robinson Crusoe and Thought Woman shows his view on woman needing men to protect and educate them(pg. 325).
   
5. Suggests that she’s a lesbian (pg. 394).
   

D. Connie

1. Even though she’s a police officer, the men only allow her to do desk work(pg. 343).
2. Babo is referred to as an object belonging to Dr. Hovaugh at customs (pg 260).
   

Racism

1. Aunt Jemima (pg. 57) in reference to Babo.
2. Norma accuses Eli of becoming “white” (pg. 122).
3. Eli Stand Alone (pg 123) because he adapts to the “white world” .
4. George compares Americans to Canadians (pg 172)
5. The great black whale is a woman which they’ve expressed as being inferior which leads to the idea that black as well are inferior(pg 221).
6. Indian gifts (pg 434) George’s Jacket
7. The Indian’s use John Wayne as a stereotype for white men(Pg 325)
   
8. Robinson Crusoe tells Thought Woman that like woman colored people need to be educated by white men as well.
   

Motifs and Symbols
A. Water

1. (Pg. 100) Floating, puddles, body of waters. Symbolizes disconnection. The world started with water according to Coyote.
2. Always moving, never ending symbolizing culture.
3. Represents story telling and the “flow” of the story
   

B. The number 26

1. The number of Indians that drew pictures out of 72 prisoners.
   
2. The number 26 reoccurs at least five different times throughout the book.

C. Masks

1. First Woman wears a mask, all four Indians wear masks, Charlie’s dad wears a mask. Throughout the story every character is wearing some kind of mask to cover up their true identities.
2. Each person in the novel goes by a name other then their own.
   

D. “That”

1. Affirms otherness. Putting each person referred to as “that”( Ex. That God, That woman and That ocean) into a separate category of the one in which they belong.

E. The Map

1. Symbolizes unity in fragmented pieces just like the book.

F. The Three Cars

1. Red Pinto, blue Nissan and White Karmann- Ghia correlate with Columbus’ ships: The Santa Maria, The Nina and The Pinta.
2. The three “American” cars float over the dam and eventually overrun what the Indian were trying to keep the whole time.
   

Religion
Post modern view of religion: Coyote and “that GOD”(Christian God) talk to each other which puts them on the same level. They affirm and discredit each others religions at the same time.

A. Coyote’s View:

1. “In the beginning there was nothing. Just the water(pg 100, 103, 107, 112 and 469).”
2. Sky world and water world :First Woman lives in the sky. Then there’s a garden and Ahdamn is created.
3. First woman takes care of Ahdamn as opposed to the traditional view of Adam taking care of Eve.
4. Ahdamn’s name is Tanto ( meaning “stupid”).

B. God’s View/ Christianity Represented

1. The earth started with a void and darkness and then a garden. (Pg 37-40).
2. Jesus is portrayed as a sexist
3. Noah is a pervert
4. “Christian rules” and the idea to procreate give Noah an excuse to ask Thought Woman for sex.
5. God stays in the garden- Existentialism: God made humanity but since they weren’t perfect He kicked them out and He stayed there and start your own life.

Green Grass, Running Water is a novel that explores the tension and disconnection associated with the many people from various ages and stages of life within the Native American culture. The clashes between feminism and antifeminism, postmodernism and existentialism, Christian beliefs and tribal traditions display the struggles of identity within and between each of the characters. The end of the novel ties each one of these issues together through the breaking of the dam; this is symbolic for the way that America has restricted the Indian culture, literally drowning them, leaving them insecure and searching for their native roots.


Questions for discussion:

What is the significance of the 26 prisoners who drew pictures at Fort Marion, and why is it a recurring number throughout the novel?

What point is the author trying to portray through his depiction of clashing feminism and anti-feminism views?

How do the various references to water (floating, puddles, dam) weave the story together?